40hp light or 40hp 2cyl Advice please

[Mercury16]

G'day everyone, hope all is good on the forum.
on my future boat i will be having a 40hp 2 stroke mercury (of course)
but they make two models. so i was hoping you's could advise me on wich way to go. and reasons why you have chosen either the light or 2cyl
there specs are fairly similar. but i below i have posted the different ones.
.............................Light____________2cyl
Cylinder:_________3______________ 2

Displacement: ...42.5cu in ________39.3cu in
___________......697cc ___________644cc

Bore/stroke: ..2.68" x 2.52" ______2.99" x 2.80"
________68mm x 64mm________76mm x 71mm

Alternator _____11amp ____________18amp
system:....____(130watt) __________(254 amp)

weight:________78kg______________69kg

Induction____ loop charged _______loop charged
system: _______3 carb_____________ 1 carb

and thats it.
thankyou in advance, oh and if i insert the poll correctly please participate in it.
cheers Peter:) sorry if it looks confusing but it didnt work just using spaces:-/

[Blackened]

G'day

Providing the transom weight isn't an issue and that the features are the same in regards to one handed operation, tim/tilt, go for the light. The light I think is the tohatsu engine? But being 3cyl and triple carb and bigger displacemnt it will be a better performer.

Dave

[finga]

I'm with Dave.
Go and see a Tohatsu dealer and ask him about the same motor.
You might just become colour blind and see grey not black or consider the grey just a dull/dirty black :)

[Dan5]

I have a feeling that they are both tohatsu motors and that the 40hp 4cyl magnum is the only genuine merc/mariner i'm not 100% but i'm sure i'll be corrected!! Dan...

[Mercury16]

Thanks fellas,
i'll look into the tohatsu dealers and see what i can find. im pretty sure one is a genuine merc, being American built. and the other being Japanese ie tohatsu might be wrong though.

Also to everyone i would love to hear your experience with either motor if you have owned one or been on a boat with one.

Peter

[Ron173]

Mate not sure what Mercury has done here.
The light used to be a 2 cyl motor made in japan, the other model was a 3 cyl 976cc model, which was a detuned 60hp, I had this and it was a powrful motor.

They stopped making it not so long ago, but would be a great engine to seek second hand if you can find a good one.

Ron

[bushbeachboy]

G'day Peter,
I had the 'light' 3 cyl 40 Merc on a previous boat. It is a Tohatsu motor, even comes with the Tohy fuel connector. I found it to be a very good motor, reliable and economical. Plenty of power, and smooth running.

Everything on mine was manual ie: pull start and manual tilt, with one shallow water drive position. I think the main difference with the Merc and Tohy motors is that the Merc is black and the Tohy is dark blue.

The gear shift is on the starboard side of the motor, in the middle of the cowling, so you have to reach for it.

If you are going to go for a 40 2 stroke I can recommend the 40 Yammy 3 cyl with PTT and electric start. I have one currently on the little poly, and it is a brilliant bit of kit, definitely a step up from the all manual control. It is not quieter or more economical or more reliable, just a lot more user friendly. And the trim/tilt button is right on the end of the tiller so you can control it all with your left hand, ie: you don't need to use two hands to work the trim while on the go.

Cheers

Craig aka BBB

[Mercury16]

Thanks alot Craig,
Ill be running it on a side console quinnie hornet or explorer, so the changing gears and tilt/trim positions shouldnt be a factor for me.
thanks again
Peter

[TheSaint]

Get a 3yl 40hp yammie or a Etec.. mercs just don't cut in that hp range..

[QuinnyDory]

Hi,
Ive got the 2006 40hp 3 cyl Merc with power everything - had since Oct last year on a 4.6m Dory. As far as I know its a detuned 50hp tohatsu (look at the specs on both mercmarine and tohatsu sites) - so its very torquey and still reasonable on fuel. From speaking to sales guy apparently all Merc specify with the build of their tohatsu is a different grade metal (better? corrosion resistance....who knows). It works for me and I like it.
cheers. Darren.

[henryk]

QuinnyDory, I think you are being told Porkie Pies by the sales guy ( must have been a merc salesman ). All the metal in both motors will be the same grade.

Production lines for technoloy sharing arrangements just don't do that sort of stuff.

BTW I would still go the merc purely because of warranty support. Tohatsu warranty support in Australia has a really bad reputation...

[DR]

QuinnyDory, I think you are being told Porkie Pies by the sales guy ( must have been a merc salesman ). All the metal in both motors will be the same grade.

Production lines for technoloy sharing arrangements just don't do that sort of stuff.

BTW I would still go the merc purely because of warranty support. Tohatsu warranty support in Australia has a really bad reputation...

was told a similar thing 6 years ago.. that some mercs were built by tohatsu, ( not the US ones) but to merc standards with alloys used. i bought the 3 cyl US model. great motor.
salesman had no reason to lie, it was in general conversation & a couple of months (while waiting for delivery) after the sale..