which new 4hp stroke to replace 2stroke please

[Thedreamoneday]

I've been looking at a new 3.5 4stroke, you can get either Mercury, Mariner of Tohatsu (I believe the same engine) all delivered with checks carried out for £565. The 3.5hp is 17kg but the 4,5& 6 all come in at 26kg! Quite a big jump if your moving it a lot.

I hear about all this reliability with a 4 over a 2, are that REALY that bad??

I would imagine there are 1000's sold every year so why wouldn't the manufacturer sir what ever it is out or is it down to how the user stores it?

Are there any 3.5hp 4 Stoke owners out there who are pleased with theirs?

 

[dartmoor]

I've been looking at a new 3.5 4stroke, you can get either Mercury, Mariner of Tohatsu (I believe the same engine) all delivered with checks carried out for £565. The 3.5hp is 17kg but the 4,5& 6 all come in at 26kg! Quite a big jump if your moving it a lot.

I hear about all this reliability with a 4 over a 2, are that REALY that bad??

I would imagine there are 1000's sold every year so why wouldn't the manufacturer sir what ever it is out or is it down to how the user stores it?

Are there any 3.5hp 4 Stoke owners out there who are pleased with theirs?

The scare stories on 4 stroke reliability are nonsense quite frankly. They are reliable. The problems they suffer from are exactly the same as 2 strokes - namely blocked jets from stale or dirty fuel. There are many satisfied owners out there. Yes, if new two strokes were still available, they would still be the small outboard of choice. But they are not.

I have a 2.5HP four stroke Tohatsu - same as 3.5HP. Has been reliable. Nicely built. Would I like it lighter? Yes. Is it quieter than a two stroke? Probably not. But I wanted to get something newish, and the prices for second hand 10 year old plus two strokes were pretty ridiculous.

The advantages the Tohatsu four stroke has over the old 3.5HP two stroke is that the cooling water flow is much much stronger, and therefore I think will be much more durable and less likely to clog. Also much much more economic.

 

[nyx2k]

will post up pics later when find photobucket password. very odd looking boat but very very stable

 

[duncan99210]

We had a Yamaha Malta 2 stroke which became terminally ill: never did sort out exactly what the problem was but it became a pain not being able to rely on it, so it was replaced with a new Suzuki 2.5 4T. Noise levels about the same, seemed to be about twice the weight and, whilst I could start it, SWMBO could not do so reliably, so she wouldn't use it by herself. Kind of limiting when you're living in the hook for most of the summer.

So the Suzuki has been replaced by an ancient 2hp 2T Suzuki which we'd left in UK when we set out. Light, starts first time for both of us and has restored peace and harmony on Rampage, as I now no longer need to endure mammoth shopping trips to choose just the right shade of flip flop or whatever..... I really would not have a 4T unless it had an electric start.

 

[Alan_B]

I have a 3.5 Mariner 4 stroke that I bought new last year.

I have no complaints about it. I was previously using a 2hp 2 stroke short shaft Yamaha but changed after having a bit of a scare that the old engine would never have been able to motor us out of if we weren't able to sail. It starts on 2nd or 3rd pull and has never let us down.

The reason I bought the 3.5 was due to weight. As mentioned its 15 or 16kg as it is a single cylinder engine. Move up to 4hp and its a twin cylinder. The lack of a reverse gear is a bit of an inconvenience but fine as a trade-off against more weight.

I really should be removing it from the transom when sailing (J24) but I cant be bothered.

 

[nyx2k]

taking it out again tommorow for a few hours. that will test the engine t its max

 

[steve66]

Hi, I have had a lot of success quietening a 4t outboard. I used a 50cc Honda 4 stroke powerhead mated onto a Yamaha 2hp leg. I used the original silencer as fitted as standard and its great, on par if not quieter than a comparative Tohatsu.

Has anyone ever done any serious work on quietening an outboard? I think that the manufacturers were more keen on a high power to weight/size ratio than on keeping the noise down so there could be scope for some improvement.

 

[nyx2k]

looked at the hood and the insulation in minimal. 2mm foam over half the inside but top front and back clear, 4mm adhesive foam pads are cheap on ebay, must be worth 10-15 pounds to try it out. cover the entire hood inside must make a difference