Boat Engines

[Zach Matthews]

Hey guys –

I don’t know anything about boat engines, so I have some pretty dumb questions I hope you will help me with.

1) Are marine, as in saltwater, engines different from freshwater?

2) What do the terms ‘two-stroke, four-stroke, etc.’ really mean?

[steve howard]

1. Their ability to take the abuse of saltwater without being cleaned and maintained is the difference – someone may have a more technical answer.

2. Two-stroke vs. Four-stroke (this will answer the next one) – Two-stroke is a mixture engine while four-stroke in not. In a four-stroke you have engine oil, but no premix.

4. Evinrude, Honda, Mercury, Johnson (here is a link: http://www.boatmotors.com/

5. Good reading http://www.a1discountprop.com/propinfo.htm

6. Depends on how fast you want to run and weight you will be carrying. 80-100 hp “should be” suffucient under larger water conditions.

Here is a start.
Steve

[Ian Crabtree]

where’s the yamaha love?

[Mike Anderson]

1. The difference is more sacrificial anodes on a salty motor and they usually come from the factory with a Flush kit already installed. Beware when buying a used saltwater motor!!!

2. Without getting into the mechanics of it I would just recommend you go with a Four stroke. They have come along way and are much quieter, fuel efficient, and cleaner running then a 2. That’s all that you can buy in a new motor now anyways.

3. Not with a 4 stroke.

4. Yamaha, Honda, Mercury, Johnson, Evinrude

5 A three gives better top end (gets more boat out of the water) and usually is the faster prop. A four is faster out of the hole and usually a more stable ride (more boat in the water). This doesn’t really mean squat on smaller motors.

6. Knowing you Zach I would go either with the Max recommended HP or 5 to 10 over. The ratings vary alot. For a Gheenoe style boat a 25 is a good start. For a Carolina Skiff I think a 40 is about right.

[Zach Matthews]

Knowing you Zach I would go either with the Max recommended HP or 5 to 10 over.

Hahaha, is that because of my size or my impatience?

[Phil Landry]

One other thing to consider when comparing motors for a particular boat is motor weight.

[steve howard]

where’s the yamaha love?

Whoops, left them off the list.

[ron snow]

Hahaha, is that because of my size or my impatience?  Hahahha.  Thanks guys, this is a big help already.

So, say I’m interested in a freshwater 25 hp outboard with a normal prop.  What are my options in terms of best bang-for-buck?  Is a used freshwater engine a good buy?  How do the various steering options affect price: for instance, say my boat is a center console like the one on the left here:

http://www.customgheenoe.com

Will that center-console steering system make for added price?  (Surely it will).  I’m actually leaning toward trying to find a used Custom DH Gheenoe, which is basically a transom-steered flat skiff with lots of storage (since the deck is almost total), and a poling platform.  These seem to be the most available on the used market.  The custom on the far left on their main page sold for $10,800 all told used, which is about twice what I want to spend.

[dave schlick]

[Carter Simcoe]

Too small of an engine can be just as dangerous in the wrong conditions too.

[dave schlick]

[bill hall]

2 strokes turn fast rpm, quicker out the hole, weights less, noiser, cheaper price
4 stroke slower

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