Any known concerns with this specific motor?

[brockangelo]

Hey all,

I've read many of the threads on motors and so far, so I'll sum up what I've learned specific to a first generation Catalina 22 (mine is 1984) and my only ask now is if anyone knows of any red flags for this specific model: a Mercury Sail Power 5HP 20" (Long Shaft). The motor on my newly purchased Catalina is the only thing that might prevent me from getting on the water, and I found this one in stock and it seems to satisfy all the requirements.

Here's what I'm hearing as a consensus on concerns:

• Gas vs Propane vs Electric: Gas motors are a well-known commodity, you'll find gas anywhere. Propane and electric are more environmentally friendly, but have their trade-offs.
• Horsepower: 3hp to 6hp is the range you should be considering. Much more and you're wasting money and not getting any more speed. Much less, and you're limited to still lakes. 5HP vs 6HP generally favors 6HP because they are typically the same weight.
• A Long Shaft (20" shaft) is the sweet spot: a short shaft with an adjustable motor mount will likely get into the water, and sometimes an Extra Long / Ultra Long (25" shaft) may sometimes not come completely out of the water (depending on your mount). I measured the top of my mount (where the clips hang on) to the bottom of the boat (the transom) and in the upper position, it is 2' 3" (27 inches), and in the lowered position, it is 1' 2" (14 inches).
• A "sail" model like "Mercury Sail Power" or "Tohatsu Sail Pro" includes an alternator and can charge your battery for you.
  • Other considerations? It sometimes might have a larger handle? Not sure
• Electric start? With a brand new motor, I am comfortable that this is not going to be a concern. My Mercury on my Pontoon started on the first button press, and I suspect any new motor will perform the same.
• Remote control? I don't see the need for this, but I suppose if I could control the throttle at the tiller, that would be convenient. If not, do you have to sit between the throttle and the tiller and control both of them?

I'm not in a rush to buy a motor, but I am concerned about items being in stock.

Here are some pics of my Evinrude that came with my boat. Dated the model number to 1985. I haven't tried to start it up yet, but hoping to this weekend.

 

[Leeward Rail]

Small Mercury motors are made by Tohatsu. Different paint job. Often the Tohatsu version is cheaper.

 

[sail sfbay]

Welcome to the forum!!

If it runs use it.

• Gas vs Propane vs Electric: I have had gas outboard motors but like the convenience of electric outboard motors and have one on my dinghy and they are relatively economical.
• Horsepower: 3hp to 6hp. I would lean to a 6 hp motor, see this for sizing motors: How to Calculate Outboard Motor Size for Sailboats - Improve Sailing
• A Long Shaft (20" shaft) is the sweet spot. Yes
• Electric start? With a brand new motor, I am comfortable that this is not going to be a concern. Agree
• Remote control? I don't see the need for this. Agree

 

[brockangelo]

My first choice is this one, the Tohatsu 6HP Sail Pro Long Shaft with Alternator but no idea when that might be available.

 

[Leeward Rail]

My first choice is this one, the Tohatsu 6HP Sail Pro Long Shaft with Alternator but no idea when that will arrive.

That, or the extra long shaft are more or less the goto motor for small sailboats. A bunch of us have them.

I would first see if that old evinrude is in good shape. If it was well maintained it may be perfectly ok and start easily. Except the benefit of the long shaft, and the high thrust prop on the SailPro.

Btw: the smaller Nissans are also a Tohatsu.

 

[jon hansen]

that evinrude is strong like bull. well made, parts are available. keep up with the service and it should treat you well for many years to come.
i have an 85' 15 horse that is great. everyone in the family uses it all the time from kids to gramps. that era motor was well made and dependable.

 

[Siamese]

I don't have specific knowledge of the Mercury 5hp other that it's a single cylinder motor. You can probably expect it to vibrate a lot and be noisy and irritating. You might do a search on YouTube for videos of it running or see if this particular motor suffers from it's single cylinder design.

The motor that came with your boat has two cylinders..."yachTWIN". Much smoother motor. I'd keep that thing running with a carb rebuild, change the lower drive oil, fresh plugs, and while I was at it, it's cheap and easy to put a new fuel pump in it. Then, I'd never let it near fuel with ethanol in it, and I'd always run stabilizer in the fuel, so it's sure to get stored in the winter with stabilizer in it.

Oh, and it might be interesting to know what it's compression is, but if it runs well, that could wait.

 

[brockangelo]

Wow, okay, thanks everyone for giving me hope on the Evinrude. I had no idea.

I love the idea of keeping it in service, just don't really have anyone around here to help with it if I get in above my neck. I should have a chance to fire it up within the week and will report back. Either way, I will find videos on how to do those repairs. The guy I bought it from said that it fired right up when he used it once last summer, and that he stored it upright, so I'll give it a shot.

I'll plan to tackle the next projects in the following order of priority, but I guess let me know if you think any of these should come first:

1. fresh plugs
2. change the lower drive oil
3. carb rebuild
4. new fuel pump

I'm actually kind of partial to the design and logo on it, so it would be pretty cool to keep it in service!

 

[Jacktar]

I had one with my boat from previous owner, ran good, but no throttle control because the control was a plastic disc, turns out its broken, no parts available new, only used and most will be as old and ready to fail as my current one, so replaced with a tohatsu sail pro, 25 inch , never looked back.

 

[kloudie1]

Couple of other things:
new water pump impeller
Check the points for gap and cleanliness.. (If not electronic, I don't know when they changed)

 

[brockangelo]

My brother-in-law came over with motor muffs and this baby started up almost right away! It looks like this has been pretty well cared for, new spark plugs, new air filter (I think). I noticed some gear oil leaking, so I suspect it needs a new gasket. I'm gonna order the manual for this puppy and do some of the basic maintenance, but she sounded really good!

Forgot to mention: I checked the electrical cables before and while it was running and it got up to between 5 & 6 amps charge when we opened the throttle!

 

[brockangelo]

Okay, so next question is where do you guys recommend getting parts for an old evinrude like this?

 

[Parsons]

Would you like some advice on where to spend that saved $6,000? You just earned yourself a new sail, or two if you do not mind dacron.

 

[brockangelo]

Haha! I was only planning to spend about $1,700 on a new motor, but I'll always take some advice. I think I need to get it out on the water before I make any more big purchases; that will help me prioritize. I suspect running halyard lines aft will be one of my first projects.

 

[Benny17441]

My only comment is that the alternators in these small engines are practically useless, in a sailboat application, to recharge batteries. The alternators are designed to run navigation lights rather than battery charging.

 

[jon hansen]

Outboard Motors & Engines, Parts and Accessories - Evinrude

Find the engine your boat deserves with Evinrude's unparalleled line of outboard motors, parts, and accessories, available at dealers nationwide.

www.evinrude.com

 

[Gene Neill]

Okay, so next question is where do you guys recommend getting parts for an old evinrude like this?

Try Boats.net

 

[Joe]

My first choice is this one, the Tohatsu 6HP Sail Pro Long Shaft with Alternator but no idea when that might be available.

In my experience, online outboards has been great to work with. I purchased the 6hp tohatsu sailpro a few months back. They were out of stock, but I simply put my name on the notification list. To my pleasant surprise I only had a short wait. When notified, I ordered the motor the next day and it was delivered to my home in Calif. 4 or 5 days later. (free delivery, of course).

Keeping the Evinrude running is certainly a good way to go... but just remember it's most likely a 2 cycle and you will not get the same "mileage" you'll get with a 4 stroke. I changed the prop on my old Tohatsu 2 stroke, 9.9 hp to a high thrust version and it did improve that area of performance. Parts wise, you should be able to get them from any Evinrude dealer. So google up a source for your area and develop a relationship. In any event, you may tire of keeping the old motor fit and reliable.

As far as remote and electric start..... you can convert any tohatsu ob to remote, there's a section in the Tohatsu factory website that will give you part numbers for the control box and the tiller conversion parts. Then you can take those to a dealer and have them do the ordering. The electric start is different, I doubt you can find a 6hp motor set up for that feature. The smallest I've seen is the Honda 8hp... but keep looking because electric start, remote control is a simply an awesome convenience for a small, outboard driven sailboat.
Good luck, have fun.

 

[LakeShark]

I noticed some gear oil leaking, so I suspect it needs a new gasket. I'm gonna order the manual for this puppy and do some of the basic maintenance, but she sounded really good!

its not gear oil that's unburnt 2 stroke oil in the exhaust shaft. There is no gasket around the lower unit. I would run dome OMC engine turn through it and clean a lot of that old junk out. It works well but your motor will puke all manner of nastiness so make sure its not on anything you want to keep nice when you run it or run it in a bucket or trash can. As far as maintenance put a new impeller in it, change the gear oil in the lower unit, replace the gaskets on the lower unit screws, change the plugs and run the engine tuner stuff through it. That motor will run for many years. I know as I used to work on them at an Evinrude shop. There a good little motor and the only difference between the 9.9HP and the 15HP is the carb so parts are easily available.

One note if your not familiar with outboards. running them on muffs is ok but it will not help you diagnose a weak impeller on the water pump. Best practice is to run them in a trash can so as to not add undue pressure on the water system and be able to identify real world over heating issues. Many a motor came to the shop stating: Motor runs fine on the trailer in the drive way but dies after a few min on the water. Answer impeller shot.

Also if your going to store it for more than a week I prefer to run them out of gas at the ramp after a day on the water. Different opinions on that one but its worked in my small engines for years.

Edit: Are you sure the water pickup is where your muffs are? I know its been a few years for me now but i thought the water pickup was in the plate above the prop on those? Make sure you see a strong stream when you run it at anything over idle (idle it may only drip depending on the motor).

 

[brockangelo]

Okay, thanks so much for the heads up and insight on this. I'll see if I can fill a garbage can this weekend and test it again, and will plan to do a lot of this maintenance. Worst case scenario, I might get it tuned up and throw it on an inflatable dingy if I have to get a new Tohatsu. And that's really good to know about the 2-stroke not really being reliable for recharging a battery. I was not aware.