Time for a new outboard

Richard19068 · Mar 22, 2023

I've had two Tohatsus and have had very good experience with each. Both 2 strokes though.

Keep in mind that the Tohatsus and Nissans (and I believe Mercurys) in that size range all come/came from Tohatsu so parts are interchangeable and service (in my experience) is readily available,

By fuel pump do you mean the in line squeeze bulb?

Grumps · Mar 22, 2023

Timm R Oday25 said:
Time for a new outboard.
Timm R Oday25 22 Mar 2023, 11:20 AM | Views: 0

Last fall while "trying " to bring our Oday 25 in from it's mooring ,I couldn't get the outboard to start . THe fuel pump cracked and sprayed gas every time I pulled on the rope .. Go figure .
It's the third fuel pump in four years .
I tied dock line to a bow cleat and the other end to the back of our dinghy. Several hours later I finally had the big boat at the launch ramp.
Boy did I ever sleep good that night
Now I'm in the mood for a new outboard . I've narrowed it down to either an 8 horse Yamaha at $3400 and change or a Tohatsu 6 horse extra long shaft for $1700 delivered from Defender .
Not too many Tohatsu dealers in 80 miles from me . Does anyone here have any real world experiance with Tohatsu ? The ad claims the 6 horse Sail Pro comes with a high thrust prop .
Thanks

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I have a Tohatsu 6 that came with my boat. Sat for 2 years while I worked on the bottom. Had to clean the carb, but then started right up. It is the four stroke variety. Pushes my Mac 25 around pretty good.

capta · Mar 22, 2023

If you've got the money, go for a 4 stroke. If it isn't to stop mixing gas and oil, or the great mileage, then how about a motor you can talk over without yelling?

rgranger · Mar 22, 2023

I had a Tohatsu sailpro on my H26.... and I LOVED!!!! it.

I left the boat in the water and typically did not go out for January or February.... when March came, she would start on the second or third pull even after sitting for a while.

One thing I always did when I came back into the slip was disconnect the fuel line while the motor was at idle and let the carb. run dry.

I would hit hull speed on the H26 at about 2/3 throttle leaving me a little more for headwinds.

She sipped gas... It comes with a 3 gal. tank so you may want to get two.... but... I usually still had gas in the tank at the end of the season and would put it in my truck. I think I only once went through three gallons in a season.

I don't have any experience with the small yamies but I have a 115 Yamah on my stink pot. They are good motors and judging by the number of yamies I see on the docks, I'm not the only person who thinks so. Yamaha is by far the most popular OB in the Charleston area for recreational boats.

The yamaha websight says the short shaft 8 hp weighs 87 pounds and you can get a max lenght of 20". I'm guessing the long shaft is close to 90 pounds.

The tohatsu 6 hp weighs 55 pounds and you can get the extra long 25" option.

Both have a 6 amp alternator but my experience is you only get 6 amps WOT and on a sailboat you don't run your motor enought to generate a lot of electricity so a small solar panel will be more reliable than the alternator as a backup power plant.

The extra shaft length and lighter weight of the Tohatsu would be the deciding factors for me. I didn't look to see if the yamie had electric start but if it did... and that is important to you... that would be the only reason I might choose the yamie. There are times when an electric start would be nice and I know my daughters would be more comfortable taking the boat out solo if they were confident in their ability to get the motor started in a rush. They can usually get it started but sometimes have to pull a lot more than I do. YMMV.

rgranger · Mar 22, 2023

capta said:
If you've got the money, go for a 4 stroke. If it isn't to stop mixing gas and oil, or the great mileage, then how about a motor you can talk over without yelling?

Both of the motors he is considering are 4-stroke.

rgranger · Mar 22, 2023

If you have a place where you can easily charge your batteries... have you considered the torqeedos?

Electric Boat Drives | Torqeedo

The number one for sustainable outboards and inboards - Torqeedo offers electric outboard motors up to 100 kW, inboards, hybrid-systems, intelligent battery technology and accessories

www.torqeedo.com

... and if you are just a weekend sailor.... leaving a solar panel out during the week would be enought to top off the batteries for the next weekend.

dlochner · Mar 22, 2023

What make outboard do you have now? Many smaller OB are Tohatsu. It is easy to tell. The colors and covers are different otherwise they will all look the same, especially the gearshift which is in the front of the motor, not on the side.

dlochner · Mar 22, 2023

Timm R Oday25 said:
My current outboard is a late 80's Johnson 8 horse extra long shaft with charging .

Its time. Some one may be interested in buying it for parts. Put an ad on FB Marketplace or here in the classifieds.

AaronD · Mar 22, 2023

rgranger said:
I had a Tohatsu sailpro on my H26.... and I LOVED!!!! it.

I left the boat in the water and typically did not go out for January or February.... when March came, she would start on the second or third pull even after sitting for a while.

One thing I always did when I came back into the slip was disconnect the fuel line while the motor was at idle and let the carb. run dry.

I would hit hull speed on the H26 at about 2/3 throttle leaving me a little more for headwinds.

She sipped gas... It comes with a 3 gal. tank so you may want to get two.... but... I usually still had gas in the tank at the end of the season and would put it in my truck. I think I only once went through three gallons in a season.

I don't have any experience with the small yamies but I have a 115 Yamah on my stink pot. They are good motors and judging by the number of yamies I see on the docks, I'm not the only person who thinks so. Yamaha is by far the most popular OB in the Charleston area for recreational boats.

The yamaha websight says the short shaft 8 hp weighs 87 pounds and you can get a max lenght of 20". I'm guessing the long shaft is close to 90 pounds.

The tohatsu 6 hp weighs 55 pounds and you can get the extra long 25" option.

Both have a 6 amp alternator but my experience is you only get 6 amps WOT and on a sailboat you don't run your motor enought to generate a lot of electricity so a small solar panel will be more reliable than the alternator as a backup power plant.

The extra shaft length and lighter weight of the Tohatsu would be the deciding factors for me. I didn't look to see if the yamie had electric start but if it did... and that is important to you... that would be the only reason I might choose the yamie. There are times when an electric start would be nice and I know my daughters would be more comfortable taking the boat out solo if they were confident in their ability to get the motor started in a rush. They can usually get it started but sometimes have to pull a lot more than I do. YMMV.

on the Tohatsu 6hp SailPro (25" shaft and high thrust prop). We have one from about 2010, bought with ~10 hours on it in 2018. We've put about 150 hours on it since then, cruising our C-22 around the Salish Sea, and have very few complaints. It sips well under 1/2 gal per hour. Probably close to 1/4, but I haven't measured it accurately enough to be sure of that latter number.

Your O'Day 25 weighs quite a bit more than our C-22 (even when we load her down with 4 people and 2 weeks worth of gear). My only hesitation in recommending the 6 is that it might be on the small side for your boat, but you know your own sailing grounds and how often you motor into wind.

Rick Webb · Mar 22, 2023

I am fairly certain the 6 is a single cylinder engine the 8 two.

The one cylinder engine is never going to run as smooth as the two.

Joe · Mar 22, 2023

First, check with outboardsonline.com. Great prices, free delivery, quick too. I've purchased two from them. A 3.5 for my dinghy, and recently the 6hp sailpro which is a replacement for the old 2 stroke Tohatsu 9.9. Pleasantly surprised that the 6hp is quite adequate power for my Cat 27. I am ordering some parts to convert to remote control...using the control box from previous motor. All Tohatsus can be converted to remote control, btw. AFIK, only Honda and perhaps Yamaha make a electric start 8hp, but I'd take a tohatsu over both those... especially yamaha.
I you want more HP, Tohatsu a very light weight 9.8.. that is a modified 8hp. Not sure about electric start on that one. However, the 9.9 is a bit heavier, 104 with electric start, I think. If you get extra long shaft, electric start, electric trim it'll top out about 120. I say this because Honda's are consideraby heavier than Tohatsu's and I think that matters with sailboats....
The 9.9 tohatsu has electronic fuel injection and will start immediately everytime. I honestly think electric start is the only way to go, remote is desirable too, the electric tilt... not so much because of weight and cost.

I would have gone that way on my C27 but the hole in the transom will restrict tilting up without modification. After 23 years dealing with my old 9.9 removing the cowling to kick the motor up, I decided to try the sailpro 6. My ideal would be the Tohatsu 15hp with electric and remote. (the 9.9, 15 and 20 hp all use the same engine block, diff is the fuel delivery system).

So....another vote for tohatsu. BTW tohatusu makes Nissan and Merc also. Good luck, have fun.

Sailm8 · Mar 23, 2023

I just bought a Tohatsu 9.9 fuel injected as our dinghy motor. We moved up from a 5hp (with the 6hp carb). We travel long distances and need the extra speed. I bought the 5/6 used and had no idea how many hours it had. We have only had one problem. The snap on fuel connector has to be a Tohatsu part. The universal ones look exactly the same but they eventually leak air.

Benny17441 · Mar 23, 2023

You can probably use a 10 HP on that Oday25, it all depends on how far you go out from land and the propensity of foul weather in your area. 4 stroke engines are muche heavier than their 2 stroke counterparts so check balance and motor mounts. Mercury outboard engines are manufactured by Tohatsu. Whatever engine size you choose, make sure you also fit the right prop to it. Most small outboards come with a too high pitched a prop for a displacement hull.

Crazy Dave Condon · Mar 23, 2023

@Timm R Oday25
I am a former sailboat and Tohatsu dealer now retired.
Tohatsu builds the small engines for Nissan and Mercury. They are offered in a 15, 20 and 25 inch shaft. Sailboat transoms are rated up to 10 hp. I recommend ethanol free gas only. Make sure you note which side to lay the motor down; otherwise you will have oil leakage laying on the wrong side. Both the 8 & 9.8/9.9 are the same engine but different carburation which are offered in electric start. With electric start, you have a higher charging system vs the smaller engines. Finally, you have throttle and shift control kits offered for cockpit control. If you have wheel steering, you can hook up to that as well.

I also sold Yamaha and Honda which are good engines too with the same item noted above.

For the four stroke heavier engines may require an updated outboard motor brackets. Look at those uplift bracket’s that are offered be the manufacturers
Hope this helps

dlochner · Mar 23, 2023

Timm R Oday25 said:
I've loked at Yamaha's website . I see the 8 horse /9 horse . No mention of the extended length being available . No information about differant props for any motor smaller than 25 horse either . Seems we've fallen through the cracks once again

The motors come in short and long shaft. A long shaft should be adequate for your boat. If the prop doesn't go deep enough it may then become necessary to lower the mounting bracket or get an adjustable bracket.

Time for a new outboard

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