I tossed up for a long time over the Yamaha 2.5 4 stroke and the honda 2.
The Yamaha seems a clear winner in pretty much all areas; quieter, smoother,
more power, less fuel consumption, it was even a bit lighter i think. The
Honda is just so simple though, and air cooled. It doesnt use an oil filter
which actually frightens me, but makes servicing easy. Impellors and
general cooling blockages seem to cause problems for most small outboards,
especially for lazy liveaboard owners. Everyone i spoke to who has the
honda said the same thing; noisy as all hell, very unrefined, but lasts
forever and always starts. Sounds like just the thing for what i need ;-)

For the yacht, a 10 seems about me and the Yamaha 9.9 4 stroke looks good.
I tossed up over 2/4 stroke for a while, and nowadays there's not much in
it. The modern 2 strokes are just as quiet and smooth as their 4 stroke
cousins, in some cases even more so. They aren't really smokey either,
except at startup. I've had a few guys cruise past me with modern two
strokes up to 50hp trolling, and i wouldn't have even known they were on.
They are lighter, but to me that's not a huge deal. Initial buy-in cost is
also probably small beer in the bigger picture. What it all came down to in
the end for me was two things; oil, and fuel. having to buy/carry/fill up
or be concerned with 2 stroke oil just seems like a pain. I'm not really
that disciplined so i have visions of myself caught out with a lee shore and
being out of oil. On top of that, vie owned two strokes, bikes and
outboards, and i always spill the oil, like, every single time i put it in.
The cost of the oil, even at 50:1, even at 100:1 is still a sting on top of
the $1.40 /litre that we're paying for fuel in most parts of aus, and that's
*not* for premium. I bought my small outboard as a 4 stroke for that
reason, and i'm thinking to get the bigger outboard as a 4 to keep things
consistent, stop me from having two sets of fuel tanks and going mad too. I
know if i had fuel with oil and fuel without i'd eventually either get them
confused, or i'd run out of fuel without oil and be kicking myself.

Fuel is the other one. While a lot of 2 strokes are fuel efficient, the 4
strokes seem to be better. While i havent done the math, and i don't even
really have any data on it, my feeling is that the cost in fuel and oil is
going to be many times over the cost of initially buying the outboard. even
small savings in fuel can add up to a lot.

I guess if i had to rank my priorities in order for a 10 horse it would be
(in this order)

Should last as long as possible
must be extremely reliable in terms of starting every time. when i want
that outboard to start, i need it!
good on fuel consumption
should be quiet(ish) and not vibrate to the point of shaking teeth out
parts should be easy to get

If i can get most of what i want, i don't mind paying more ;-) I have to
admit, off the record that i have very sexy dreams on an outboard that is so
quiet, and has such great thrust that i can actually maneuver around docks
and the like without people even knowing that i have an outboard running,
but will still cruise along happily at 5 or 6 knots without giving me a
headache or requiring tonnes of fuel. It would give me incredible control
of my vessel to the point where i could hold it easily on the spot in front
of a swing mooring in any and all wind/wave conditions, but it would also
have an espresso attachment for wonderful morning coffees.

Shaun



Honest Mistake, I've been known to get them mixed up standing next to one.

All the "High Thrust" versions I have actually been able to get real
specifications for to date have:
1 - A higher numerical reduction in the lower unit
2 - A lesser pitch propeller
3 - A larger propellor diameter (sometimes not very much)

Yes - this allows the engine to get up on the cam at zero boat speed, so
yes it necessarily runs a higher crankshaft speed at the same boat speed.
With boats like ours, you just don't need this.

We do not yet have enough history with the friends HT Honda to know if he
does burn more fuel than I do, but early results say yes, but not a great
deal. I do 6hr at 6.1~2 on 3 US gallon, he thinks he can do 5.5 hr under
the same conditions, but we have not done a side by side run.

I like the Yamaha with the shift on the tiller, but I just drilled a hole
on the shift and plug the hiking stick in there when manuvering.

I sold off my '73 350-4 a couple of years ago. Insurance cost more than
the fun was worth.

Don't bother looking for diesel. The Yanmar are too big and heavy and the
little chinese are just as much junk as you think - at least the two I
have seen - and parts are not simple to get.

2 Strokes with modern ignition systems and the ashless lube oils are not
the ecological disaster or maintenance headache that they were in my
youth. If you run into a good one at a good price, you could save a lot
of money at the cost of some fuel rate, but also save 20kg of engine
weight.

Fair Wind and Smooth Sea
Matt Colie
Lifelong Waterman, Licensed Mariner and Pathological Sailor


Shaun Van Poecke wrote:
Sorry Matt,
I must have had Honda on the brain last night..... Cant stop riding
Honda bikes either ;-)

The motor im holding out for is a *yamaha* 9.9 high thrust. Ive heard
really good things about this outboard a long life and good running.

Is the same thing true of all high thrust outboards/props? Not knowing
much about it, im guessing a high thrust motor differentiates from a
standard motor only in prop, and the prop would be larger in diameter,
but with less pitch? If so, does that mean any high thrust motor will
consume more fuel/require higher higher RPMs to sustain a decent cruising
speed?

Thanks,
Shaun