Cruising World - May 2016

may 2016

cruisingworld.com

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E-TEC fuel-injected engine is

approximately $4,500. Honda

of ers only a 20-horsepower

engine in this range, and it

sells for about $4,100. All the

other major vendors range

from about $4,000 to $5,200,

depending on whether you

choose a long or short shaft,

with or without electric start

— and you’d have to be crazy

or a real exercise fanatic to

buy a 25-horsepower four-

stroke outboard engine with

manual start.

ARE WARRANTIES

COMPARABLE?

Warranty coverage for your

new outboard can be a tricky

topic. Online, the basic

coverage appears to range

from two to fi ve years (see

sidebar below). Most vendors

of er some sort of extended

coverage for a fee, so look

at the warranty of erings

carefully, and be sure to

pay close attention to the

limitations spelled out. It

could make a dif erence.

Beyond the printed

warranty, consider that some

of the brands listed here,

such as Lehr, Torqeedo,

Mercury and Tohatsu, have

expanded the traditional

dealer network to include mass

merchandisers that may not

maintain comprehensive parts

or full-service departments.

No matter which brand of

engine you decide is best

for your dinghy, you will

almost certainly be better of

purchasing it at a full-service

dealer for the brand you select.

That way, you can be sure that

there will be factory-trained

parts and service personnel

on staf to of er qualifi ed help

when you need it. You might

spend a few hundred dollars

more on the initial purchase

price, but it’ll be worth it when

your engine dies on July 4 and

you need to fi nd someone to

get you going again.

OVERSEAS SERVICE

If you’re planning an

extended cruise or maybe

even international travel, you

need to assess the size of the

global service network for the

motor you might purchase.

You may be surprised by what

you discover. Depending on

your destination, you might

fi nd yourself waiting for

that proverbial slow boat

from China to get the next

shipment of replacement

parts for your new motor.

Go online and do a search

for specifi c engine brands

and global dealer networks.

Many brands, such as Tohatsu,

Mercury and Lehr, of er a

list right on their websites.

The closest Lehr dealer to

Grenada, as an example, is in

Florida — not so helpful when

your rather unusual propane-

fi red outboard engine

mysteriously stops running

after an extended Caribbean

passage.

A WORD ABOUT NISSAN

AND OTHER MOTORS

Late in 2014, those of us in the

business found out that Nissan

motors were going to be phased

out of the North American

market. The Nissan Marine

website (nissanmarine.com)

now redirects you to a Tohatsu

page that of ers advice on parts

and service. Keep in mind

that the Nissan engines were

always built by Tohatsu, just

re-branded. While you can still

fi nd unused old stock at online

outlets, I excluded Nissan from

this article because availability

of the brand will become quite

limited over the next year or so.

Those who frequent large

boat shows have probably

run across some of the new-

to-the-American-market

Asian-built outboard motors

at unbelievably low prices.

Names like Hangkai and

Parsun come to mind.

Understand that everything

I’ve said here regarding dealer

network, service and parts

availability still applies to

these engines, and consider

how much that lower-than-

believable price means to

you. Many years ago, a boat

partner and I caved and

bought a Cruise N Carry air-

cooled outboard motor for

our dinghy. The only thing

the engine had going for it

was that it was extremely

inexpensive, really lightweight,

and so simple I could take it

apart and reassemble it with

a pair of pliers and a No. 2

Phillips screwdriver, which I

had to do essentially every year

to keep ahead of the rust that

would form on the recycled

metal it must have been made

out of. Fortunately, my partner

left the motor on a dock one

day, and someone stole it

before he could get back to

retrieve it. I consider that a

lucky day, in retrospect.

Ed Sherman is vice president

and education director

at the American Boat &

Yacht Council. He is also

the author of Outboard

Engines: Maintenance,

Troubleshooting and Repair

and answers questions at his blog,

edsboattips.com.

HANDS-ON SAILOR

COURTESY OF THE MANUFACTURERS

Even if you’ve narrowed down your search to a four-stroke,

gas-powered outboard of a certain horsepower — for

example, 15 or 20 — you’ll still have plenty to choose from,

including motors made by Yamaha (1), Mercury (2), Suzuki

(3) and Honda (4), among others.

• Evinrude: 3 years


• Honda: 5 years


• Lehr: 3 years


• Mercury: 3 years


• Suzuki: 3 years


• Tohatsu: 5 years


• Torqeedo: 2 years


• Yamaha: 3 years

STANDARD

WARRANTIES

RESOURCES

Evinrude: evinrude.com

Honda: marine.honda.com

Lehr: golehr.com

Mercury: mercurymarine.com

Suzuki: suzukimarine.com

Tohatsu: tohatsu.com

Torqeedo: torqeedo.com

Yamaha: yamahaoutboards

.com

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