New Outboard - Which One

[GT912]

Guys

Last month i purchased a Honwave T40 with a honda 6hp... since taking it out on the coat at tenby, ive found that the engine is not as strong as i exspected it to be...

So, im gunna get another outboard, with more cc.

So, whats the opinion of the Team.. in regards to my following requirements

1. What is considered to be the best engine make on the market.
2. What engine, vibrates less and is less noisy than others in it class
3. What cc would you recommend for my T40
4. Which company would you recommend i deal with, that provides excellent customer service and best deals

Looking forward to your replies

Regards
GT

[harrison]

Well depends on your budget.

If it was my money I’d be looking at one of the new breed of efi 20hp motors. They are all lightweight and tip the scales at 43 to 45kg

These are;
Suzuki 20 efi
Tohatsu 20 efi
Mercury 20 efi
Mariner 20 efi

The Merc/Mariner are made by Tohatsu and are basically the same engine....Merc has a fancy adjustable tiller...pretty neat.

Nothing to choose between the the big six makes in terms of reliability so can go with nearest dealer, best deal, best looking, whatever.

[chris moody]

A T40 is a heavy boat at 86kg unladen and is rated for up to 30hp. I'd agree with @harrison in that one of the new lightweight efi 20hp outboards would be the best option. A 15hp will likely be just as heavy as a 20hp, and I'd be worried 15hp might be a bit lacking in performance once you start loading a T40 up with lots of passengers. I'm not sure a 30hp is the way to go as that's going to be a very heavy beast to lug around and get on and off the transom.

My money would be being spent on a 45kg 20hp

[Andy]

Thats why i bought the Suzi 20HP for mine

[GT912]

Thanks guys, are honda's not that as good as the outboards that harrison mentioned??

[harrison]

Nothing wrong with Honda’s at all it’s just that they’re still running an older design carb model. Still great and not much heavier at just over 46kg

PS: Watch out for any killer deals on Merc and especially Mariners....they’ll probably be old stock carb models and weigh in at 52kg.

[Martin]

Much of this changes as the newer outboards surface.
Some say the fancy tiller options are a superb modification, personally I hate it and much prefer the forward/reverse lever on a simple tiller such as the Suzuki.

As said, many of the new efi’s are similar in weight. The tohatsu and Suzuki are pretty much like for like.
Me personally, I’m a massive Suzuki fan, they make superb motors.
Honda just seem a little old man’ish to me, I don’t have a reason why, they just seem that way
I’m not a big fan of the mariner, I’ve seen a few issues where the odd shaped leg causes splash over the transom on the smaller craft.

There’s a new Yamaha on the market, a 25hp at around 52kg I think (double check the weight)
That may well be one for the future.

If you can manage a 44kg outboard and afford to but the 20hp over the 15hp, I’d say do that.. more horses for the same weight is always a better option especially with a heavy Ali floor sib.
Whatever you go for- try and stick with the efi over the carb model. They are super reliable and economical.

Where to buy..
ELY boat chandlery would be a good place to start.

Martin

[ChrisParish]

I would generally agree with what people have said above.
Assuming you are buying new then I’d go Suzuki or Mariner. I love the look of the new mariner tiller - it has a conventional shift lever again now; previous versions has the shift as part of the twist grip.

There are some awesome older engines knocking around, but if your budget will run to it then buy new and buy once.

The new 25hp Yamaha is 57kg - not light, but way lighter than any other 25!

[harrison]

There’s a new Yamaha on the market, a 25hp at around 52kg I think (double check the weight)
That may well be one for the future.

Yes that’s interesting Martin.

I didn’t mention any 25 or 30’s as at 60 to 70kg for myself they’re just too damn heavy to be portable. However if your keeping boat and motor on a trailer then yes, worth considering.

The brand new efi Yamaha 25hp tipping the scales at 57kg is currently the lightest. Interestingly I think there is also a new Yamaha efi 20 based on the same 432cc block and the same weight...so heavy for a 20 but potentially much more torques with 100cc advantage over the opposition. Strange marketing by Yam methinks.

A bit heavier at 62kg and 490cc’s comes the Suzuki 25 followed by the Tohatsu/Merc 25 and 30 even heavier at 72kg but sporting 526cc’s.

Starting to get a bit complicated methinks.

Martin....not come across the Mariner lower leg profile being problematic and causing excessive splashing, interesting...always put that down to poor set up. Anyway assuming the new efi Tohatsu/Merc/Mariner all same lower leg now.

[GT912]

Ok Guys,

Been sifting through the specs

I think ive settled on the MERCURY MARINER F 20 EFI SHORT SHAFT.

Whats the teams view on this , £2500 on ebay from a company called BMC Ltd

Is this a good deal ? is this gunna move this SIB of mine onto the plain and off coast

Regards
GT