Outboard Discussions

[ebb]

Did not respond to Andrew Westgate's #187 post. Sorry!

I know my situation is unique. But 100 plus pound 8HP OBs are not out of the question.
And therefor are not readily removable from the well.
Although I think I've noticed that new (2010) Yamaha 4 X 8s have lost 20# and
now have the garden hose attachment conveniently under the hood.

Amazing!
In the OB world this is about as important an innovation as sliced bread!!!

I naturally have the older model that needs the rabbit ears and the motor to be running to flush.
[later EDIT: I believe the Yamaha is a 2002 model and has that garden hose fixture for flushing. NICE.]

Has anybody here noticed how the garden hose flush works?
Can this fitting be retroed to an older Yamaha?
Is there a kit available?


Assume that lighter two stroke 8HP models are now available that run a lot cleaner - equal to the California ordained four strokers.
I believe they are around 50 or 60 pounds.
I may have to find one of them (in Nevada?)
because well flooding IS a real problem.
Could probably man-handle a 2010 two-stroke in and out of the well.



I plan on installing a Garhauer lifting davit for the steroid Yamaha.
That means the motor could be lifted and flushed in a vertical position.
But that means messing with a strap contraption everytime.
Having to use this strap-thingy seems stupid to me, really.

Another invention for Yamaha to come up with are built-in lifting eyes that you
could hook or tie on to that would raise the motor in a balanced vertical position.
That would make it easy to mount the clamp.
Took a hundred years for the garden hose flush to appear..........

[Scott Galloway]

Ebb,

I have not looked at the current model Yahamas, but my Nissan 6 hp four stroke has been modified by inserting a fitting into the flushing port on the bottom of my Nissan, and then hose clamping the hose barb on that fitting onto a Yamaha garden hose flushing unit from a model that they made a few years back. They may still be using the same unit now.

The Yamaha device is just a piece of hose and a cool little bracket that attaches to the housing of a motor. the Bracket his a female threaded garden hose plug. It is permanently mounted to my Nissan motor housing. All I have to do is remove the line from my gas tank, lift my motor with my Garhauer Lifting Davit, and while the moor hangs there out of water, remove the Yamaha flushing hose from its bracket with my hand and again by hand attach the male end of the hose on that unit to female end of my dock hose. Then with the Nissan 6 running (as per the Nissan operations manual), I run the motor until I run the motor out of fuel thereby flushing the motor and draining the carburetor.

The built in lifting eyes would be handy. I use a Davis motor lift that must be removed to check the oil. Its a snap to remove and a pain to reattach when the motor is in the well.

[c_amos]

....Assume that lighter two stroke 8HP models are now available that run a lot cleaner - equal to the California ordained four strokers.
I believe they are around 50 or 60 pounds.
I may have to find one of them (in Nevada?).........

The 2-stroke Yamaha's are the same design that they have sold since the 80's. They used chrome rings, and a different needle after (96?) to get them to run on 100:1 mix (still no where near as clean as a 4 stroke).

I loved mine (it was a 100:1) and would probably ditch my new Tohatsu 4x6 for one. The problem is the only ones (if you can still find one) for sale in the US have been the short (15") shaft models favored for tender motors. I had a chance to buy one in the Abaco's and should have jumped on it.

Looks like they stopped even marketing the 15" model in the US now (it is no longer listed on the Yamaha USA site)... here is a link to it for the overseas market (same one they have sold for years).

[Orca]

My long shaft Tohatsu 6 worked pretty well but the zinc is so little that it was useless. After about two months on the mooring it was gone. This year I put bigger zinc by drilling through the captivation plate. At the end of the season I was bringing the boat over to the marina in a 30 knot wind when the motor failed (it kept running but raced as something went wrong with the prop or lower unit. It looks like the lower unit corroded through in a pinpoint hole. The bigger zinc method worked with my old outboard for 10 years so I'm not sure what happened. Looks like a $500 bill to buy a lower unit . . . not what I was expecting.

[c_amos]

My long shaft Tohatsu 6 worked pretty well but the zinc is so little that it was useless. After about two months on the mooring it was gone. This year I put bigger zinc by drilling through the captivation plate. At the end of the season I was bringing the boat over to the marina in a 30 knot wind when the motor failed (it kept running but raced as something went wrong with the prop or lower unit. It looks like the lower unit corroded through in a pinpoint hole. The bigger zinc method worked with my old outboard for 10 years so I'm not sure what happened. Looks like a $500 bill to buy a lower unit . . . not what I was expecting.

Wow!

I am sorry to hear this. Both for you, and for me! I sure hope you don't need a new lower unit, maybe it is just the pin?


I pull the motor out of the well now, but did not with the Yamaha (I sailed more days then i did not when I was in NC.)

The zinc issue is not for the daysailor, but for the cruiser (as I see it). When cruising, you are simply not likely to pull the motor each time you anchor.

Even if it were not difficult, it would not be advisable, sometimes things happen that you need the motor for on a 'dark and stormy night'.

My old Yamaha 6hp 2 stroke had a big zinc, and would be happy for 6 months in the water...