My bad. I wasn't focused on the year. My "Mercury" is from the early 2000s. By that time, they were all Tohatsus. If the older motors were rebadged Yamahas, that probably is better than a rebadged Tohatsu. -----Original Message----- From: casioqv@usermail.com <casioqv@usermail.com> Sent: Monday, March 25, 2024 5:13 PM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Cc: 'For and about Montgomery Sailboats' <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: M_Boats: Re: M17 Outboard I don’t think the 80s - 90s Yamaha and Mariner motors I am talking about are made by Tohatsu, since nearly every part has a tiny Yamaha logo… and OEM Yamaha is the only way to purchase many of the parts. Even the Mariner branded ones have a Yamaha logo cast into all of the metal parts. Sincerely, Tyler -----Original Message----- From: swwheatley <swwheatley@comcast.net> To: 'For <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Monday, 25 March 2024 12:44 PM PDT Subject: M_Boats: Re: M17 Outboard The Mariner (and Yamaha) actually were made by Tohatsu. I have the same 5hp badged as a Mercury. The 5hp is overkill and if you come across a 4hp, that actually would be better. Very good choice for the M17 if the 2 stroke business does not bother you. Relatively light and has a proper reverse gear. One of my other toys is a modified Vespa, so I'm a bit of a 2 stroke aficionado. -----Original Message----- From: Henry Rodriguez <heinzir@gmail.com> Sent: Monday, March 25, 2024 3:08 PM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: M_Boats: Re: M17 Outboard My 1984(?) 5hp 2 stroke Mariner (made by Yamaha) weighs 46 pounds. It is the same as the Yamaha 4hp. It weighs more than Tyler's 30lbs but this one has full FNR. I like it better than the similar vintage Evinrude 4hp Deluxe I keep as a spare. The Evinrude weighs a tad more. The Mariner was running a little rough last fall so rather than rebuilding/cleaning the carburetor I was able to find an entire brand new carb for it on Amazon for $58. On Mon, Mar 25, 2024 at 1:46 PM <casioqv@usermail.com> wrote:
These boats were designed back when 2-stroke outboards only weighed 20-30lbs, and most of the modern 4-strokes weigh about 60lbs or more. If there's any way a 30lb or less outboard could work for you, the boat will perform better. I've had great luck with the early 90s Yamaha 2-strokes that use very little oil (100:1), and weigh only 19lbs (2hp) or 30lbs (3hp).
Sincerely, Tyler
----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Scobie" <scoobscobie@gmail.com> To: "Peter Metherall" <pmetherall@gmail.com>, "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2024 6:22:14 AM Subject: M_Boats: Re: M17 Outboard
Pete:
Many options ...
IMO Honda's 4-6hp motors are reliable but heavy. (To heavy!)
Don't have much experience with the newer Yamaha 4-6hp ... the old, like 15+ years ago, true 4hp motor was excellent and a great fit for the M17.
I had a Suzuki 4 (aka 4-6hp) on my M17 and it did fine.
Tohatsu are common but my experience is they are very sensitive to fuel and lots of issues with clogged carburetor jets.
Lots of opinions on outboards and many people hate or love specific motors. Discussions are a lot like discussing anchoring. Lots of opinions!!
One thing I would strongly consider is making sure you have a local outboard service business that will work on your motor type and has a good reputation. This may be more important than the specific motor because service is part of owning.
Number one recommendation is use only fresh fuel and anything older than a month needs to be transferred to the tow vehicle or lawn mower fleet. Fresh fuel!
Treat fuel with a mix of SeaFoam and Sta-Bil (yes _both_).
Don't run scared of ethanol. Nothing more than E10(some locations have E15 which will ruin an outboard!). I've run E10 and outboards for years, like 20, and never had an issue. The issue is always fresh fuel! See - https://m17-375.com/2019/04/04/outboard-motors-fuel-issues/
Run the motor at minimum once a month. Run it at home in a bucket. This is important! Lack of running causes more issues than fuel. Do at minimum a yearly oil change and be sure to service the lower end gearbox and water pump based on manufacturer service recommendations.
:: Dave Scobie :: M6'8" #650 :: Baba 30 #233 DEJA VU :: former owner SV SWALLOW - sailboatswallow.wordpress.com/ :: former owner M17 #375 SWEET PEA - m17-375.com :: former owner M15 #288 SCRED - m15namedscred.wordpress.com
-- Henry Rodriguez