Bring Back Small 2-strokes capaign!

Fire99

Fire99

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Ok, this isn't an actual campaign, more the appreciation of how good little (2.5-5hp) 2-stroke outboards are.

My little mariner (2001 vintage) has just been treated to another little service and it purrs away with its own little character, sipping away at the good stuff and smelling quite pleasant too..
Certainly not perfect but IMO definitely fit for purpose. Simple, light and good power to weight. And it was made in Europe.. (Belgium....)

I only ever change about 4 parts and the reason being, other than the actual body of the thing, there aren't that many more parts to it!!

A chap I sail with has a 4-stroke Honda 2hp. Yep it's dependable but it's fussy, heavy and sounds like a mower. And it want oil, filters, putting down in a 'special' way and it has no character what so ever.

I honestly can't see what 'extra' harm my little Mariner is doing to the world than these oil-changey tractors, so I say bring 'em back.

Here rests the case of the defence!
 
I'm inclined to agree. My friend has a 2.5hp four-stroke and it's marginally heavier than my fifteen year old 4hp Yamaha. I've pensioned it off in favour of a last generation Tohatsu 3.5, which has the advantage of weighing about 2/3 of the old Yamaha. Both are much quieter than the Honda owned by the guy next to me. Simple and reliable is good in my book.

I can pick up either engine and lay it down any old way I can, nothing much to go wrong with it. There are dire warnings about doing that to four-strokes.

4-strokes have their place as marine engines but I don't think that place is as a powerhead for a small outboard.
 
But what about all the polluting oil they put into the water? :eek:

BTW the small Hondas are noisy because they are air cooled not because they are 4 strokes
I had ( well still have) an air cooled 2 stroke Volvo Penta outboard. It is noisier than the small Hondas, nearly as noisy as a Seagull!
 
The pollution thing is a red herring; sure old Seagulls left a rainbow streak in the water, but even that was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the multicoloured surface layer one gets in any diesel smeared fishing port.

I have a 1988 2hp Mariner 2 stroke, it's been dunked ( by the inflatable flipping in gales or deflating overnight ) 3 times - needed a set of main bearings but that's easy and cheap; it's quiet, reliable and light enough to lift with one hand, which I'd say is crucial for a tender engine.

I also have a 2002 5hp Mariner 2 stroke which has proved brilliant, neither engine leaves any visible trace of oil at all,the only smoke is a few seconds on start-up, and it's light enough to easily lift from my boats' outboard well and stow when on passage.

4 strokes should only be mandatory above say 10hp, the idiotic rule at the moment is causing a lot of bad backs and poorly trimmed boats and does zero towards the environment !
 
Agree about two strokes although i'm pleased with the honda that has replaced my seagull which died in service.

As to wet seagulls, I used to put a plastic bag over the air intake and seal it with an elastic band, PLug and points seemed to look after themselves - it was just water in the air intake that stopped mine starting - if you see what I mean
 
I dont have the "odd litre" of oil to dispose of but if I did it would join the odd 4 or 5 litres or so of old oil usually waiting in the corner of the garage for the next visit to the local "tip"

Even with two stroke outboards there are a few hundred cc of gearcase oil to dispose of very year
 
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Fire99 said:
Ok, this isn't an actual campaign, more the appreciation of how good little (2.5-5hp) 2-stroke outboards are.

My little mariner (2001 vintage) has just been treated to another little service and it purrs away with its own little character, sipping away at the good stuff and smelling quite pleasant too..
Certainly not perfect but IMO definitely fit for purpose. Simple, light and good power to weight. And it was made in Europe.. (Belgium....)

I only ever change about 4 parts and the reason being, other than the actual body of the thing, there aren't that many more parts to it!!

A chap I sail with has a 4-stroke Honda 2hp. Yep it's dependable but it's fussy, heavy and sounds like a mower. And it want oil, filters, putting down in a 'special' way and it has no character what so ever.

I honestly can't see what 'extra' harm my little Mariner is doing to the world than these oil-changey tractors, so I say bring 'em back.

Here rests the case of the defence!
Click to expand...
Actually it was assembled in Belgium from a Tohatsu stock - a hangover from the EEC local content rules.
I would agree that small 4-strokes are too heavy and too damage-prone for use as OB tenders by those of advanced years.
 
in a milk bottle

VicMallows said:
I also wonder where the old engine-oil actually ends up each time it is changed. Does EVERYONE carefully collect that odd litre of oil and transport it to an appropriate recycling point?; really, really?
Click to expand...

My little Honda is cracking little engine

very light, astonishingly powerful, wonderfully reliable, fantastically frugal


very happy to go down on its side

and here is the cracker.. it runs as long as you like at low revs

it is my second one - the first one I killed by failing to keep the clamps tight and attaching the kill chord to the engine cowl

my fault entirely

and I know that a seagull would have been through the same experience and come up laughing

as to the disposing of the oil

I have a habit of judging people by my own standards

hard to resist at times I know

I am sure that the days when it was acceptable to dispose of oil by pouring it into the gravel in the corner of a boat yard or flushing it down the drain have long gone

as for changing oil in small outboards

it goes into a 2 pint milk container

then once I have filled the engine with fresh oil the old oil is transferred back into the oil container. The next time some-one makes a trip to the dump they take it with them..

call me old fashioned if you like but doing that seems better than spraying it out in a fine mist into our wonderful marine environments.

Dylan

PS my boat has a sea toilet - or loo of last resort as I call it
 
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Seajet said:
The pollution thing is a red herring; sure old Seagulls left a rainbow streak in the water, but even that was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the multicoloured surface layer one gets in any diesel smeared fishing port.

1 x stinky fishing port vs zillions and zillions of stinky total loss outboards :)
Click to expand...
 
oldgit said:
Seajet said:
The pollution thing is a red herring; sure old Seagulls left a rainbow streak in the water, but even that was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the multicoloured surface layer one gets in any diesel smeared fishing port.

1 x stinky fishing port vs zillions and zillions of stinky total loss outboards :)
Click to expand...

I think you could do with a more accurate grasp of the figures involved...:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
 
All this two-stroke pollution pales into insignifance when I look up and often see up to six jet airliners poring out their pollution.
 
I realy-REALY wish I had a 5hp two stroke instead of my four stroke. I just cant lift it any more, its a real pain in the whatsit.

As we are in TURKEY now I can buy a brand new TWO STROKE Yippee.

Anyone want my 5hp four stroke (in turkey) very cheap!

Peter
 
I went looking at 2.5 - 3.5 outboards today and was appalled at the weight; around 18kg. To have that mounted on my pushpit will affect Ladybird's trim and thought of lowering it onto the dinghy transom gives me the willies.
So, the For Sale forum or fleebay here I come for a good 2-stroke outboard; unless I can find a 'professional user' who can acquire me a new one.
 
I agree wholeheartedly with the o/p. I have a small 5hp Tohatsu 2stroke which is light, quiet and powerful enough to easily plane our dinghy if I have a long trip to do. I reckon on average I use it for around 15 minutes in each anchorage to lay the pot and general messing about. At low revs I assume I use around 50mls of fuel or less. If 25% of the oil is ejected unburnt then around 0.25ml of oil pollutes the anchorage. I agree that zero would be best but I consider this acceptable and certainly far less oil than goes down the sink when washing up.

In contrast to my quiet smooth motor I also use the courtesy dinghies at the marina. They have new 4 strokes on them (also 5hp) and they can be a pain to start and are noisy. They are huge in comparison to my Tohatsu and I would dread to think of having to lift them regularly.

The one good side of the ban is that I now cherish my Tohatsu. Never has so much care been shown to an outboard. After every cruise it is religiously run in fresh water and the fuel run out of the carb.
 
should the law be changed

should the law be changed to allow two stokes again

for everyone and for every use?

should the ski boats be allowed to go back to two stroke?

what about the round Britain wallahs I met last year with their 30 foot ribs

should they be allowed to use two strokes?

just curious

Dylan

PWS... even puppies like four strokes


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz9twIavDI8
 
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