who has changed there boat.

[breamnut]

since feul is really starting to go through the roof i wanted to know if many people have changed there 2 strokes to 4 strokes or have gone etec's or optimax's.
also if many people has down graded or upgraded because of fuel?

[Noelm]

crap, I just did a long reply and it got eaten!!! but I reckon to replace your current Motor just because fuel has gone up is false economy, like you spend 10 or 15 grand to save $25 of fuel on a day out, it would take you years to make it worthwhile, but on the other hand, if your current setup was getting towards it's "use by date" then by all means, shop around for the most economical Motor you can find.

[SeaHunt]

Being a bit of a jew I thought fuel prices were rediculous back in 2002 when I bought my boat new, so I went for a 4 stroke.
Its nearly doubled in price since then, so I am really glad I did.

[bushbeachboy]

I've got an old-tec 2 stroke. Based on my average boat usage, it would take me about 250 years to recover the extra cost of changing a motor to a 4 stroke. Remember that the 4 stroke uses fuel, your only saving is in the cost of the extra fuel and oil used in the traditional 2 stroke. This doesn't apply to the newer tec 2 strokes, but they are priced similarly to 4 strokes. So in my case, there is no economic argument to support a change. But if I felt like it, I would still do it!

[onerabbit]

Nuh , I like my 2- carb feed for the dodgy bar crossings,
heaps of instant power when you need it,
all that economy wont help you if it's on the bottom of the bar.......................

Muzz

[PinHead]

one of the cheapest parts of owning a boat is the fuel cost.

[ashleyhj74]

I own a 21ft Spearfish centre cab with a 200hp carby yamaha. I've thought about sellin it quite a bit of late. Pretty much ruled out the 4-stroke upgrade, cause i'd be payin a extra $50+ a week or there abouts in payments year-round for 5 years, i dont use that in fuel every week (dont use the boat every week, you get that i guess) now, so what fuel savings i would get, it wont justify the extra in payments for me.

[bigjimg]

Just upgraded from the cold and often wet 4.2m tinnie to a haines 580 with a 135 optimax.Yep it'll use more fuel both in towing costs and running costs,but when you love your fishing and boating these things you absorb.When in 10 years time i am looking through my photos at the kids running around on peel or straddie the last thing i will be thinking of is fuel costs.Jim

[FNQCairns]

Yes and No is the best I can do, I will try very hard to never sell the boat (if the missus lets me:(), even if it does nothing but grow weeds for a couple of years.

Suspect my need to sell if it comes would be forced higher over time with a new outboard in the mix.

All said and done I get simply great efficiency (never seen better to skite a little) and the gap in fuel use and speed between my engine and it's comparable 4st or di is not that large so I have not much chance of ever in my lifetime breaking even.

Blokes with 6 cyl traditional 2 st (or some twin engine rigs) are the ones most likely to profit from the new purchase over time.

cheers fnq

[charleville]

Being a bit of a jew I thought fuel prices were rediculous back in 2002 when I bought my boat new, so I went for a 4 stroke.
Its nearly doubled in price since then, so I am really glad I did.


Well you are a clever mulloway! ;D


I did the same thing at the same time but I will blame my thrifty Scottish ancestry. ::)



.

[charleville]

one of the cheapest parts of owning a boat is the fuel cost.


Yup - same with cars ( even though I choose to drive a factory built LPG vehicle. - It is that Scottish ancestry at play again! ;D )

By far the biggest cost is depreciation and/or the opportunity cost of the money spent on the boat or car.

[Almako]

I brought my 560makocraft 2 years ago and went with the optimax 115 merc.
I did this because of the eventual supposit fuel savings, but knowing damn well that i would truly never know if and when i actually saved. The difference in price was rediculous i think it was about 6-7 grand difference between std 2 stroke and the optimax.
I'm not a greenie by any chance, but i did like the 3 star emition rating that it has.
I thought there was a push to ban straight two stroke motor bikes at some stage - not sure? maybe all straight 2 strokes?
If i had the cash i would buy a bigger boat and a bigger donk to go on the back.
Who cares about money when your having the time of your life. :)

[Local_Guy]

I thought about this before i purcahsed my boat new this year. ontop of that i wanted something easilly to manage by myself, yet could get me far enough offshore to chase some fish.

I purcahsed a 4.6m centre console with the 3cyl 40hp Mercury Lightning 2 stroke.
well only after 10hours of use on the engine with WOT of 24kts i am getting 2.3km's / L of fuel. or 60km's for every 25L's.

I won't be selling up my boat or upgrading to a 4stk anytime soon.

[chucknduck]

I don't do enough hours a year to justify changing over from a 6 year old Merc 90 2 stroke to a Yamaha 100 EFI on my Cyclone cc, but I got a good changeover deal. The Yamaha rebate and knowing that I was probably getting the best price for my old Merc clinched the decision for me.

Another reason is I like to chase the tuna with a fly stick and like a quieter engine approach.

[ozscott]

The quieter engine for sneaking up on school tuna, GTs etc would be nice. For me NoelM and FNQ have summed things nicely - I would be paying through the nose for an upgrade from my old Yammy even when taking into account fuel savings...simply dont use the boat often enough to make back the massive costs of a change over and then the higher service costs compared to the old girl. But in about 5 years time I will have to think about it when my motor is then 20 years old...they dont last forever even Yammys :)

Cheers

[Noelm]

yep, that was my thoughts, unless you NEED a new Motor, then changing over just "because" is false economy, I have been looking about a bit lately and am tossing up on a repower or another Boat, will work out the same, except I will have a complete second hand rig, compared to my current Boat with brand new Motors if the repower path is taken, but I want to change anyway, still looking for an 18' Centre Console Sharkcat, if I find one, my mind will be made up.

[breamnut]

thanks for the replies guys though the 2 strokes will be very hard to sel if and when you try to do so.

[breamnut]

Nuh , I like my 2- carb feed for the dodgy bar crossings,
heaps of instant power when you need it,
all that economy wont help you if it's on the bottom of the bar.......................

Muzz
mate 4 strokes can be just as quick as 2 strokes to get on the plane its just about having the right boat/motor package other wise the motor isnt trimmed properly

[TimiBoy]

A normal trip for 3 folks in my boat.


Fuel at 1.00 a litre = $40 per person
Fuel at 1.50 a litre = $60 per person
Fuel at 2.00 a litre = $80 per person


For a full day on the water fishing, an extra 40 bucks is sanity at a low, low price.

If you're doing a hundred hours a year, the fuel cost going up isn't hitting you that hard. It's all hype, divide it out folks, the impact ain't that great!

Your servicing and maintenance, as well as additional wear and tear on your tow vehicle would make the increase in fuel pale in comparison.

IMHO

Tim

[ozscott]

breamnut - dont think that good second hand 2 strokes are going to be hard to move - not as valuable as they used to be, but hey a good second hand say Yamm 115 V4 like mine, even at $3000 at a guess second hand is a very tasty proposition compared to a new 115 etec or 4 stroke at what $15k or so (guess)...I had a guy a few years ago buy my old (72) 650 Blueband Merc...so there will be a market.

Cheers

[haggis]

I have to agree with ozscott . there will always be a market for older 2 st motors
not everyone can afford to upgrade to a new 4 stroke so a cheaper older two stroke will do the job . as long as the motor is safe & reliable thats all you need .
cheers haggis ....................................

[death_ship]

i upgraded to a 580 haines 130 honda 4 stroke from a V17c haines yammy four stroke, the main advantage for me is the extra range due to better fuel economy when considering four strokes. the haines 17c will be up for sale on here soon.