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View Full Version : Opinions sort on a 4h/p 2 stroke motor



Axl
08-02-2013, 10:24 AM
I need to put a motor on my 3.4m tinny and since 4h/p is the biggest you can go not needing rego this is what I will use. I will only be using the boat on dams or creeks as it is going on top of my new camper trailer and I am after some opinions on these thoughts.

I can pick up a Vortex or Parsons for around 1K brand new thoughts/opinions on these motors please?

Yamaha & Mercury are around the $1300 mark new and personally for what I will use it for I don’t want to spend the extra $300 as this can go towards the new CT. Having said that if I was to find a 2010-2011 Yammy or Merc with say 10 hrs on it for around $700-800 would they be worth considering? remembering that whilst the seller may say it has 10hrs on it there is no way of verifying this and It would take me a long time to put 10hrs on a new motor.

How many hrs on a 4h/p 2 stroke motor would you consider to be too many?

stevej
08-02-2013, 12:11 PM
$300 well spent, some areas you skimp others you dont
i wouldnt want to drag that tinny half way australia to have it not work and you will find a yam merc dealer almost anywhere

mate pulled the hole pull start recoil mechanism off the top of his parsun while trying to start it

finga
08-02-2013, 12:23 PM
How can you tell how many hours on a 4hp motor?

Axl
08-02-2013, 02:06 PM
I need to put a motor on my 3.4m tinny and since 4h/p is the biggest you can go not needing rego this is what I will use. I will only be using the boat on dams or creeks as it is going on top of my new camper trailer and I am after some opinions on these thoughts.

I can pick up a Vortex or Parsons for around 1K brand new thoughts/opinions on these motors please?

Yamaha & Mercury are around the $1300 mark new and personally for what I will use it for I don’t want to spend the extra $300 as this can go towards the new CT. Having said that if I was to find a 2010-2011 Yammy or Merc with say 10 hrs on it for around $700-800 would they be worth considering? remembering that whilst the seller may say it has 10hrs on it there is no way of verifying this and It would take me a long time to put 10hrs on a new motor.

How many hrs on a 4h/p 2 stroke motor would you consider to be too many?



How can you tell how many hours on a 4hp motor?


Totaly agree finga see in red above.

Axl
08-02-2013, 02:07 PM
$300 well spent, some areas you skimp others you dont
i wouldnt want to drag that tinny half way australia to have it not work and you will find a yam merc dealer almost anywhere

mate pulled the hole pull start recoil mechanism off the top of his parsun while trying to start it

What size motor was it?

cormorant
08-02-2013, 03:32 PM
Borrow a 4.5 off a mate and see how your tinny goes.

I will either be OK of frustrate the hell out of you all for the sake of registering it and enjoying your time on the water.

if a 4.5 won't plane the tinny you may as well only have a 2.5hp pushing you around.


Edit- spelling - missing letters and some words

Axl
09-02-2013, 05:05 AM
Borrow a 4.5 off a mate and see how your tinny goes.

I wileither be OK of frustrat teh hell out of you all for te ke of reistering it and enjoying your time on teh water.

if a 4.5 won't plane the tinny you may as well onl ave a 2.5hp pushing you around.

cormorant I think I get what you are saying above:-? The boat is a 10ft edgetrack stessel punt ,I dont want it to plane and I dont expect it will with a 4/hp motor, I simply dont want to row just after some info on these motors.

ShaneC
09-02-2013, 06:34 AM
When I was a young pup I had a 10 ft punt with 4hp on it. It planed with me and a mate and felt like it flew solo. Granted we were not as fat as we are now but we all played footy and would have probably weighed in at 70 kg each at the time. But we soon discovered that an 8hp with a 4hp sticker went faster but things were a bit looser then. I think a 4 will be fine imho.

Axl
09-02-2013, 06:50 AM
When I was a young pup I had a 10 ft punt with 4hp on it. It planed with me and a mate and felt like it flew solo. Granted we were not as fat as we are now but we all played footy and would have probably weighed in at 70 kg each at the time. But we soon discovered that an 8hp with a 4hp sticker went faster but things were a bit looser then. I think a 4 will be fine imho.


Thanks for the info ShaneC, I like the idea of a 8h/p with a 4h/p sticker;D.

Found a couple of recent model 4h/p Yammy's on gumtree yesterday around the 1k mark and one of them was a 4 stroke, which brings me to another question.

Does anyone know if one of these small 4 stroke engines can be laid on there side in a trailer for travel?

Scott Ashe
09-02-2013, 07:30 AM
Hi mate,
A 4hp will be better than rowing. My first boat at 17 (1996) was a 10'savage with a 4hp Evinrude. (I was pretty happy at least my mate and I were on the water) I caught whiting and Mud crabs from that setup around Victoria Point/Redland Bay. Something you might want to have a look at is whether it is a 1 cylinder or 2 cylinder. I chose the Evinrude because it was the two cylinder, and I bought from Leisure Marine because they were my local dealer. I still remember that I paid $980, but they made it $1000 and threw in a 12L External tank. I got my licence 12mths later and went back and traded in on an 8hp Evinrude and had that setup for 4 years.

Good luck with it.

rocklobster
09-02-2013, 07:41 AM
I thought you could have a 6hp on a boat in QLD being the cc of the 6 is actually 5985 cc ?

Axl
09-02-2013, 09:28 AM
I thought you could have a 6hp on a boat in QLD being the cc of the 6 is actually 5985 cc ?

Unfortunately 4h/p is the limit for registration in QLD http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/Registration/Recreational-ships.aspx

Feral
09-02-2013, 02:42 PM
Ok, the powers that be can tell what size a motor is from the serial number, but more importantly most 4hp and smaller dont have reverse, 6hp and up do, its a dead giveaway from a distance.

Also most 4hp are single cylinder and agricultural compared to bigger motors, read noise and vibration. But if you just put along (dont flat chat it) it wont be a concern (at half throttle you'll be doing almost the same speed as full throttle anyway)

I use a 4hp 4 stroke yamaha on my dam boat. Used to have a 6hp on it until they changed the rego rules and wanted nearly $200 for annual rego (Its a 5m boat). The 6 was a much better engine, including reverse, and twin cylinder so a lot less vibration and much quieter, even though it was 2 stroke. Nothing wrong with 2 strokes, just a couple of dams dont allow 2 strokes, so I am happy with the 4 (also as its my fathers and he hasn't asked for it back yet, so I'm not complaining!)

Si
09-02-2013, 03:49 PM
like most single cylinder engines it will vibrate alot. these engines are not made smoothness and quietness. just something to be aware of. What about electric?

rosco1974
09-02-2013, 04:32 PM
axl just register it and put a 10 on it mate,i been down that road b4 and bought a 2nd hand 4hp used it the next day took it back and swapped it over for a 10hp...i know you say just poking round the creek but ideally the 10 is perfect for what you want it for....specially by the time you throw rach in it a few pots yourself,big tidal run in the creek you will be flat out moving

whiteman
09-02-2013, 04:46 PM
I have a 6hp for my 3.1 tinny -a suzie 4s. Rarely use it these days as now use a 54lb water snake electric tiller. Does about 6kph full tilt. For barra fishing it can't be beaten as I can sneak up on anything. As a travelling unit it is perfect as the motor is light and can be stored anywhere, no petrol, and battery can be charged as per others. I don't miss the speed of the petrol at all as now I catch plenty of fish in places others don't get to.

cormorant
09-02-2013, 10:00 PM
sorry I didn't reread it before I pressed the reply button and then PC closed down. Pretty much as Rosco says but a 10 is a lot bigger and more expensive motor but they last a loooong while. Starting to get into a weight that is a bit of a pain to move around as well especially on riverbanks.

Most of the portables can be layed down on one side but read the manufacturers website.. Biggest problem with the motors under 6-8 hp is that there is no prop selection ( this may have changed a bit in the last 5 years) . So if you run a small motor on a big boat it labours something chronic and that can't be good for it.

If doing dusty roads and storing it on a outside bracket make sure you have a cover over the powerhead as there is no airfilter and the minute you start it it will suck in all that dust.

ShaneC
09-02-2013, 11:41 PM
The little mariner 4 hp I had as a kid had f-n-r and an integral fuel tank. I got it for chrissy in 1992, flogged the crap out of it for years on and off, and.it never missed a beat. Old man sold it recently to make room in his shed and sold it for nearly half what it cost new. If I was getting a traveller the integral fuel tank would be a big plus....

Feral
10-02-2013, 05:49 AM
Yeah, I'll back the call on the on motor fuel tank, (as long as your not carrying the motor in the car boot) and if you can find one with forward and reverse it will likely cost more, but worth it (as mentioned in my first post, just really hard to find!)

Axl
10-02-2013, 09:05 AM
Thanks for the info guys I truly appreciate it, as per usual the Ausfish community has given me a few different options decisions-decisions..........

chaspion01
31-03-2013, 05:42 AM
There arent too many smaller outboard brands that I havent owned. Each have had their good ones along with their bad. Personally I have had a bad run with Yamaha, it seems that they may be my voodoo brand as I have never had one that hasnt given me trouble in one way or the other.
Mercury have been good, I have owned every size from 2.5hp - 30hp and havent ever really had an issue.
I now own a Parsun 15hp 2 stroke and have had this one for 3yrs or so. I was more than sceptical about this brand and researched far and wide before I took the plunge. Honestly.........I just cannot fault it, it just goes and goes, starts first or second pull and has never missed a beat. (Well there was just one time, but you do expect it from time to time in my experience) Was nothing and I fixed it myself no problem.
I dunno guys, I reckon its not always the brand but sometimes the outboard itself, in saying that I wouldnt buy another Yamaha personally.

Just my thoughts and experience

Matt76
31-03-2013, 06:47 AM
I have a 3.1m bare tinny, no floor or anything. I bought a 4hp Suzuki 4 stroke for the same rego reasons. I hated the bloody thing. It was stupidly loud as it doesn't exhaust into the water, the noise comes out at the back of the cowl, and I really got sick of going so bloody slow. Traveling even short distances was tedious.

I sold it and got an 8hp yammy 2 stroke. It was the biggest HP I could whilst staying in the lightweight category, the 9.9 and up are approx another 10kg. I am happy to pay the rego and enjoy the much much better performance that I get from the 8. It really does go amazingly well.

I am on the Northside of brissie, if you want to chuck the 8 on your tinny and take it for a test you are quite welcome..

Oh and yes you can lay the little 4 strokes down but only on one side. It's marked on them.

Cheers
Matt

Parsun
09-04-2013, 02:00 PM
Hi Axl



If you haven’t purchased an outboard yet and you are ok withregistering your boat. Take a look at the Parsun 9.8hp. This outboard has greatpower to weight ratio. It's only 26kg and they fly.



As for your comment Stevej I approve all warranty claims andlet me say I've never received one about a customer pulling a complete recoiloff an outboard. If that was the case the engine cowling would get ripped offat the same time and get damaged. If this is true please get your friend tocontact me ASAP and I'll look after him. I'll let the Ausfishers know if anyonecontacts me as well.



Safe boating



Garry

Axl
10-04-2013, 04:59 AM
Seen as though this thread has come back around ill give an update, I ended up scoring a 2009 4h/p 2 stroke Mercury (that looks like it has come straight out of the box) for half the price of a new one off Gumtree. It came with a motor stand, all the manuals, tool kit is still under warranty and a five litter fuel container (oh and the fuel;D).

So far Ive had it on the tinny up at Somerset dam and down in Tallebudgera creek and it ran well. With the two of and gear us onboard I certainly wont break and speed records and as I was pre warned, it is noisy, it does vibrate alot but it sure beats rowing.

As my finances permit I hope to update the old tinny and the new tinny/poly will have a bigger motor for sure but for now the set up I have does the job well, thanks for all the input guys.

9071990720

Spaniard_King
10-04-2013, 07:05 AM
Axl,

if the engine has never been serviced , do it sooner rather than later. You need to ensure the gear box comes off and all bolts are lubricated otherwise if you wait things may not be so easy when you need an impellor changed

Axl
10-04-2013, 08:13 AM
Axl,

if the engine has never been serviced , do it sooner rather than later. You need to ensure the gear box comes off and all bolts are lubricated otherwise if you wait things may not be so easy when you need an impellor changed

Thanks for the heads up Spaniard_King, the book is stamped the seller had it serviced every year so as the 5 year warrantly held up even though it wasnt used he still had it done.