Mike and Theis,

Thanks for the reply Mike. I have read your previous posts in this forum related to prop pitch. They were very helpful and clued me into the issue of prop pitch and moving heavy objects through the water. I am inclined to purchase a prop with a 7" pitch, since Nissan offers only 7", 8" or 9" pitch options.

I am delighted to know that an alternator option is available on the Nissan 6 hp. I will include that option in the package that I obtain.

I am curious to know how you go about flushing the motor with the flushing plug. Do you remove the motor from your boat prior to flushing it, or can you perform that operation with the bottom part of the motor still in the well, but out of the water? I am using a Garhauer lifting davit to raise and lower the motor due to a back-related lifting limitation.

I am also very curious about the vertical pull start cord feature. The horizontal pull cord on my old Honda 7.5 hp motor ran perilously close to the gasket on the hatch, and probably led to the demise of that gasket, to say nothing of the knuckle wounds on my right hand. Does the position of the Nissan 6 hp four-stroke motor in the well preclude use of the horizontal pull start cord, or do you feel that the vertical pull cord is merely a nice option? Do you have the option of using either vertical or horizontal cords on your motor or are you limited to only a vertical pull?

That's right Theis. The Nissan 6hp four-stroke motor is one cylinder. I assume that is why at 55 lbs it is much lighter than the 6 hp Yamaha, which weighs in at 83lbs. The very good news from Mike's post is that an alternator is available on this engine. This is news to me even though I have spoken to two dealers. And of course the fact that the thing fits in the well is a minor miracle. After lugging around my old Heavy Honda 7.5 the 55 lb Nissan 6 hp four-stroke motor seems like a very nice solution.