Hi all,
I have just bought a 8 foot fibreglass dinghy.
I am considering buying a Toshiba three and a half horsepower motor, weight 13 kilos, price $950.
What do you think of this choice?

Buy a recogniaed outboard brand. Toshiba ain't. Outboards that size are cheap.

Id go the Yamaha 2 stroke.

100:1 mixture
light weight with smart lifting handles
go something that has gears so at least the 3hp
Also a twist grip throttle is very helpfull
From the 3hp and above the prop also has a splined bush instead of a shear pin..

2 stroke if you drop it in the drink its easy to run after, also can lay flat anyway, with out oil running out through the valves..

myusernam said..
Yeah don't even consider anything but 2 in that hp. No servicing, can store / lay flat etc. I'd get a Merc. 50:1 (always been suspicious 100/1) and better alloy than the Yamaha disprin.

Haha hate to burst your bubble but.. A yamaha disprin is a silly statement, especially and old statement. Yes in the very early days Yamaha had a massive problem with corrosion, we talking back in the late 80's when they were sourcing their allow mixture from Mercury..Corrosion these days is not really much of an issue.

100/1 mix is manufactures recommendation so im not sure why you'd have an issue with it..

Also hate to burst your bubble BUT the smaller mercs are mostly manufactured in France by Tohatsu, the people you said not to support above

Rabbs said..
Don't have experience with the tiny Hp engines.......I have a 25hp Yamaha ( 2 stroke ) that has done many hours.

I'm a lazy prick and only flush it at the end summer. 8yrs old, with original impeller & I'm pretty sure the same plugs.

Like Jb says , once its run in, .......I've never had a problem with the 100:1 mix.

Cheers.

Can i suggest you change your impeller.. They really should be changed every year..

Flushing these days is really more about loving the salt away. Other wise the water evaporates and the salt calcifies and becomes very hard blocking cooling channels.

Thought u might bite jb. Tohatsu are great. Nothing wrong with them. Have a 50 2. Every other outboard motor motor, whipper snipper etc is 50/1. So half the lube on a Yamaha just seems like less magin for error to me. I guess there's not that many old ones still going. Tha disprin thing still valid when compared to the us manufacturers. I think they do have superior alloys . They often run ads about the copper content just look at the corrosion issues with the 225 yammies. Merc and I think also omc have their own foundries in the us and make their own alloys. Anyhow Merc have always been strong in that hp class. The little 3.5 is a classic.

myusernam said..
PS he said Toshiba. Didn't even know they made outboards. If he meant Tohatsu then they're ok imho.

JB is a dealer so obviously knows his stuff. I'm just a consumer. But the Yamaha and Honda dealers are always quick.to poopoo disprin claims but I'm not so sure.

I haven't sold new engines for over 16 years, im quick to discredit the idea of corrosion in Yamaha's because its not a legit one.

The mercury outboard is the strongest alloy mix out their, (Hence why they do so well in the Avon) thats because they also have the highest % of copper, that causes the corrosion. The "Disprin" issue you referred to with Yamahas was legit, BUT the fact is back then they were buying their alloy from Mercury. Merc also had the same issue but we are talking old, like 1980's..

These days their are some engines you need to look out for, a few people are experiencing issues with Hondas, pre 2005 but other issues are also coming into play, electronics on boats, underwater lights create issues for allow motors, as much as salt water corrosion .

The 100:1 issue is for the Yamaha motor only up to 40hp. I will say that if you use Yamaha oil, absolutely no issue, and i always suggest using specific brand oil with that engine. The Yamaha oil is very high in detergent and designed to spread thinner, hence why they suggest 100:1. Also the high detergent level helps with their oil injection system on their bigger motors.

If you mix your oil wrong, (room for error) then maybe people need to be more careful. The point is its manufactures spec's, im fairly sure a fortune 500 company like Yamaha have done their research..

All motor have their issues, all brands have their models that are not special, but in the smaller portable market, Yamaha are hard to walk away from..