Quietest outboard to replace Tohatsu 6? A bit larger.

[ash2020]

I have a nice, hardly used Tohatsu 6 4 stroke on my 23' Hunter. Trouble is, it is so noisy and clattery, being a single pot engine. I'm going to sell it and get a slightly larger one, perhaps an 8 HP but I really want something much, much quieter. I don't mind a 2 stroke, if I can find a decent one, I obviously want to spend as little as possible doing the changeover!
Thanks. Andy.

 

[catalac08]

I have a nice, hardly used Tohatsu 6 4 stroke on my 23' Hunter. Trouble is, it is so noisy and clattery, being a single pot engine. I'm going to sell it and get a slightly larger one, perhaps an 8 HP but I really want something much, much quieter. I don't mind a 2 stroke, if I can find a decent one, I obviously want to spend as little as possible doing the changeover!
Thanks. Andy.

I have a 20HP Tohatsu 4 stroke (2 cylinder)and it is so silent that I have to look at the rev counter to check the engine is going below 2000rpm and even at cruising revs3500-4000 is no more than a loud hum. It replaced a Tohatsu 30HP 2 stroke that was a brilliant engine that never missed a beat for 6 years but it was very noisy. The 20 is in a different league for noise.

 

[ash2020]

That's very interesting. Thanks for the info, a 20 would be too big but I might look out for a 10. Is yours a conventional stern mount?

 

[mrming]

I have a Yamaha F8 4-stroke which came with my 23 footer. It's pretty smooth / quiet but I've always thought it a bit overkill for the size of boat. It's been fitted with a remote kit which is a very nice luxury and has so far dissuaded me from changing down to a lighter engine.

 

[ash2020]

Mine does too. Very nice when going in and out of pontoons etc. Takes a bit of the stress away. I do have a Yam 8, 2 stroke, in storage, but it has the rest of my belongings on top of it, and its 500 miles away, so its probably cheaper and easier to buy a new one. I'm a bit worried about what bits I might need to convert mine back to a standalone engine.

 

[GrahamM376]

Tohatsu 9.8 2 stroke twin, brilliant engine.

 

[JimC]

I have a nice, hardly used Tohatsu 6 4 stroke on my 23' Hunter...

Which 23' Hunter do you have; Duet, Horizon 23/232. or Liberty/Minstrel? On my Horizon 23 I had a Mercury 6 hp four stroke (same engine as the Tohatsu) and it was fine, not at all clattery and drove the boat well. There was adequate power and, in any case, not enough clearance round the power head to fit a bigger engine. If you have a Liberty or Minstrel you'll find quite a bit on the subject of suitable engines for this boat on Dylan Winter's KTL. I think he had a 6 hp 4 stroke. Apparently the design of that boat's stern tends to reflect the engine noise back into the cockpit. If it's a Duet I should still have thought 6 hp adequate though I'm not familiar with that boat. Your existing engine will drive your boat along better if you fit it with the special high reverse thrust sailpower propeller. I did this to mine and it made a big improvement. Cost was about £40 but it's a few years ago.

 

[sparkie]

I have a nice, hardly used Tohatsu 6 4 stroke on my 23' Hunter. Trouble is, it is so noisy and clattery, being a single pot engine. I'm going to sell it and get a slightly larger one, perhaps an 8 HP but I really want something much, much quieter. I don't mind a 2 stroke, if I can find a decent one, I obviously want to spend as little as possible doing the changeover!
Thanks. Andy.

Have exactly the same problem with mine, on my Liberty 23. Replaced an electric start Yamaha 8 (unfortunately sold) with the 6hp Tohatsu SailDrive, and regretted it ever since. Apparently the 9.8 twin 2stroke Tohatsu is a lovely engine, especially with the electric start, but not now available new of course, unless you are a commercial fisherman............ If you find a suitable replacement, DO let us know! Cheers.

 

[2nd_apprentice]

Very quiet and economical to run:

Just turn the handle and you are away. Lots of fun!

 

[ash2020]

Perfect, and so economical!

 

[ash2020]

Will do Sparkie. It'll be whatever I can find for the price.

 

[ash2020]

Sorry, JimC, should have explained. It's an American Hunter Legend 235, water ballasted. A bit tender for these new sailing grounds of the West of Scotland. I bought it for creek crawling in Poole Harbour and then moved house. Now I need a solid boat with a deep keel, you only need to go a short distance from shore and you're in 50 metres of water! And the wind whips up in minutes!

 

[seumask]

IMHO the tohatsu 6 is a quiet engine, I had one to replace a Yamaha 8 2stoke twin and it was a lot quiter for the same weight. Look carefully at the weight and price of the bigger 4strokes, there is a big jump up in my opinon. IIRC the engine is outboard stern mounted on the Hunter 23 so the weight of the engine is a serious consideration if you ever want to raise it or remove it etc.

 

[FishyInverness]

Hi Ash,

I know you've asked me this question in an official capacity - I've only just got all the responses tied in and was going to call you, then my eye fell on this, I hope you don't mind me responding here.

The two marques we deal with, Honda and Suzuki, have officially responded that regardless of the marque of engine, moving from the single cylinder to the twin cylinder is going to reduce noise and "rattle" considerably, as the twin puts the cycles "in sync" as it were - with one pot doing the exhaust whilst the other does the compression stroke alternating. A single cylinder has to time it all using one pot and so creates more rattle.

Honda have said pretty much exactly what JimC said - The design of some vessels, with voids inside areas around the transom, can reflect and enhance the noise back into the cockpit, and when using a single cylinder engine, again, enhance that rattling, jumping feel/sound.

It was generally agreed that you would find a quieter, smoother experience using a twin cylinder engine, of any marque, as most of this parish seem to also have vouched for. Again the consensus would be that no one make of twin cylinder outboard would be noticeably quieter than the others, but a twin would be quieter than a single.

Cheers

Nik