[Rhodes22-list] Outboards

[Bill Effros]

Ron,

Here we go again, but...

My electric starting 8 hp Tohatsu (Nissan) weighs 53 pounds, I think.  Whatever it is, I carry it around by myself.

It is 14 years old, totally reliable, and maybe has 150 hours of use.  

It is a 2-stroke, and I'm sure you could get one like it for a song.

Why spend $1,000, consume valuable resources, and pollute the environment by encouraging the manufacture of unneeded outboards, when you can pick up a completely reliable, low mileage, used 2-stroke outboard for a fraction of that cost.   

The 4-stroke engines have not proved to be reliable on Rhodes-22s because they are so seldom used.  People on this list pour massive quantities of "additives" (read that to mean oil) into the gas tanks of their 4-strokes to keep them properly lubricated.  The way we use 4-strokes on our sailboats, they are no cleaner than the way we use 2 stroke engines on our sailboats.

(There has never been a year when I used more than a quart of oil--some people with 4-strokes are dumping that much oil into every tank of gas.)

I would highly recommend the Tohatsu/Nissan 2 stroke 8hp electric starting engine with the Tohatsu remote throttle/start mechanism (which can be purchased separately, and is easily installed.)  

Bill Effros


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Ronald Lipton 
To: The Rhodes 22 mail list 
Sent: Saturday, September 11, 2004 11:14 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Outboards


Thanks for all of the advice and comments.  I am mulling the options 
over.
My Mercury 9.9 has electric start
and an alternator.  I hardly ever use the batteries except for running 
lights and
my solar panel does fine in keeping the batteries charged, so I think 
that the
alternator is unnecessary for me. The electric start is a real 
convenience but
I would rather have a lighter engine that I can carry without a back 
injury.  The
Honda 8 and 9.8 are about 100 pounds.  The Nissan 6 is 55.

I sail from a mooring and, if possible
I try to leave and return so that if the engine fails I can sail in 
without panic.
That has happened my last two  sails.  The harbor has a north
and a south entrance, so that can be done fairly easily.  It
helps if the wind is light, sailing in a crowded mooring with a stiff 
breeze can
be a challenge.  The easily adjustable sail area of the Rhodes helps 
control,
and I usually use the main only and furl it down as I approach the 
mooring.

thanks again for the comments

Ron

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