outboard power tilt

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catalac08

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looking at replacing a good but thirsty 30 HP 2 stroke Tohatsu for a four stroke with power tilt. As far as I know this would be a useful feature for a sailing catamaran but are there any drawbacks with power tilt/trim mechanisms. I know nothing about these eg in the case of tilt failure is it possible to overide the auto tilt and manually lower the leg as an emergency measure, I understand some are hydraulic and some electric - is there anything to crucial to know about these devices?
Help I know nothing about this side of outboard engines.
 
catalac08 said:
looking at replacing a good but thirsty 30 HP 2 stroke Tohatsu for a four stroke with power tilt. As far as I know this would be a useful feature for a sailing catamaran but are there any drawbacks with power tilt/trim mechanisms. I know nothing about these eg in the case of tilt failure is it possible to overide the auto tilt and manually lower the leg as an emergency measure, I understand some are hydraulic and some electric - is there anything to crucial to know about these devices?
Help I know nothing about this side of outboard engines.
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I've had power tilt on outboards for 30 years in saltwater and never suffered any failure or let down. I owned one engine (a merc tower of power) from 1981 till 2002 and never changed any of the seals, hoses, never bled it, never changed the oil, nothing, and it always worked perfectly. Just fresh water rinse and WD40 when taken ashore. So they're very reliable imho

If you have a failure all is not lost. If it fails with ram extended, open the bleed screw and ram will retract into cylinder. If it fails ram retracted, do the same or mechanically unbolt the ram

I have hydraulics now on a new Yam 40 efi (same engine as 30 efi) and they work perfectly. Very well made and I honestly doubt they'll ever fail in my "lifetime"

One catch - if you flatten the battery the power trim wont work, whereas even an efi engine will rope start (becuase on the first pull it charges a tiny capacitor to power up the efi computer). So have a plan B if you think you might flatten the battery, cos you dont want to leak out the hydraulic oil in that circumstance. You're welcome to share my plan B which is plug in the battery charger and have a beer

There is very little/no electric trim around . Most is hydraulic. IIRC volvo penta had electric on some outdrives and it wasn't good. Definitely go for hydraulic, but I doubt you'll find anything else on the market

And one last point: quality of outboards varies. The reliability I've had has all been mercury and yamaha, which are top of the pile quality-wise. I wouldn't buy anything else, to be on the safe side. Some of the makers that built junk years ago (like Suzuki) make quality machines now. And OMC/Bombardier stuff is good (Johnson/Evinrude) as is Honda. Some of the other budget stuff (Selva, Parsun) is a bit budget and I wouldn't expect the reliability (including hydraulics) you get from Merc/Yam; false economy imho

Edit: if you want 30hp 4 stroke with power tilt there are only two engines worth looking at imho - the Yam and the Merc. Reason is these are the ONLY two with EFI. All the others have carbs. EFI is loads better. As i say I have the Yam (in 40hp guise, but it's the same engine) and it is a lovely machine. You've never (not) heard anything so quiet and smooth
 
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jfm said:
There is very little/no electric trim around . Most is hydraulic. IIRC volvo penta had electric on some outdrives and it wasn't good. Definitely go for hydraulic, but I doubt you'll find anything else on the market
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Modern power lifts are pretty well bullet proof nowadays.

Although hydraulic now, they sound like electric as the hydraulics are powered by an electric motor...I think.
 
The only thing I would add to this is if the engine is going to stay sitting on the back of the boat in the water, ensure the anode is replaced every year. My old boat (outboard powered) had a Suzuki DF90, which was superb, but I was advised the hydraulic pump and ram (which basically just sits in the water all the time) was nearly £3000 to replace. Now it would never require replacement normally, as everyone has stated they are bullet proof reliability wise, however if you have shore power and have allowed the outboard anode to wear and drop off your hydraulic pump is then serving as your replacement anode with expensive results....
 
Thanks chaps for going to the effort to provide such good detailed info-very enlightening for me.

Another aspect of this - how does the reverse lock work with power tilt. I can understand how the hydraulic raise and lower of the leg would work but how does the reverse lock actuate with power tilt/trim? Manufacturers outboard specs do not really go into these details.
 
catalac08 said:
Thanks chaps for going to the effort to provide such good detailed info-very enlightening for me.

Another aspect of this - how does the reverse lock work with power tilt. I can understand how the hydraulic raise and lower of the leg would work but how does the reverse lock actuate with power tilt/trim? Manufacturers outboard specs do not really go into these details.
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I don't think power lift engines - at least, not the big engines - have a reverse lock.
 
Major Catastrophe said:
I don't think power lift engines - at least, not the big engines - have a reverse lock.
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Yup, confirmed also for my Yam 40 (same as Yam 30) and Nick-H's Honda 30, I have looked. Both there is no reverse lock mechanical mechanism; the hydrualic cylinder is double acting and the engine is locked wherever it is. If you hit something at speed the engine will not kick up and you'll do some damage. It was the same on my merc ToP 90hp, which I had since 1981, so this inability to kick up when striking an object isn't anything new
 
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