Out Stranded in the Cold

[BobCardz]

We have heard about a couple of Honda's and a Suzuki ? Any one else out there who owned a late model motor and had to call for a tow home. And what brand of motor was it?

Is there an old faithful motor out there?

[craiglaforce]

Tohatsu of course is very reliable. They may be the most reliable motors on the market. My '97 Tohatsu 50 has not needed any repairs yet (other than an overheat sensor that was set too low). Just routine preventative maintenance. Iboats.com is a great source of motor info. You can get a good feel for the issues with the different motors just by reading the posts. Really most of the outboards are pretty reliable. I think a lot of the problems are outside of the motor like bad fuel, air leaks in the fuel line.

But don't forget it is a sailboat!

[mike]

But don't forget it is a sailboat!

True! This fact probably saved us a lot of grief on our aborted trip a few weekends ago. We were far enough away from home when our motor started misbehaving that we probably would have had to call the SeaTow captain in Gulfport, and I'm not sure whether or not he would have been willing to tow us all they way back to our slip (instead, he'd probably want to just tow us in to Gulfport). If we were in a normal motorboat, we would have been at his mercy. Instead, we simply spent the day sailing most of the way back home, and called our local SeaTow guy when it became apparent that continuing through the choppy and windy lake and passing through drawbridges with a flaky motor was a risky proposition.

--Mike

[mark,97x]

april 13 had to be towed from my slip to the trailer dock,some how the fuel got into the oil crankcase,,loaded the boat and towed over 100 mile's to the dealer,,four weeks later picked up the boat(he said he was waiting on parts)and was told the diaphram in the fuel pump had ruptured on my 2002 yamaha 4/s,haven't had a chance to take back to my slip yet,(but was able to make pictures for tony of the trailer because the boat was in the yard) no fun here

[Mark Prouty]

Last summer I was sailing around Isle Royale on Lake Superior in a sailboat with a small kicker motor. The kicker motor was a new Briggs and Stratton 5hp outboard. The drive shaft broke when I was in one of the inlets. This after several other problems I had with the motor. It was about 30 miles to get back to the marina. I called the coast guard for help and my call was intercepted by another sailor. The other sailor loaned me his 6hp Nissan so I could get back. Talk about a favor!!

Briggs & Stratton gave me an 80% refund.

Briggs & Stratton 5hp outboard:
Like a dinasaur compared to the Nissan
Poor quality - not even a latch for the up position, frequently stalled, trouble shifting into gear.
Very noisy air cooled 4 stroke engine
Literally a lawn mower motor mounted on a lower unit

[craiglaforce]

I guess I shouldn't have been quite so positive. I think 3 vendors are pretty shakey quality for outboards. Force, Cruise and Carry, Sears , and I guess Briggs and Stratton joins the list.

[Mark Prouty]

I had my credit card out ready to buy a 6hp Nissan from Cabella's when Chip pointed out that a Tohatsu is the same motor.

He provided this site: Tohatsu

Saved me a couple of hundred bucks. I now am a proud owner of a 6hp 4 stroke Tohatsu.

Interestingly, I was checking out the 2 stroke Tahatsu on this site. On going to the site the 2nd or third time, I noticed the 2 strokes displayed there were gone. I asked the salesman and he said the Tahatsu/Nissan no longer makes a 2 stroke.

We are seeing the dawn of the demise of the stinky oily 2 stroke!

Yes!

[craiglaforce]

They still make a 2 stroke, but it is a very high tech one that is probably the motor of the future.

[Mark Prouty]

I see they have 2 strokes on that site. I must have been in a time warp.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

My '96 Tohatsu 50 has been rock solid. Change the lower unit oil every so often ($10), put in a set of plugs every year or two ($10), and feed it gas.

No other maintenance required other than keeping it clean and flushed. Starts first time everytime. Nice to have such a light motor on the boat.

The new TLDI two strokes meet every EPA and California requirement, two strokes are not dead.

[sailpsych]

What does the TLDI stand for?

Is it possible they may open it up on Lake Tahoe if that is the case?

Does Lake Tahoe even allow outboards anymore?

B

[Jesse Days Pacific Star 2]

I second what Duane just wrote. Our Nissan is an awesome outboard!!!
Jesse

[Jesse Days Pacific Star 2]

Visit http://www.nissanmarine.com/products/50_tldi.html for a look at the Nissan 50 TLDI

[BobCardz]

TLDI

Not your grandfather's 2 Stroke.

Is that a Hemi?

[Mark Prouty]

Q: What is TLDI?
A: TLDI (Two stroke Low pressure Direct Injection) is a powerful direct fuel injection system that reduces emissions over conventional carbureted 2-stroke motors while also greatly increasing fuel and oil economy. The 40 hp TLDI is currently the smallest outboard on the market with a direct fuel injection system. With a TLDI outboard, you get all the efficiencies of a 4-stroke outboard and all of the power of a 2-stroke outboard in one.

Let me add carburated to my previous post:
We are seeing the dawn of the demise of the stinky oily carburated 2 stroke!