I was surprised to find your post in this NG, but what the heck. :=)

I have owned and operated a 1998 FICHT since buying it new in 1999. I've
had no parts failures and the only work ever done on the OB was spark plug
replacement and ECU updates.

The engine is quiet, efficient, and clean burning. There is no soot on my
prop hub and the thing never smokes.

There is an interesting thread by FICHT owners on either thehulltruth.com or
boatfix.com forums, sorry I don't remember which.

Butch
"bradleyj" wrote in message
...

Yes everyone, they are Ficht engines. After doing a tremendous amount
of research on these motors prior to buying them (including
conversations with mechanics who have worked on them), I came to the
conclusion that the modifications that OMC made to address the design
defects originally present in these motors did the trick. As part of
these mods, these particular motors were refitted with redesigned
cylinder heads, fuel system modifications and new ECU software. These
motors were installed on a NMFS vessel in Alaska for four years. When
they repowered their fleet in 2003, I purchased them with about 325
hours on them and put another 100 trouble-free hours on them myself
last year. I do the vast majority of my fishing within 20 miles of
shore and when I do go offshore, I never go out more than about 100
miles. The chances of both engines failing simultaneously is pretty
remote.

If any one of you badmouthing the Fichts has ever owned one and had
problems with it I'd like to hear your story. I'll be a bit surprised
if anyone can offer anything more than "I know someone who knows
someone....". The original design of these motors was definitely
deficient and their fix came too late. It contributed substantially to
the ruination of OMC, more through the loss of reputation than the
quality of their products.


--
bradleyj