New Outboard

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Lucky Drifter
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New Outboard

Post by Lucky Drifter »

Hi Everyone
We have a 2002 26X with a Suzuki DF50 four stroke. We had some engine fuel pump problems so have taken her out of the water to repair. Have now found the oil has turned milky white. The engine is original 2002 model & am thinking maybe its time to get a new engine. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with a smaller outboard. Maybe a 30 hp four stroke Yamaha or Honda or similar. I am thinking that it may be better for sailing with less weight on the stern.
Any information greatly appreciated
Best Regards
Len & Steph
Lucky Drifter
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DownSouth
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Re: New Outboard

Post by DownSouth »

We still have the original Honda BF50 which runs well, yours may have blown the head gasket which is fixable of course as a new 50hp is A$10k ish? A repair may be 20% of that? Maybe worth asking a mechanic.

If our 50 blew up I doubt we would repower with a motor that big. If you don’t have enough power to plane (ie less than 50hp such as 30hp won’t get it on the plane) then I think the combined wisdom is a 9.9hp High Thrust motor like Yamaha sell is a great option. It will easily push a 26X ehen I think the combined wisdom is a 9.9hp High Thrust motor like Yamaha sell is a great option. It will easily push a 26X even with it’s high freeboard. You may get some replies that you should buy a 90hp etc which is a small fortune in Australia and is unlikely to help the sailing I would have thought?

Hope that helps, there are many threads on this forum on the topic.

DownSouth (Victoria)
Lucky Drifter
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Re: New Outboard

Post by Lucky Drifter »

Thanks DownSouth that is good advice I hadn't of going to a 9.9 hp but have been on lots of bigger yachts than a 26X with about the same horse power. Certainly a lot cheaper than a 50hp. Our main consideration is to have about 10 knots for crossing our barred river entrance. I will see if I can find the topics on the forum
Regards
Lucky Drifter
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Tomfoolery
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Re: New Outboard

Post by Tomfoolery »

I don’t think 10 hp will get you to 10 kts. That’s above ‘hull speed’, and in the plowing speed range where it plows up a big wake and takes a lot of power to do it.
Tom
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Herschel
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Re: New Outboard

Post by Herschel »

We had this come up recently on another thread: This was my $.02 worth. Not sure how that works out in AUD$ 8) , but here it is:
"When my Merc 50 h.p. died back in 2013, I was faced with a similar quandary. I finally decided to replace it with a 50 h.p. Yamaha. I figured it was good to keep the boat capable of doing what it was designed to do regardless of my usage pattern as that might change over time. Plus, it would keep my resale value at the appropriate level. I keep my boat in a marina slip on the St. Johns River system in Florida so there is a lot of opportunity for cruising by engine and sailing on the lakes. I decided that part of my hesitation was just the shock of the cost of the 50 h.p. engine and that was like anything that breaks and the replacement cost is not currently in the budget. As I type this, I am anticipating replacing my home air conditioning system next Tuesday at a $5K level of expense. Ouch! But, once you adjust to the "new" reality and make plans for the expense, it works out. I am glad I stayed with the 50 h.p. engine. If for no other reason, I have bragging rights with my Hunter 26 marina mates. :) No, seriously, I do enjoy the power cruising down river. We have a railroad bridge to pass through and sometimes they need me to crank it on so I can squeeze in between trains. :P" and I followed that up with this piece of a post: "...my wife and I did get out on Lake Monroe for a motor around today despite the heat. It is just good to be out on the water. And, Oh, yes, that 50 h.p. did come in handy for keeping a nice flow of air over and through the cockpit. 8)
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NiceAft
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Re: New Outboard

Post by NiceAft »

The question I have Herschel, is what was the factor that convinced you the Yamaha was the correct choice over either a Honda or Mercury?
Ray ~~_/)~~
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Herschel
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Re: New Outboard

Post by Herschel »

NiceAft wrote: Sat Aug 15, 2020 2:58 pm The question I have Herschel, is what was the factor that convinced you the Yamaha was the correct choice over either a Honda or Mercury?
Good question. I priced Mercury engines at several dealers including Bas Pro Shops plus other local dealers. I shopped a couple of Yamaha dealers and compared prices. Neither Suzuki nor Honda are widely popular in this area. You do see some Hondas around the marina especially the 9.9 h.p. ones on boats like the Hunter 26's, but few Suzuki and virtually no Daihatsu. There was an Evinrude dealer about 35 miles away, but I figured that was too far to go for servicing since I keep my boat in a marina slip. My marina has a good repair shop, but they clearly recommend Yamahas, as I discovered after I bought my Yamaha. All of the Towboat US boats that towed me in when my Merc went on the fritz had Yamaha engines. I took notice. So, boating providence seemed to be gently pushing me into the Yamaha community both in terms of quality and reliability, but, also, cost and service availability. When one of the Yamaha dealers offered me a good price and a substantial trade in for my non-operating Merc, that sealed the deal. I do have an older 2 h.p. Honda for my dinghy, but it was given to me, so I no real choice there. Hope that helps.
DownSouth
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Re: New Outboard

Post by DownSouth »

Lucky Drifter wrote: Sat Aug 15, 2020 5:51 am Thanks DownSouth that is good advice I hadn't of going to a 9.9 hp but have been on lots of bigger yachts than a 26X with about the same horse power. Certainly a lot cheaper than a 50hp. Our main consideration is to have about 10 knots for crossing our barred river entrance. I will see if I can find the topics on the forum
Regards
Lucky Drifter
Mmmmm a bar crossing that may change things a bit, we don’t have many of those here - not that I would take a 26X over on an average day anyway. So I am not that experienced at it but have done it in other boats occasionally. I was on the back of a National Parks boat going over the Narooma bar, at one stage our feet were in the air as we hit every wave hanging onto the panic bar..... how difficult is your bar?

The issue is that hull speed is around 6knots ish and you need a lot of power to go above this very inefficiently until you get the hull planing where you need a bit less to keep it there. Would you really plane a flat hulled boat at the waves coming in over the bar though? Usually a job for v hulled fishing boats with 115hp, I assume you would pick your days and just motor at hull speed?
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NiceAft
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Re: New Outboard

Post by NiceAft »

Herschel wrote:
Hope that helps.
Yes it does, thanks.
Ray ~~_/)~~
Lucky Drifter
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Re: New Outboard

Post by Lucky Drifter »

Thanks for the replies
We are just north of Narooma at Moruya & yes Narooma can be a monster on a bad day. We are only planning on crossing Moruya bar on a good day but it is good to have the extra HP just in case conditions change while you are at sea. We sometimes do the coast trip to Batemans Bay & back.
Sounds like we will keep looking for some extra HP as I really like to have at least 10 knots to have some speed over the ground on an out going tide. Our first option is for our mechanic to have a look at Suzuki water in the oil. I'm just wary of spending too much money on an 18 year old engine.
Regards
Lucky Drifter
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Tomfoolery
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Re: New Outboard

Post by Tomfoolery »

Lucky Drifter wrote: Sun Aug 16, 2020 6:30 pmOur first option is for our mechanic to have a look at Suzuki water in the oil.
Which oil? Motor oil in the engine, or lower unit gear oil?
Tom
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Lucky Drifter
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Re: New Outboard

Post by Lucky Drifter »

We have milky white engine oil. When we can we will get the mechanic to check it out. I'm trying to flush it out now.
There is none in the cylinders. Not sure if its from head casket or corroded water passages.
Any ideas on how to flush greatly appreciated. I'm just flushing & draining with new oil.
Lucky Drifter
wakataka
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Re: New Outboard

Post by wakataka »

I noticed the oil in my Yamaha F50 was getting milky last winter. It happened slowly, over a period of several months, when the weather was generally very wet and cool. I was expecting to need a head gasket, so I pulled the boat out and brought it home. When I was running the engine out of the water (on ear muffs) I noticed that the stream coming out the pee-hole would never get warm. That led me to the suspect the thermostat, which I found was stuck wide open. This meant that the engine oil was never getting up to proper temperature. In cool wet weather, water condenses inside the crankcase and slowly contaminates the oil. When the thermostat is working properly, the oil gets hot and the water evaporates from it every time the engine is running. In my case, a new thermostat and an oil change was all that was needed to solve the problem. The oil stays nice and clear now. You might want to check the thermostat just in case you're having the same problem.
Lucky Drifter
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Re: New Outboard

Post by Lucky Drifter »

Thanks Wakatakea
You may be right, we certainly do not do enough hours for the engine to get hot, hopefully the mechanic can sort it out.
I did find something on HP v speed BWY suggest that a 30 HP will give about 10 knots & a 50 HP about 15 knots.
I also like the idea of less weight. The 30HP Suzuki is 30 KG lighter than the 50 HP
Hopefully it won't come to needing a new engine.
Lucky Drifter
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