Best place to buy a Yamaha 15 2 stroke between Martinique and Panama?

[sy_gilana]

Originally Posted by colemj

The Tohatsu 18 has been on the market since the early/mid 90's. It has always been a real alternative to the Yamaha Enduro. It is not a new model, unless they have redesigned it in the past year.

Like I said, the Enduro rides a reputation it really does not deserve.

Mark

Mark, I disagree, just a bit. Let me qualify my position

The model I looked at is the "Ever Run" (The Tohatsu version of an "Enduro" I have never seen this model before, but as you know I have been "hidden" for a while
I believe this is indeed an upgraded model designed for the 3rd world.

My first outboard was a Yamaha P450 in 1978. The shop was a Tohatsu dealer. The motors were comparable side by side, and in use .The owner had one Tohatsu and one Yamaha 25 running in a twin set up on the same boat same work same maintenance. Yamaha was better. But that was then...

I would not have placed the earlier Tohatsu's in the same league as the Yamaha, and I am referring to the Salt Water Series Yamaha ie the 63V model.

Yamaha have their own metallurgists, and in fact I believe all the single cylinder motors only exist to recycle the scrapped castings of larger motors, they are not a profit center. Yamaha do not sell their blocks that fail laser measurement on to the scrap market.

The Salt-Water series Yamaha, is one of the finest evolutions of a 2 stroke 2 cyl motor ever. They have refined it since 1984 and each evolution was better than the last. The Achilles heel of the SW model is only that the magneto coils have to be made out of Iron rich Steel, and they rust. They can't be made out of anything else. Most of the problems have been fuel related. TCW3 outboard oil contains Ammonia in order to transport small amounts of water in a colloidal solution and evacuate it by burning. This transported water erodes the Idle Jet, a #48 and it gets slightly bigger over time, and should be habitually replaced every 2 years if in daily use.

The Enduro model has some changes, some good some bad, but it was built for a specific market, where robustness was deemed more important than efficiency.

Here is a list of my likes and dislikes of the Enduro (6B43) vs. the Salt Water (63V)

The exhaust system on the Enduro is not as good, vs. the SW which has a drier exhaust as it is externally cooled all the way down to the lower unit.

The gasket at the bottom of the power head has a design fault, where salt and calcium can build-up forcing the gasket upwards, breaking the seal on the front side, this causes hot salt water to spray onto the driveshaft and seal housing (Part # 6B4-15396) causing corrosion and binding. A motor with a compromised gasket and left for storage will "seize" up as the seal housing expands (inward) and grips the driveshaft. I have fixed three of these in one year. The solution, if you own an Enduro is ALWAYS turn the motor "Tiller Handle Down" when tilted on your transom overnight, this allows drainage of that channel.

The timing is fiddle proof on the Enduro, good if you have naughty fingers, but the motor cannot be tuned to the perfect timing of 5deg ATDC idle and 25 BTDC at WOT, as it can on the 63V. This results in a rough idle and more noise on the Enduro.

The shift lever is harder to reach on the Enduro.

The propeller on the Enduro is less efficient, with thicker blades, but it is bullet proof.
IE the top speed of my dink with the 63V prop is 4 Kts higher than with the Enduro prop, same pitch and all other parameters equal.

Shallow water drive, tilt, and lock system on the Enduro is better than the 63V

Tiller arm is better on the Enduro.

The start mechanism is better on the Enduro.

The Resonator on the carb is better on the Enduro.

In summary, If I compare the new Tohatsu Ever Run 18 to the Enduro Yamaha, they are in the same league (bearing in mind that there are no older ones to compare corrosion control)

However, the Tohatsu pales against the 63V, but those are only sold in Indonesia now as new. (with a few small mods)

One last thing on the Tohatsu, you get a spares kit in the box containing 1x Cyl Head Gasket, one power head base gasket, spark plugs, grease, 2 anodes, a trim tab anode, oil plug gaskets, a water pump impeller and a replacement start cord.

Sorry for the thread hijack Monte, but perhaps you can make an informed decision now. I suggest buy in Panama, and choose between the 18 T and the 9.9Y at more or less the same price. (And I will be happy to convert the 9.9 to 15 for you over a beer if you choose the Yammie)

[Paul L]

If its of any interest to the OP, I just bought a new Tohatsu 9.8 in New Zealand for about US$1,400. It replaces my 14 year old, hard ridden and put away wet Tohatsu 9.8.

[monte]

Good advice and thanks for the comparisons. Apparently they can bring the non enduro Yamaha model into st Lucia from their Miami supplier, but it's a few weeks wait. It sounds like the previous poster was happy with his tohatsu 9.8. There's a new one down the dock on the same dinghy as ours which I'll try tomorrow hopefully. How do the standard M series tohatsu's compare with the ever run series? There seems to be a bit of a price difference but $1900 in Panama is appealing. I emailed the supplier linked in your FB post today. The Yamaha 9.9 tuned to 15 is also appealing, especially given our dinghy is rated to 9.9 is it just a matter of replacing the jets? Can that be done on both the standard and enduro models?
Today I tried a Yamaha 4 stroke 9.9 today on a similar dinghy to ours but a foot longer. It planed really easily but didn't feel like it had the zip of the 2 stroke Johnson. The guy was commissioning it for a new lagoon. He told me Martinique has the cheapest prices for 4 stroke yamaha (cheaper than SMX) and that it cost $1500 new. I called the supplier but they told me $2700 so I'll check tomorrow. Maybe it's the language barrier. It did feel heavy and I couldn't even pull the start cord, I thought it was in gear it was so hard. Anyway, I think it will have to be a 2 stroke but I was interested to compare the power.

Also thanks Paul for the obviously satisfied customer report on the tohatsu 9.8

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by sy_gilana

Monte, I am a Yamaha fan. I would say SXM, but Panama is good too, get a 9.9 and if you get to the San Blas, I will convert it back to a 15 for you, you save about $200.00 on that. Price of a 9.9 in Panama is about $2k, from the importer called Tesa.

BUT.

I have recently examined a Tohatsu 18 and I am very impressed, its a damn good motor.

Ive had good motors from Tohatsu too, but in Central America (and other venues), nothing beats parts and service availability of Yamaha Enduro.

I have two Tohatsu's, a Johnson, and a Honda in my bodega back in Guate. A Yamaha 15 Enduro is on the dink and an ancient 25 Enduro on the skiff back home. The others are backup/excess and soon to be up for sale.