I am looking for a little help on a dink motor. I recently purchased a new 5HP 4 stroke Tahotsu for a RIB 9 foot Caribe.I have had the motor back to the dealer three times and they finaly replaced the motor and the new one has the same problem and that is that it won't idle slow enough to even pull up to the dock let alone the back of the boat with out haveing to go into full reverse to slow it down. I was told because of the Calif. smog laws it has to idle at 1100rpm. When you turn down the idle screw when it is put into gear it quits. Is this something that I have to live with or does the motor need swimming lessons. Thanks "MIC"
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I also have a 5 hp Mercury that does the same thing. I believe both these are 1 cyl motors and thus just do not idle as smooth or slow as 2 cyl ones. Bob
Try this
Throw it into neutral 50 feet out and coast in. Boaters have been doing this with OBs for years. Want real danger? Try a British Seagull. Two speeds: Fast and Off.
Throw it into neutral 50 feet out and coast in. Boaters have been doing this with OBs for years. Want real danger? Try a British Seagull. Two speeds: Fast and Off.
Concur with "Try this"
I've got a speed-boat that can't go slower than 4 knots. I just point it at the dock and take it out of gear for the last 30-feet or so (depending on wind conditions). If I blow-it by cutting the power too soon, I just back-up and try again. If I'm coming in a little too hot, I just give it a little shot of reverse at the last second. It helps to have a long dock, and approach at a 30-degree angle so you can coast past it a little while your are slowing down. Practice makes it all easy! When you get really good you (in no wind!) can approach the dock slowly, throw it hard-over and give it a short blip of throttle (then back to neutral) and flip the whole boat around so it's pointing back out to sea and it will come to rest nicely broadside against the dock. Works with dingies too.
I've got a speed-boat that can't go slower than 4 knots. I just point it at the dock and take it out of gear for the last 30-feet or so (depending on wind conditions). If I blow-it by cutting the power too soon, I just back-up and try again. If I'm coming in a little too hot, I just give it a little shot of reverse at the last second. It helps to have a long dock, and approach at a 30-degree angle so you can coast past it a little while your are slowing down. Practice makes it all easy! When you get really good you (in no wind!) can approach the dock slowly, throw it hard-over and give it a short blip of throttle (then back to neutral) and flip the whole boat around so it's pointing back out to sea and it will come to rest nicely broadside against the dock. Works with dingies too.
Guess That Explains...
...all the dinghy dock ramming. Glad I got one of the last 2-strokes. How about calling Tohatsu directly? A good speed shop could probably tweak the tune some, but at the risk of warranty. Rick D.
...all the dinghy dock ramming. Glad I got one of the last 2-strokes. How about calling Tohatsu directly? A good speed shop could probably tweak the tune some, but at the risk of warranty. Rick D.
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