what outboard?

[bigjoe]

I noticed no one has mentioned the new E-Tech http://www.evinrude.com/en-US/

I've read they r cleaner than 4 strokes, lighter, and get better fuel economy, the downside is the lowest rated HP is 40, and 30hp was what u were looking 4.

[Gator81]

Just realized Yamaha's smallest EFI 4-stroke is a 50hp. Sorry!

[Tom Spohn]

I have had the best luck with Suzuki, followed by Tohatsu, but here is something to help with the comparison:

Welcome to Suzuki Marine

[Thermal]

Yes, the Tohatsus running around here seem to be doing the best, I have a small Honda outboard for my dingy and it has given me all sorts of problems. I could always count on my Honda motorcycles and generator, theyr'e awesome, so I'm really baffled as to why the outboard is such a piece of junk.

[schoonerdog]

Evinrude went bankrupt in the late 1990s after building some of their first lower HP 4 strokes. In my opinion, they went bankrupt because of constant service calls. Even the companies in Annapolis which serviced these engines went bankrupt. Those engines were probably the worst outboards ever built. It never started without a mechanic constantly hovering over it, and eventually mine shattered it's powerhead after 150 hours of use. Horrible engine. Their name was resurrected but all of their previous warrentees were voided. Ran into LOTS of other boat owners who had the same engines, and same problems. In Georgetown where around 450 boats anchor every year and each has to make a couple mile passage back and forth to the market every day, I would say around 80% of the engines were Yamaha, and Honda and Nissan split the rest.

Originally Posted by bigjoe

I noticed no one has mentioned the new E-Tech http://www.evinrude.com/en-US/

I've read they r cleaner than 4 strokes, lighter, and get better fuel economy, the downside is the lowest rated HP is 40, and 30hp was what u were looking 4.

[bigjoe]

schoonerdog, yes u're right they were garbage back then. I had a 1996 3 cyl 2stroke, oil ingected ele start, that kept overheating, I sold it before it blew. But from what I understand after Bombardier picked up the company things took an upward swing. Bombardier has many years producing 2stroke engines for watercraft, snowmobiles and light aircraft. Perhaps this this could be looked upon as a postitive note, with a totally redesigned motor the new e-teck #s speak for its self. Bombardier is a top notch world renound competive company that builds quality products in my opinion and backs it up by their past recalls when purchasing the company. I think the old evenrude's bad rap is going to b a tuff thing for the company to loose as you've shown that. Perhaps the name evenrude should of been scrapped as well.
Here's a little more info on the old bankrupt evnrude co. BoatUS. com Consumer Protection Bureau sorry I have gotten off topic.
Cheers

[schoonerdog]

Looks like an interesting new engine. But let's face it, for world cruising, he's going to find mechanics and parts for yamaha everywhere, honda in most places, nissan in some places and evinrude with difficulty. Even here in Annapolis "america's sailboat capital" we have service centers for Honda, Nissan and Yamaha (all on the water) and nothing for Evinrude.

[harryrezz]

Beau - the key thing which stands out to me in your question is "long range" cruising. If by that you mean getting off the beaten trach and into the international boondocks, then Yamaha 2-stroke is the ONLY way to go. I keep my boat in the southern Caribbean and the ONLY motor you see on the boats of local fishermen as well as on 90% of cruiser's dinghies are Yamahas. Why? Because the Endoro series are simply, they run forever and because parts are available all over the world. By the same token, those who cruise the world say pretty much the same thing. If you plan to spend most of your time in the states or in highly civilized places with plenty of marinas and techies to work on your equipment then go for a 4-stroke with EFI; they are more efficient and pollute less. BUT, if you want long term reliability, simplicity and availability of parts, then by all means go Yamaha 2-stroke.
BTW - mine is a 2002 15 horse on the back of a 10.5 foot AB aluminum hulled inflatable which I use with my charter boat. I have no idea how many hours are on it at this point, but it is a lot. It has been flawless! I probably should change the spark plugs on of these days .....
PS - one of the big bareboat charter outfits are using Tohatsu's - but I also see many of their clients having trouble getting them started: FWIW.
Harry