Outboard Discussions

[Scott Galloway]

Thanks Mike,

My dealer is a boat yard, and so the folks there are very knowledgeable about most things marine, but apparently they don't sell too many Nissan 6 hp four-stroke motors. I haven't had a call back from them since I asked for info on the charging, vertical pull cord, and prop options last Thursday.

I like to deal locally when possible, but I may have to look around a bit, or order on-line. A friend of mine had a good experience with http://www.nissan-outboards.com/
when he bought a new Nissan 6 hp four-stroke motor last fall.

Now the idea of ordering two Nissans at once to save shipping costs is intriguing. All I need now is two motor wells for my new twin 6 hp Nissan motor array.

[Theis]

That's an interesting way to get a two cylinder power plant.

[ebb]

mind if I ask you guys something?...
One time I was in the marine convenience stow, I bought for the new power plant: the 8/4 Yamaha hi-thrust electric this and that, I bought a boxed and blisterpacked convenience strap made for outboards to lift the bloody thing.

When I tried to get it on the motor I found that the wires wandering around the ob shaft and case wouldn't allow the sewn together web harness to be slipped on as intended.

Of course we lashed our own strap around it and managed to lift and lower the ob into the newly configured well that had to be made to fit the monster.

The fitting process has taken a while and the strap is permanently married to the unit.

Any suggestions? Can't leave the strap there. right? Gotta get the case off for service. Can't find convenient hook-on points on the ob casting to clip on a temporary type lifting harness. Want to lift the motor straight up and in total control when necessary. 110#!!! Have the feeling I'm really missing something. Could sew together my own custom dohickey later on. Just can't see wrastling with this thing on the water if it doesn't have a perfectly secure harness What to do????

[D. Fox]

Mike, who are you using to service your Nissan in the HR area. Just curious. Thanks,

Dan

[Scott Galloway]

Ebb,

I used a Garhauer lifting davit on my Honda 7.5 four-stroke motor with an alternator, but a pull start. I left a West Marine issue standard lifting harness in place. My harness is made of one-inch webbing and fits around and under the motor head, rather than clipping onto the motor in any way. The harness attaches only to itself. I slipped the harness around the motor and adjusted it securely with some effort. The harness made removing the motor cover a pain, and more so because I had to augment the harness with a couple of additional lines to make it more secure. These added lines would not have been necessary, if I had not needed to lay the motor down into a horizontal position in the lazarette locker. In moving the motor from a vertical to a horizontal position, there was initially some harness slippage, and that is why I added lines. My motor weighed 70 plus lbs.

I once had to remove the motor from the well to deal with a prop issue at sea. I used the Garhauer davit with a certain degree of risk. I was able to lift it under light wind conditions while my ninety-year-old helmsman steered a true and steady course so that the boom would stay on the lee (starboard) side of the boat while I worked with my trusty davit on the windward (port) side.

A photo of the davit and motor is attached. In the next post you will see the augmented harness on the stored motor.

[Scott Galloway]

Here is the stored Honda 7.5 hp four-stroke motor in the lazarette locker of my Ariel. Since I am now in the process of purchasing a replacement motor, and I will have to modify my harness to accommodate that motor, any comments or criticisms of my methodology will be appreciated.

[Mike Goodwin]

Dan,

I use Lacquer Specialties , John is great to deal with . He is located near Military Circle on Hargrove St.
Phone # 757-461-4568

[ebb]

hello Scott,
I remember mine is a Davis. I just looked it up in the WM catalog, where it is called a Motor Caddy. I remember I tried every which away to get it on. It was sewn where it had to slip under the motor by the clamp. It couldn't come apart to bypass the electric lift wires.

I will swear, therefor that the elaborate description in the catalog does not apply to the Yamaha hi-thrust 8/4.

There's another on the same page that looks just the same. Like you do, you have to leave them on if you unship the motor frequently. Obviously these harnesses should be designed to be put on the motor from the top.

Seems to me there should be a two part model made that has aa adjustable collar with D-rings on it that goes round the neck of the motor. It could be kept in the proper position with velcro dots And two, three or four adjustable straps with hooks on one end and loops on the other for the crane.

Why not invent something that people won't have to get p.o.'d at all the time!

Keep thinking I must have missed something

[Scott Galloway]

Ebb,

The harness on my Honda 7.5 is also a West Marine sold Davis Motor Caddy. You can see my supplemental (white) lines in the above photo of my motor. Also note the royal blue webbing strap on top of the motor, which I tied onto the Davis Motor Caddy's padded black lifting strap. The padded strap was too thick to permit attachment of the carabiner on the lifting davit. The carabiner on my lifting davit attaches to the royal blue strap.

[Mike Goodwin]

We picked up a matched pair of new Nissan 6hp 4 strokes for Ariel #45 and Commander #105 .
Will run them side by side with various props to determine best pitch to push boat .
55lbs of sweet quiet nearly clean propulsion.

[D. Fox]

I'll be very interested in the outcome. I have the 5hp Nissan 4 stroke (love it - as you said, clean and quiet) and still have the original prop. Thanks,

Dan

[Mike Goodwin]

Mercury ,Nissan & Tohatsu ( same motor, all made by Tohatsu ) recommend a 8x7 prop on the 6 ,5 & 4hp for displacement hulls ( the 4 comes with it ) the 6 & 5 come with a 'square prop' 8x8 ( actually 7.9x7.9 ).
My mechanic , from his experience , say to skip the 7 and drop to a 6 or 6.5 pitch . He's a licensed Nissan service center and seems to know what's up .
I'm going to buy a 8x7 try it and log with the GPS what it does then have it re-pitched to 8x6 and see what that does .
The following is over-simplified and not scientific;
at 4000 rpm the 8x8 prop is trying to go somewhere between 20 and 30 knots . Not going to happen on an Ariel .
At 4000 rpm the 8x6 prop is trying to go somewhere between 12 and 20 knots .
now you have slip and losses that can be 50% which brings you down to 6knots which is close to hull speed .
All that wasted revolutions on the 8x8 is like spinning the tires on a car , not getting you anywhere fast , the 8x6 is like switching to a fatter tire with more tread ,or a lower gear, that delivers all the bite to the road and propels you forward & stops you when you engage reverse.
The only drawback about downpitching ;
If you use the same motor on a dink or skiff that planes , it wont go as fast because you have shifted to a lower gear .
It only takes 5 minutes to switch props so buy a spare and have it pitched lower .

Mike G

[scottwilliams]

I PURCHASED THIS MOTOR AND AM CURRENTLY USING IT ON MY SAN JAUN 21 WHICH I HAVE RECENTLY RESTORED - IS THIS ENOUGH MOTOR FOR THE ARIEL . ? THANKS- SCOTT

[commanderpete]

This calculator says that you need 7.8 h.p. to push the boat at hull speed.

http://www.geocities.com/jvandrey/fl...alculator.html

But, hell, a Honda 4 stroke is a nice engine. Give it a whirl. It will get you in and out.

But, you won't make much progress against a chop or strong current.

I get currents of about 2.5 knots. Can be slow going, even with an 8 h.p.

If you get a new engine, be sure to get a long shaft.

[D. Fox]

I use a 5hp Nissan longshaft on my Bristol 27. I've been very happy with it. Its given me good power motoring into 20kt headwinds. The only time I found it lacking was motoring straight into steady 35kt winds, gusting to 45kts, with 2-3 ft waves. Couldn't get more than a couple kts in those conditions. My boat displaces 6600#, and I get 5 kts at 1/2 power in calm conditions. I went with the smaller motor to keep weight down in the stern - B27s (and Ariels I think) tend to squat with too much weight back there. There was a thread on this a couple months ago you may want to look at. Suggest you mount the motor and try it out for the remainder of the season and see if it meets your needs.

Dan