Mercury or Tohatsu outboard motor?

[singlespeed]

I bought a 15 hp two stroke Mercury in St. Martin, in 2010. Ran fine, until I screwed up and needed a carb rebuild while in North Carolina. No two stroke parts available. Mercury dire Ted me to their South American distributor. Took 3 weeks to get the kit.

Broke the crank on the Mercury while in Grenada. Cheaper to buy a Tohatsu from Budget Marine. Saw the miniscule weight difference difference between the 9.8 and 18 HP Tohatsu two stroke. Bought the 18 and have been happy since. Starts and runs great. Not the most fuel efficient, but a huge weight savings over even a <19 HP four stroke. Since Tohatsu two strokes can't be legally sold in the U.S. (including the USVI and Puerto Rico), getting parts could be problematic in the U.S..

[anacapaisland42]

Wait for a Yamaha.....have a look around and see what the fishermen are using....usually it's Yamaha.
Bill









[QUOTE=jr_spyder;3054220]I need a new outboard for my dinghy in the +/- 9 hp range. I'm in the Caribbean and will buy a 2 stroke because of the lower weight; it will be a lot easier for my wife to help with the hoisting from dinghy to aft rail mount, and safer for me while in the dinghy when she is handling the motor over my head.

[Montanan]

Mercury Marine's primary business is outboard motors. Mercury Outboards, 30 Hp and less, are made by Tohatsu in Japan. Mercury Marine builds 40, 50 and 60 horsepower outboard motors in Suzhou, China. Mercury also manufactures engines over 75 horsepower at its facility in Fond du Lac in Wisconsin.

Mercury also makes the MerCruiser line of sterndrives (inboard/outboard drives) and inboard motors. Mercury Racing is the company's division for racing engines tailored for power and speed.

[LouK]

I just finished the same research this past year. As previously mentioned both engines are primarily a Tohatsu build. In the Annapolis area, the Tohatsu is slightly cheaper.

The difference between the 8 and the 9.8 is basically a different carb according to my mechanic. I would agree the Yammies are probably a better engine but for the additional 10-15% more I couldn’t swing it.

I also work as a crew coach at a place that has 6-8 launches, all powered by the Tohatsu Mercs. These get used day in/ day out & are not particularly treated with TLC by all coaching staff but they do seem to hold up. The 2 cycle engines weigh much less than the 4 strokes but are no longer available in the US. Those that know say they are more robust.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Mercury Marine's primary business is outboard motors. Mercury Outboards, 30 Hp and less, are made by Tohatsu in Japan. Mercury Marine builds 40, 50 and 60 horsepower outboard motors in Suzhou, China. Mercury also manufactures engines over 75 horsepower at its facility in Fond du Lac in Wisconsin.

Mercury also makes the MerCruiser line of sterndrives (inboard/outboard drives) and inboard motors. Mercury Racing is the company's division for racing engines tailored for power and speed.

All of Tohatsu's and Mercury new production of outboards are four cycle. They discontinued making 2 strokes due to emissions regulations.

The Mercury models are essentially just private label trade dressed Tohatsu models of smaller horsepower outboards. The larger horsepowered Mercury outboards are of proprietary design and manufacturing.

[alansmith]

Side note... can’t take your dingy with a 2 stroke engine into many areas of California like Lake Tahoe. I totally understand why sailors use them. But they are serious polluters. I have two 9.9 hp outboards. Tohatsu and Suzuki... both great motors. The Suzuki is fuel injection( no carb). But about 110 lbs. you ain’t slinging that around from dingy to stem of mother craft.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by singlespeed

I bought a 15 hp two stroke Mercury in St. Martin, in 2010. Ran fine, until I screwed up and needed a carb rebuild while in North Carolina. No two stroke parts available. Mercury dire Ted me to their South American distributor. Took 3 weeks to get the kit.

Broke the crank on the Mercury while in Grenada. Cheaper to buy a Tohatsu from Budget Marine. Saw the miniscule weight difference difference between the 9.8 and 18 HP Tohatsu two stroke. Bought the 18 and have been happy since. Starts and runs great. Not the most fuel efficient, but a huge weight savings over even a <19 HP four stroke. Since Tohatsu two strokes can't be legally sold in the U.S. (including the USVI and Puerto Rico), getting parts could be problematic in the U.S..

26kg for the 9.8 vs 41kg for the 18, a bit more than a miniscule difference, IMHO.

[Lost Horizons]

I had a two-cycle 8 HP Nissan about 20 years ago. Occasionally, after running for over an hour it would cut off. Could be restarted a few minutes later, but not immediately. It only happened a few times over a three year period that I had it, so I was not bothered enough to find out the reason.

If I was buying a ~10 HP gas outboard today, I would seriously consider an EFI version. Tohatsu makes one called 9.9 (vs 9.8 for a carbureted counterpart). It is a 4-cycle model and a bit heavy, but not terribly different from a 9.8. If the weight was a concern, I would rather get a 6 HP. I would not get a more polluting 2-cycle outboard to gain a couple of HP.

[LouK]

He’s got a good point. At every bit of 90#, the 9.8 is a heavy bugger. If not for a potentially misguided, ‘what if I ever need the extra ponies’ I’ve had (2nd thoughts about my decision to go with the more robust engine. You’re going to need a lift for sure.

[conchaway]

I have had Honda and Tohatsu. T. is better. They Make Nissan also.

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by motion30

Every outboard motor I have ever seen and I was in the business for 10 years. Uses. Hardened steel head bolts. In fact I would say I've never seen an internal combustion motor ever They used anything but steel head bolts

Hardened or not, they still rust like crazy. Could they not at least use cadmium plated or similar? No excuse as far as I’m concerned. As for other stuff?? For example, the small locking device that holds the cover on has rusted completely off on mine, I’ve fabricated a new one from SS.

But then with the cheap pricing of these motors, I suppose SS is a step too far

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by myocean

We got a nw 9.8 Tohatsu during our 3 yrs cruising time with our kids.
Powerful and convenient. However, meanwhile I see this much more critical.

2-strokes are the worst polluters. Each time a new charge of air/fuel is loaded into the combustion chamber, part of it leaks out through the exhaust - so into the water. Read about it.

Next time I would seriously consider getting an electric one or a propane motor.

In many places cruisers frequent propane in the little tins used to power outboards would not be freely available. With electric motors (I think Torqueedo is the only one available now?) battery life is a problem as was recharge time.

With up to 100:1 mix on two stroke motors these days I reckon the pollution created by the 20 litres of fuel I burn in 6 months is hardly a deal-breaker. It is true that out of four different outboard concepts, 2-stroke is the worst polluter but my main engine creates vastly more pollution than my outboard does. After all, marine diesels are not required to comply with any of the emission standards and in modern diesel terms are pretty dirty.

As a matter of interest, how does the super-clean state of California deal with emissions on marine diesels?

[mlydon]

Tohatsu and mercury are the EXACT SAME MOTORS with different stickers on them.....

At least here in the states. You pay an extra $300 for mercury stickers......

Matt

[Disailor]

You Tube for how to galvanize steel parts for cheap.

[Bill Seal]

Originally Posted by CassidyNZ

As a matter of interest, how does the super-clean state of California deal with emissions on marine diesels?

Shhhh!!!
Don't give our idiot governer any new ideas on how to screw up our lives even more