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Don't know what size the pontoon is but I doubt the 40hp is big enough. Go
w/ max hp on the boat or at least within 10 hp of max until you get to a 90 hp engine. If you go w/ too small an engine you will run it wide open all the time and will burn a lot more fuel. As for the brand - Honda, Yamaha, Merc are all good. Go w/ best price, best local dealer, best local dealer service, local dealer closest to your location. Weight all these factors. -- Tony my boats and cars at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com "MrObvious" wrote in message ... Hi all, I have a friend (really!) that wants to buy a 40HP four stroke for a new pontoon. He is set on four stroke, wants it quiet and reliable, top speed is probably not a critical factor. Environmentally friendly, did I mention that? I've helped *try* to do some research on Honda vs. Yamaha (vs. Suzuki vs. Tohatsu etc.), and I usually find what I want on the net, but I've found precious little that does any comparsion of quality, customer satisfaction, reliability, and what I've found generally is the high end. So, if anybody has any thoughts, has been through this and would like to share their expertise, please pass it on. thanks! Glenn Good |
Already said, but dealer support is a big deal. Suzuki is offering a 6 year
warranty. That's also a big deal if you have a dealer nearby. http://www.suzukimarine.com/showsanddeals/gimme/ I had one Suzuki - a 4hp kicker and it was problem free. Dan MrObvious wrote: Hi all, I have a friend (really!) that wants to buy a 40HP four stroke for a new pontoon. He is set on four stroke, wants it quiet and reliable, top speed is probably not a critical factor. Environmentally friendly, did I mention that? I've helped *try* to do some research on Honda vs. Yamaha (vs. Suzuki vs. Tohatsu etc.), and I usually find what I want on the net, but I've found precious little that does any comparsion of quality, customer satisfaction, reliability, and what I've found generally is the high end. So, if anybody has any thoughts, has been through this and would like to share their expertise, please pass it on. thanks! Glenn Good |
Thanks, Tony. It looked to me like the EFI's pretty much started at 50HP
which to me is at least one good reason to move up. Glenn "tony thomas" wrote in message news:JMUNd.25362$C24.2027@attbi_s52... Don't know what size the pontoon is but I doubt the 40hp is big enough. Go w/ max hp on the boat or at least within 10 hp of max until you get to a 90 hp engine. If you go w/ too small an engine you will run it wide open all the time and will burn a lot more fuel. As for the brand - Honda, Yamaha, Merc are all good. Go w/ best price, best local dealer, best local dealer service, local dealer closest to your location. Weight all these factors. -- Tony my boats and cars at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com "MrObvious" wrote in message ... Hi all, I have a friend (really!) that wants to buy a 40HP four stroke for a new pontoon. He is set on four stroke, wants it quiet and reliable, top speed is probably not a critical factor. Environmentally friendly, did I mention that? I've helped *try* to do some research on Honda vs. Yamaha (vs. Suzuki vs. Tohatsu etc.), and I usually find what I want on the net, but I've found precious little that does any comparsion of quality, customer satisfaction, reliability, and what I've found generally is the high end. So, if anybody has any thoughts, has been through this and would like to share their expertise, please pass it on. thanks! Glenn Good |
I have a 60 merc EFI 2002 with about 900 hopurs on it and I am very happy. My
neighbor has a 40 Evinrude/Suzuki and had nothing but trouble with it. He is #156 or so in the bankruptsy suit. They had promised him a new motor ... now he is in line. This is salt water, the Suzy may do better on a lake |
MrObvious wrote:
Hi all, I have a friend (really!) that wants to buy a 40HP four stroke for a new pontoon. He is set on four stroke, wants it quiet and reliable, top speed is probably not a critical factor. Environmentally friendly, did I mention that? I've helped *try* to do some research on Honda vs. Yamaha (vs. Suzuki vs. Tohatsu etc.), and I usually find what I want on the net, but I've found precious little that does any comparsion of quality, customer satisfaction, reliability, and what I've found generally is the high end. So, if anybody has any thoughts, has been through this and would like to share their expertise, please pass it on. I have a 25 foot pontoon boat and it has a Honday and I really like it. HOWEVER I might not buy another Honday after a really bad dealer experiance... |
On Mon, 7 Feb 2005 20:27:13 -0500, "MrObvious"
wrote: Hi all, I have a friend (really!) that wants to buy a 40HP four stroke for a new pontoon. He is set on four stroke, wants it quiet and reliable, top speed is probably not a critical factor. Environmentally friendly, did I mention that? I've helped *try* to do some research on Honda vs. Yamaha (vs. Suzuki vs. Tohatsu etc.), and I usually find what I want on the net, but I've found precious little that does any comparsion of quality, customer satisfaction, reliability, and what I've found generally is the high end. So, if anybody has any thoughts, has been through this and would like to share their expertise, please pass it on. 1 - Get the max horsepower for the pontoon - these things are almost always under powered. 2 - Get a two stroke - in particular E-TEC. Quieter than a four stroke, more efficient, cheaper to run and better looking. :) Later, Tom |
On Mon, 7 Feb 2005 20:27:13 -0500, "MrObvious"
wrote: Hi all, I have a friend (really!) that wants to buy a 40HP four stroke for a new pontoon. He is set on four stroke, wants it quiet and reliable, top speed is probably not a critical factor. Environmentally friendly, did I mention that? I've helped *try* to do some research on Honda vs. Yamaha (vs. Suzuki vs. Tohatsu etc.), and I usually find what I want on the net, but I've found precious little that does any comparsion of quality, customer satisfaction, reliability, and what I've found generally is the high end. So, if anybody has any thoughts, has been through this and would like to share their expertise, please pass it on. thanks! Glenn Good I spent 8 months in Japans Honda Outboard division as a consultant. I can assure you Hondas are the best unit out there. I currently have four of the 250 units, hung on the back of my 32' Baja. Each have over 1000 hours on them, with nothing done, and still running strong. |
The only reason to buy a two stroke these days is for a dinghy, where
the lighter weight really can make a difference as you try to put the motor on while the boat is wiggling about under you. Also sometimes the way the whole unit is mounted on the back of your boat may not allow the four stroke to lie the way is has to and keep the oil from running out. Otherwise the noise, smell, resell and fuel use demand a four stroke. I like Honda. Capt. Jeff |
Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Mon, 7 Feb 2005 20:27:13 -0500, "MrObvious" wrote: Hi all, I have a friend (really!) that wants to buy a 40HP four stroke for a new pontoon. He is set on four stroke, wants it quiet and reliable, top speed is probably not a critical factor. Environmentally friendly, did I mention that? I've helped *try* to do some research on Honda vs. Yamaha (vs. Suzuki vs. Tohatsu etc.), and I usually find what I want on the net, but I've found precious little that does any comparsion of quality, customer satisfaction, reliability, and what I've found generally is the high end. So, if anybody has any thoughts, has been through this and would like to share their expertise, please pass it on. 1 - Get the max horsepower for the pontoon - these things are almost always under powered. 2 - Get a two stroke - in particular E-TEC. Quieter than a four stroke, more efficient, cheaper to run and better looking. :) Later, Tom & an experimental technology based on Ficht; the same technology that summarily put OMC, 7000 workers & US 1.3 BIL of retirees' money feet up in a table drain:-) But hey!!! Tom has lots of experience after all his failure rate with Ficht is 1 in 3!!! Even worse than the 1 in 5 admitted by Ficht:-) K & the Krause lie of the day is........ from what we call the "father" series, this is a sad collection of lies about the mythical father, much the same as immature school kids make up. The sad part is that a man in his 50s would be so ashamed of his father's real achievements that he besmirches his memory with such infantile lies. My father, who died in the 1970s, was a fairly well known boating sportsman in the New England-New York area. He was a boat dealer and marina operator. For grins, he raced hydroplanes and utility outboards in the late 40's and early 50's, and won the Albany to New York race twice and a number of other races. For many years, he always had the *fastest* boat on Long Island Sound. I don't know whether that was true, but I don't recall anyone with a faster boat, and he drove all over looking for them. The boat, which changed from year to year, was always called "Bob's Hope." Later, he drove a twin 50-hp Evinrude powered Swedish boat across the North Atlantic in winter as a publicity stunt for a line of Swedish boats he was distributing in New England. Came over the lee of a tanker. He owned a *lot* of boats, including a PT boat for a while and a DUCK. I don't know that I have more experience with boats than anyone in here. I've been boating since I was about 7 or so, and that was 50 years ago. I've owned a *lot* of different kinds of boats. What *you* believe is your business. Frankly, I don't give a damn. Also of course, note the "in winter":-) My father and his chief mechanic once crossed the Atlantic in winter in a 22' boat powered by twin outboards. Yes, it is possible, even the fuel. Got a "fireboat" welcome in NYC. |
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