Trade-A-Boat — January 2018

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eatrials

gleM18E2andMFS20ESporton3.7mStesslEdgeTrackerV-nosetinny.Total

placementincludingtwoadultsandtestequipment360kgand370kgrespectively.

erageoftwowayrunsonLakeMunmorahandLakeBudgewoi,NSW.Rangeisin

uticalmileswitha25ltremotefueltankand10%reserve.

GINE M18E2 MFS 20E SPORT

AR RATIO 1.85:1 2.15:1

OP PITCH 9.1 INCHES 11.5 INCHES

OLLING (RPM) 700 900

S 1.8 2.3

H 0.8 0.4

NGE 50 129

LF THROTTLE/PLANING (RPM) 3300 3300

S 10.0 10.8

H 3.4 2.7

NGE 66 90

O-THIRDS/THREE-QUARTERS (RPM) 4000 4900

S 12.9 18.1

LT/ H 3. 9 3 .7

RANGE 74 110

WOT (RPM) 5900 5900

KTS 22.8 23.2

LT/H 8.4 5.8

RANGE 61 90

quickspecs

Tohatsu MFS 20E Sport

TYPETwin-cylinder SOHC

EFI four-stroke outboard

RATED BHP/MHP*19.7/20.0

at 5750rpm

REC. WOT RANGE5400 to

6100

DISPLACEMENT333cc

BOREXSTROKE61x57mm

GEAR RATIO2.15:1

WEIGHT43kg (short shaft)

44kg (long shaft)

RRP$3667 (short shaft)

$3720 (long shaft)

OEDA STARS3 (plus Euro

Recreational Craft Directive

11)

*Brake horsepower/metric

horsepower

just below the upfront gear
shift. Oddly enough there’s
no trim tab beneath the
anti-ventilation plate to
counteract steering torque
but in testing there didn’t
seem to be a need for one.
Six trim positions are
fitted plus a single shallow
water drive setting. A fold-up
carry handle is fitted within
the transom brackets and
is made of strong plastic
to further reduce engine
weight.

ON THE WATER
Lakeside Marine, the
national Tohatsu distributor,
set up a run-in 20E on a
3.7m Stessl Edge Tracker
V-nose punt, the same hull I
tested an M18E2 on in 2000.
Lakeside is targeting the
20E at boaters who want the
performance of the 18 but
smoother running and fuel

efficiency of a four-stroke.

Initially the demo 20E was

setupwiththestandard

shortshaft10inpitchprop

but the additional power

andtorqueoftheengineon

this hull showed that the

maximum pitch of 11.5in

wouldbeneeded.Running

on premium unleaded (95

RON) the engine was easily

startedfromcoldwithafirm

two-hand pull but when

hot only one hand was

needed.Forarelativelybig

displacement twin vibration

levels were low. Providing

the anti-ventilation was

kept immersed when using

shallow water drive power

astern was good and no

cooling water starvation

occurred.

Once warmed up and set

on the third trim position

thedemo20Eaccelerated

outoftheholeashardas

the M18E2 but was way

quieteratornearWOT.

THE WRAP

According to OEDA

currently 69 per cent of all

outboardssoldinAustralia

are low emission, whether

that be four-stroke or

DFI two-stroke. Clearly

buyers want low emission

technology and having an

engine that’s little heavier

thanacomparableoutput

two-stroke helps sway their

decision. In any case carbie

two-strokes won’t be able

to be sold in Oz from 2019

onwards. Fortunately for the

Kiwis there are currently no

such restrictions, but in the

nanny state (aka Australia)

we won’t be given that

choice!

The Japanese-made 20E is

beautifully engineered and

finished and with regular

servicing should provide

years of angling pleasure.

Formoreonthe20Ecall

Lakeside on (02) 4392 6110 or

visit http://www.tohatsu.com.au

FAR LEFT Tohatsu has developed the lightest

four-stroke 20 on the Aussie market.

INSET Tohatsu has been reducing the weight

of its midrange four-strokes including the 20

and 25.

RIGHT The 20E Sport can safely be mounted

on older tinnies.

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