On 9/07/2010 9:12 a.m., Wilbur Hubbard wrote:
My new Tohatsu 6HP SailPro arrived last week and I'm very pleased with it.

I junked the old 9.9 Honda, the block of which corroded through in the water
jacket and a chunk of the casting broke away and it hairline-cracked on the
opposite side in an oil passage causing it to mist oil there. I'm afraid the
Honda is no salt water engine (ten years old and little used). Stay away
from them as they have a bad reputation for corrosion around here.

The SailPro 6HP Tohatsu

http://www.onlineoutboards.com/Tohat...p-MFS6BUL.html

is reasonably priced and at about half throttle it propels my Coronado 27
with clean bottom at 4 knots. I've not run it wide open yet as I'm observing
the break-in process recommended in the manual but it appears it will easily
propel my yacht at hull speed at 3/4 to full throttle. (LWL = 22ft for a
hull speed of around 5.5 knots)

Some of the reviews of the older models had complaints of it rotating under
power because the steering detent did not lock down hard enough. I've had no
problem with this and it seems to be staying put even with the detent knob
only about halfway screwed in. Perhaps Tohatsu addressed the issue with this
2010 model. It feels like a lot of rubber in the friction dampeners that
provides vibration dampening and friction dampening. There are two zerk
(grease) fittings in the clamp area so perhaps if too much grease is
injected it makes the rubber too slippery and a problem could develop with
it staying put in one position??

It seems to have plenty of torque and a wide powerband for such a small
engine. It is not noisy nor does it stall at idle like some reviewers have
complained of. It starts with one or two pulls on the recoil starter. Only
holds half a quart of engine oil.

All the hardware, shift linkage, trim and tilt linkage etc. appears to be
stainless steel and the advertising claims the internal water cooling
passages are all zinc coated for longevity. (That's what the Honda needed.)

The weight is only 60 pounds as opposed to over a 100 pounds for the Honda.
It's good to get the weight off the ends of the yacht.

And, as light as it is, it will be easy to remove from the transom so it can
be safely stowed away from the elements in a cockpit locker for those
occasional ocean voyages or circumnavigations where an engine is not needed.
The transom plate can then be inserted and locked in place to forestall the
eventuality of a pooped cockpit. Those seas in the Roaring 40's can do some
real pooping action.


Wilbur Hubbard



People I know with Tohatsu motors seem to have had very good service
from them. That seems like a very good price.
How old was the 10hp Honda that rotted out? That seemed to be a common
problem with the early white painted models, but the newer silver
painted models seem to be okay. Popular here for boats with
cockpit-well mounted outboards - where two strokes stink/smoke out the
cockpit.
6hp seems light for a 27' boat. I use a 10hp "extra long" shaft with
large "sail drive" prop 2 stroke Suzuki, transom mounted on our 7.65m boat:
http://commondatastorage.googleapis....l/17900980.jpg

In good conditions, it's overkill - easy cruise at near hull speed at
about 1/3 throttle and about 3-4 litres/hour, but in a heavy conditions
I need it - ie pushing in to 2-3+ metre short seas and 30+ knots without
any sail up (yes - it's got sails, but sometimes...). It's not that I
mind going slow, it's just that I like to know that I can keep good
tiller steerage when it all starts to turn to custard. Transom on my
boat is quite high, so far (10 years) we haven't been pooped or afaik
buried the outboard.
The motor's getting old - no significant corrosion problems. I just
revamped the oil injection system (after temporarily removing it because
I lost faith that it would be reliable) and had the head off for a good
clean out, and it's fine, but at some stage I want to replace it.
Problem is that for 10hp, long shaft, large prop preferably with reverse
exhaust flange, decent charging circuit, and 4 stroke for better
economy, it all starts getting very heavy and expensive.
Was looking at Chinese outboards "Parsun" Yamaha knock-offs. They
/seem/ to be well made. In 10 years I suppose we'll have some idea if
they /are/ well made. I'm not buying one to find out.