Otter
Well-Known Member
The Yamaha Malta is an outstanding engine
Lightest Outboard at 4/5/6hp
- Thread starter mattnj
- Start date
OldKilrymont
New Member
A prehistoric thread, this. No matter, if I found it - so might others?
(This grew to become a bit of a ramble. For that, apologies.)
My 3/3.5hpMalta engine was excellent, in every way but one. Spin around “reverse” is far from intuitive. If regularly needing to make adjustments to drift, as can happen if approaching a mooring or while parallel-drifting along a shore line while trout fly fishing, then a Malta gets to feel like a PITA…. But for all other points of small outboard behaviour, it takes some beating. First pull starts were always to be expected with mine, and the inbuilt tank while seeming a bit feeble could easily be augmented with another litre of ready mix petrol in a bottle. As to the latter, I always had one - but never once actually needed it…
A Malta should maybe not be used on anything with a high freeboard if wind is forecast, as heading into a wind on open exposed waters (especially if solo) with only a nominal 3hp can see the bow wanting to broach repeatedly to left or right unless the pilot is particularly exact with his tiller hand. And if used on big wide open lakes/lochs/loughs in a stiff headwind, you might easily wish you’d brought a 5hp or even more. I’ve known a day or two when the weather blew up stronger than forecast, and the passenger on the oars made enough difference so that steaming-home time was reduced some. Also, that tendency to broach was reduced considerably with a second body aboard, as the bow was naturally deeper set than when solo.
I eventually traded mine in against a new Spanish- market 2-stroke Yamaha 5 that had found its way to a Scottish dealer a few miles away from me, It felt a like a fair chunk of ballast balanced on the shoulder if having to carry it any distance to the boat. The Malta felt featherweight in comparison. Gone was that one-gentle-pull startup even from cold, but having full forward/reverse made manoeuvres so very much easier.
The 5hp Yam under way was all that was hoped. 5hp is enough to get even larger displacement hulls up to their terminal speed, not often more than roughly 5-6 knots. The biggest I used mine on was a big eighteen footer clinker that easily took three rods, and the 5 coped well enough.
The 4-stroke later 5hp Yam models’ heft felt more like a 10hp unit deadweight to me, but I’m sure that’s an exaggeration. They are certainly heavier. My new 5 lacked the sweet feel of the almost vibrationless Malta, which I still look back to fondly. And if going back to boating if I could shed two or three decades of agedness- I’d try hard to find a low-hours Malta over another Yam5, and live with the spin around reverse.
One more point, then I’ll disappear back into the woodwork. Those earlier Yam four stroke singles seemed to get something of a rep. for gearbox failures. Newish engines, not thrashed and bashed dog eared examples. Warranty claim jobs. That alone would keep me away from one of those. Two had new gears fitted by the dealer, another was still in the dealer’s workshop last time I was at the harbour a good few years back. Plus - they’re complex. Complexity is an undesirable feature in a boat engine, since an engine failure at the wrong moment can have dire consequences. Complexity makes for more breakdown possibility. Simplicity is a feature to be treasured. That’s why all my engines, from 3hp to 55hp Yamaha twins, were all carburetor’d 2-strokers. Never at sea or on fresh water did I suffer any kind of engine failure with Yamaha - or Yam/Mariner engines.
One more point #2 - I did have one engine that I grew to view with growing dislike. An English built Seagull “Curlew” with a recoil starter. In close to new condition, it seemed at the time to be a real bargain. (There’s usually a reason why a “bargain” is one.)
As heavy as a land rover caked with several CWT of mud, and about as reliable as a Trebant. It had one area of trustworthiness, and that was that if you went missing your searchers could follow the trail of rainbow stained water to find you sitting on the rocks that had wrecked your boat, since the Curlew had again refused to start when a veering breeze decided to push your boat onto the reefs. And no, that never happened. But it could have. So that horrible piece of UK “engineering” was sold on as an auxiliary on a boat powered by - a Yamaha. (Chances are, it was never needed.)
(This grew to become a bit of a ramble. For that, apologies.)
My 3/3.5hpMalta engine was excellent, in every way but one. Spin around “reverse” is far from intuitive. If regularly needing to make adjustments to drift, as can happen if approaching a mooring or while parallel-drifting along a shore line while trout fly fishing, then a Malta gets to feel like a PITA…. But for all other points of small outboard behaviour, it takes some beating. First pull starts were always to be expected with mine, and the inbuilt tank while seeming a bit feeble could easily be augmented with another litre of ready mix petrol in a bottle. As to the latter, I always had one - but never once actually needed it…
A Malta should maybe not be used on anything with a high freeboard if wind is forecast, as heading into a wind on open exposed waters (especially if solo) with only a nominal 3hp can see the bow wanting to broach repeatedly to left or right unless the pilot is particularly exact with his tiller hand. And if used on big wide open lakes/lochs/loughs in a stiff headwind, you might easily wish you’d brought a 5hp or even more. I’ve known a day or two when the weather blew up stronger than forecast, and the passenger on the oars made enough difference so that steaming-home time was reduced some. Also, that tendency to broach was reduced considerably with a second body aboard, as the bow was naturally deeper set than when solo.
I eventually traded mine in against a new Spanish- market 2-stroke Yamaha 5 that had found its way to a Scottish dealer a few miles away from me, It felt a like a fair chunk of ballast balanced on the shoulder if having to carry it any distance to the boat. The Malta felt featherweight in comparison. Gone was that one-gentle-pull startup even from cold, but having full forward/reverse made manoeuvres so very much easier.
The 5hp Yam under way was all that was hoped. 5hp is enough to get even larger displacement hulls up to their terminal speed, not often more than roughly 5-6 knots. The biggest I used mine on was a big eighteen footer clinker that easily took three rods, and the 5 coped well enough.
The 4-stroke later 5hp Yam models’ heft felt more like a 10hp unit deadweight to me, but I’m sure that’s an exaggeration. They are certainly heavier. My new 5 lacked the sweet feel of the almost vibrationless Malta, which I still look back to fondly. And if going back to boating if I could shed two or three decades of agedness- I’d try hard to find a low-hours Malta over another Yam5, and live with the spin around reverse.
One more point, then I’ll disappear back into the woodwork. Those earlier Yam four stroke singles seemed to get something of a rep. for gearbox failures. Newish engines, not thrashed and bashed dog eared examples. Warranty claim jobs. That alone would keep me away from one of those. Two had new gears fitted by the dealer, another was still in the dealer’s workshop last time I was at the harbour a good few years back. Plus - they’re complex. Complexity is an undesirable feature in a boat engine, since an engine failure at the wrong moment can have dire consequences. Complexity makes for more breakdown possibility. Simplicity is a feature to be treasured. That’s why all my engines, from 3hp to 55hp Yamaha twins, were all carburetor’d 2-strokers. Never at sea or on fresh water did I suffer any kind of engine failure with Yamaha - or Yam/Mariner engines.
One more point #2 - I did have one engine that I grew to view with growing dislike. An English built Seagull “Curlew” with a recoil starter. In close to new condition, it seemed at the time to be a real bargain. (There’s usually a reason why a “bargain” is one.)
As heavy as a land rover caked with several CWT of mud, and about as reliable as a Trebant. It had one area of trustworthiness, and that was that if you went missing your searchers could follow the trail of rainbow stained water to find you sitting on the rocks that had wrecked your boat, since the Curlew had again refused to start when a veering breeze decided to push your boat onto the reefs. And no, that never happened. But it could have. So that horrible piece of UK “engineering” was sold on as an auxiliary on a boat powered by - a Yamaha. (Chances are, it was never needed.)
Moodysailor
Well-Known Member
No idea on 2S, but a quick search on 4S outboards has the Suzuki DF4/5/6 the leader at 23.5kg. Merc/Tohatsu 6hp at 25kg and Yamaha 6hp at 27kg.
Of the 'others' Selva do a 'Sea bass' 4/5/6 at 23kg and an 'Oyster' 6 or 'Black Bass' 8 at 27kg, Orca 6hp is 26kg and Parsun is 27kg
If going for a 4S (I would every time), either Suzuki/Selva 6hp, or the Selva 8hp seem to be the go-to options, purely based on catalogue weight.
Of the 'others' Selva do a 'Sea bass' 4/5/6 at 23kg and an 'Oyster' 6 or 'Black Bass' 8 at 27kg, Orca 6hp is 26kg and Parsun is 27kg
If going for a 4S (I would every time), either Suzuki/Selva 6hp, or the Selva 8hp seem to be the go-to options, purely based on catalogue weight.