Trying to pick my dinghy poison

[mikedefieslife]

[QUOTE=Ecos;3172848]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

if you can get your hands on one....the Yamaha 8 hp two stroke is a gem of an engine...lightweight, small, you can pick it up with one hand, plenty powerful for your dink, robust, and will run forever.


Maybe not. We bought a new 8hp enduro in Panama in 2009 and it has needed several major repairs. Once the throttle handle broke off and I had to steer through the shoals grasping the whole outboard to steer. A new $300 carb fixed it another time. Other than that is has been oK. Oh yeah it's light, but try and catch it when the lift harness breaks. No way I could catch 15hp.

It's NOT the 8hp Enduro that's the good one. It's the regular 8hp 2-stroke.

The 15hp Enduro is great. Many people consider the 8hp Enduro to be one of the worst in Yamaha's line up. The regular 8hp 2 stroke though is a fantastic engine, and very different to the Enduro model.

[JPA Cate]

Fwiw, We do not use a pad, just stuff the two painters under the bow*, then lash it down to a pad eye installed for the purpose. We use a webbing strop between two more pad eyes, on the cabin top, to keep it from shifting side to side. It breathes, gets warm and the air expands within during the daytime, so one needs to re-tighten the lashing in the middle of the night watch...especially so, if it is rough, and you don;t want to lose the dinghy.

Chafe occurs for us on the chaps, when the dinghy slides along the non-skid. Next pair of chaps I make will have two chafe patches installed. For velcro attachment, sew the velcro to a hypalon strip, and glue it just above the splash rail.

*Two, because if we want to tow it, we prefer to use two, one is short, the other much longer, for reaching things to tie it to that are farther away than we want to roll the dinghy to.

[slug]

[QUOTE=mikedefieslife;3173157]

Originally Posted by Ecos

It's NOT the 8hp Enduro that's the good one. It's the regular 8hp 2-stroke.

The 15hp Enduro is great. Many people consider the 8hp Enduro to be one of the worst in Yamaha's line up. The regular 8hp 2 stroke though is a fantastic engine, and very different to the Enduro model.

Yah...the 2 stroke 8 Yamaha is a fantastic engine


20 years old and still going strong

It’s outlasted 2 ribs

If you see a used one for sale buy it

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

...especially so, if it is rough, and you don;t want to lose the dinghy...

I won't lose mine, unless it goes down with the ship. We keep it inside.

[wingssail]

[QUOTE=slug;3173527]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

Yah...the 2 stroke 8 Yamaha is a fantastic engine


20 years old and still going strong

It’s outlasted 2 ribs

If you see a used one for sale buy it

I am really enamored with my 15hp 2-stroke Merc, the last model that was made in the USA, (for whatever that's worth, but you know, "Number 1, made in the USA, one pull!").

This motor has had a rough life, Been underwater three times, two while running. It still starts well and runs quiet. Bought it in 2000, so it's 20 years old too. Every time I am in a place where I see a new one for sale I want to buy it, but why? The old one runs good.

[sanibel sailor]

[QUOTE=slug;3173527]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

Yah...the 2 stroke 8 Yamaha is a fantastic engine


20 years old and still going strong

It’s outlasted 2 ribs

If you see a used one for sale buy it

Only one I see in a limited search is a 1987 for $875. Seems a bit dear.

[MicHughV]

shop around, quite a few of those 8 hp 2-stroke Yammy's around, since the 4 strokes came out. Hands down, my fave outboard!! You won't be sorry...like the previous owner says, age don't mean a thing to this little engine. If you find one, give it a test run in a bucket of water to make sure everything works. Put it in gear, forward and reverse. Carefully check that you see water coming out the little peehole to let you know the impellor is still functioning and not dried out. oh yeah, don't leave gas in the carb when you store it for a long period, especially don't leave ethanol laced fuel in it.

[siboneysail]

It used to be that Bahamas was a good place to pick up an outboard, things might have changed, but check around...

[MicHughV]

I have bought two outboards in the Bamaha's.....cheaper...yes...and no sales tax...but....they will have a stash of them in a warehouse somewhere...and you are just as likely to get a 2015 model as a 2019 model...as they try to clear inventory....
But....I've never had a lick of problem with either one....

[sanibel sailor]

Put an ad on craigslist and got lucky. Found what seems to be a decent 2008 Yamaha 2 stroke. Not peeing but should be easy fix. Starts first pull cold. $600.

[slug]

[QUOTE=sanibel sailor;3173580]

Originally Posted by slug

Only one I see in a limited search is a 1987 for $875. Seems a bit dear.

Yah, expensive

I think I paid less than one thousand new

Another bullet proof two stroke that i have owned was the 9.9 Johnson

indestructible...it’s nickname was Skelator ,

I can’t remember If I ever changed its water pump impeller !!

By the time I got rid of the poor bugger it was absolutely beat up ,..., smashed cowling , broken off tiller handle , half cavitation plate missing

Ran perfectly ... I gave if away to the port diver to use as a thruster on his anchor barge

It might be still alive and working the port

Seems that the ... 1990 till extinction ...small two strokes were all good motors

[MicHughV]

yah, if that Yammie has been sitting for a while, the small rubber impellor is likely shot, dried up, broken, or otherwise in-operable, resulting in no pee from peehole.
Don't try running it too long without first replacing the impellor. The peehole MUST have water coming out. It's possible some little crittur got in there to build a nest or something, you can stick a coat hangar wire in there to see if there is any blockage, but more likely in inoperable impellor.

The impellor is easy to replace. Youtube has many video's of 8 hp Yammie impellor replacement. You should always have a spare impellor on hand anyway.

[MicHughV]

that's a very clean looking yammie, looks barely used. I bet it's been sitting idle for a very long time. My 2c is the impellor needs replacement, not very expensive nor difficult to do.
You are gonna love dat thang !!!

[sanibel sailor]

Very low hours, but well maintained. Prop looks like new, except one bent tip, probably from a mild drop. Had gear oil changed, new impeller and carb rebuild in 2019. Buyer said it was OK in February, but quit peeing a few weeks ago.

Turned out to be an interesting problem. Impeller was good. The grommet that fits in the top of the housing to seal the output tube had been dislodged upon reassembly and jammed down into the output hole, blocking flow. Corrected but did not pump when reassembled and testing in a bucket. Pee hole not blocked. Visions of a teardwn danced in my head. Did some youtube-ing. Interesting that when I test just the gearcase in a bucket with a drill, I get no outflow, but if I prime the pump with water in the outflow hole, it starts pumping great. Too shallow a test bucket did not allow priming. I reassembled it properly and am confident that the pump will work when submerged on the dinghy. Yes, I have a new pump kit on order and will replace the whole kit in the near future.

Now to put some numbers on the new dink...

[MicHughV]

my 8 hp Yammie does not pee a lot at idle....more like a dribble...but a few rpm's quickly produces a steady stream....that pee hole sometimes gets clogged with salt residue in seawater...and like I said before, a quick poke with a coat hangar wire will usually clear it....

yes, to test the engine in a bucket, you have to make sure the lower end is all the way submerges otherwise the impellor will not see water....keep the hose running....if you put the engine in gear, as it will splash all the water out...