To trade or not to trade

Jim Machacek · Feb 28, 2005

I was concidering a new boat and motor but have since decided the boat is just fine for the use I give it! I have an "Alumacraft AW1650MV" and a "Mercury 30HP 2 cycle," tiller steer, electric start, 20" shaft! I am now thinking of just upgrading the motor to maybe a 4 cycle and of the 40HP size. Does anybody have any thoughts as to the best approach for upgrading the motor only without having to file rape charges? My current 30HP works fine it's a 1999 and being as I just retired, who knows how long I'll be able to get out and enjoy fishing! Too many brands and the variety is exhausting. Any ideas would help! Thanks!!

JRJ · Feb 28, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

I see a Johnson 40 4-stroke for $4999.00 at Ed's just for a price comparison. I repowered and am really happy with the 4-stroke. Tuff decision to repower or just buy a whole new outfit. I say spoil yourself...call it a retirement present

JB · Feb 28, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

Hmmm. Your Merc is a '99. That makes it 6 years old. With proper care that engine should last you another 20 years, Jim Bo. If you just have a lust for a new engine then trade, but I don't think you can rationalize trading based on the Merc's age or mileage.

Booner · Feb 28, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

Jim-Bo I agree with JB 6 year old OB has a lot of years still in it with the proper maintenance. If your current rig works fine why change what you got? If its more HP you want maybe you can trade up but your going to spend some $$

Solittle · Feb 28, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

Check the difference in weight before you leap.

Silvertip · Feb 28, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

First, you came to the right place if you wanted an opinion. There are plenty of them here. Put a 40 Evinrude E-tec on it. No oil changes, quiet as a four stroke, as good if not better fuel economy, instant starts, and great performance. But I agree with others, your '99 is just broke in. I have a 2004 boat that I put my trusty '95 Evinrude on (but I will admit I'm thinking about a new motor). And for heavens sake, if you just retired, stop thinking like its the end of the world and enjoy your retirement. I retired two years ago and still can't get everything done that I want to do. Be active, it keeps you young.

jshoes52 · Feb 28, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

Jim Bo, IF you decide to re-power, and if there are any Tohatsu/Nissan dealers near you, go check out the Tohatsu 40hp TLDI. They sell for $4399 here in Maine, and that includes cables and controls as well. 2 stroke direct fuel injected, no smoke, quiet, and better fuel economy than a 4 stroke. Oh, and lots lighter than a 4s, too.

dajohnson53 · Mar 2, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

Jim-bo: as others have said, the age of your motor is no reason to consider trading it. But, being that you're about ready to retire, we GOTTA assume you're going to be spending much quality time with your rig, right? If that's the case, and if you can afford it, you should get into exactly the type of motor you want. Quiet? 4 Stroke? Light weight? more HP? Factors you should consider, some compatable, some mutually exclusive. Then go for it, get the motor you want. To me, that's an excellent reason to trade!

Jim Machacek · Mar 5, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

To all that have answered my question, I thank you for your oppinions! A six year old motor as stated is still basically new based on potential use and care. This motor has been taken care as best anyone could! The minor problems I have are, 1. it can't be idled down for trolling, and 2. the plugs fowl out more often than I would like! I have considered the new "Tohatsu 40 TLDI" and am impressed thus far. My gain as I see it would be a third cylinder and the potential to have the unit tuned up to 50HP specs. My current motor (30HP Merc.)is a 2 cylinder thats at its capacity. Is there any of you that own a "Tohatsu"? If so, how do you like it?

dajohnson53 · Mar 7, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

What do you mean when you say:

Originally posted by Jim-Bo: I have considered the new "Tohatsu 40 TLDI" and am impressed thus far. My gain as I see it would be a third cylinder and the potential to have the unit tuned up to 50HP specs. My current motor (30HP Merc.)is a 2 cylinder thats at its capacity.

Are you thinking that if you buy the 40 hp, in the future you will be able to convert it to a 50 hp? I've seen a lot of people ask about this sort of thing, and the experts always say it's generally not doable. Have you heard that this particular engine can be made into a 50 hp? Asking out of genuine curiousity. By the way, my opinion is that the idling issue is a good reason to change from a 2 stroke carb to a 4 stroke. I solved the problem by buying a kicker, since I wanted a back up motor anyway.

jshoes52 · Mar 7, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

I have a tohatsu 90 tldi and it has been flawless so far, but I only have 80 hrs on it. You might get a better response going to the Tohatsu/Honda board and asking about Tohatsu reliability.

Jim Machacek · Mar 7, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

D. Based on a conversation with a dealer at the Indianapolis Boat Show, the 40 and the 50 are the same engine! Also the manufactures specs state they as equal except for the RPM setting! According to the dealer, they could tune the engine to match the 50 hp specs.A kicker motor is a great idea except that my boat (MV1650AW) is not conducive to such a move. I might end up putting a trolling motor on the back instead of the trade for more power, it would be cheaper also! Thanks for the thought!

Jim Machacek · Mar 7, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

Originally posted by jshoes52: I have a tohatsu 90 tldi and it has been flawless so far, but I only have 80 hrs on it. You might get a better response going to the Tohatsu/Honda board and asking about Tohatsu reliability.

I will take your advice and further investigate Tohatsu' reliability! Thank you for your advice!

Jim Machacek · Mar 7, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

Originally posted by Jim-Bo: 

Originally posted by jshoes52: I have a tohatsu 90 tldi and it has been flawless so far, but I only have 80 hrs on it. You might get a better response going to the Tohatsu/Honda board and asking about Tohatsu reliability.

Click to expand...

I will take your advice and further investigate Tohatsu' reliability! Thank you for your advice!

Well, based on what I've read, you stand to have plenty of good times out there with you 90 hp Tohatsu! It looks as if the higher priced silver motors are giving more problems to people than yours will! Thanks again and enjoy your time on the water!

dajohnson53 · Mar 8, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

Originally posted by Jim-Bo: D. Based on a conversation with a dealer at the Indianapolis Boat Show, the 40 and the 50 are the same engine! Also the manufactures specs state they as equal except for the RPM setting! According to the dealer, they could tune the engine to match the 50 hp specs.A kicker motor is a great idea except that my boat (MV1650AW) is not conducive to such a move. I might end up putting a trolling motor on the back instead of the trade for more power, it would be cheaper also! Thanks for the thought!

Good luck with whatever you decide. I hear you about trying to figure out the way to get the functioning you want, but making it worth the cost. Outboards are so ridiculously expensive! I dream of upgrading my big old carb., gas sucking, stinking, noisy v-6 to something more modern. As a compromise I bought a cheap, old, but working kicker. RE: the idea of converting a 40 to a 50. I'm not saying the dealer is BS'ing you, but it would be the first time I've ever heard that it is actually practical to do it. This topic, usually in the form of converting a 10 hp to a 15, comes up very often. There are a LOT of engines that share the same block, but have different horsepower. If you look at any given manufacturer's web site, you'll see "groups" of engines that have the same weight, maybe even the same displacement, but different hp. But there are normally several different and expensive differences in the parts and design that boost the HP - it's normally not as simple as just changing a part or two. I'm no expert, but some that come to mind are carbeurator, manifolds, and various other internal and external electronic and mechanical parts. I'm just saying, that when you hear this sort of thing, be a skeptic. In the discussions I've seen, the general consensus is that somewhere down the road if a person tries to upgrade the HP, it ends up being cheaper to just trade it in on a new engine. The most economical way is to get the HP you need /want right from the get-go. I also hope that if I'm dead wrong, someone will correct me!

Jim Machacek · Mar 8, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

Originally posted by D.: 

Originally posted by Jim-Bo: D. Based on a conversation with a dealer at the Indianapolis Boat Show, the 40 and the 50 are the same engine! Also the manufactures specs state they as equal except for the RPM setting! According to the dealer, they could tune the engine to match the 50 hp specs.A kicker motor is a great idea except that my boat (MV1650AW) is not conducive to such a move. I might end up putting a trolling motor on the back instead of the trade for more power, it would be cheaper also! Thanks for the thought!

Click to expand...

Good luck with whatever you decide. I hear you about trying to figure out the way to get the functioning you want, but making it worth the cost. Outboards are so ridiculously expensive! I dream of upgrading my big old carb., gas sucking, stinking, noisy v-6 to something more modern. As a compromise I bought a cheap, old, but working kicker. RE: the idea of converting a 40 to a 50. I'm not saying the dealer is BS'ing you, but it would be the first time I've ever heard that it is actually practical to do it. This topic, usually in the form of converting a 10 hp to a 15, comes up very often. There are a LOT of engines that share the same block, but have different horsepower. If you look at any given manufacturer's web site, you'll see "groups" of engines that have the same weight, maybe even the same displacement, but different hp. But there are normally several different and expensive differences in the parts and design that boost the HP - it's normally not as simple as just changing a part or two. I'm no expert, but some that come to mind are carbeurator, manifolds, and various other internal and external electronic and mechanical parts. I'm just saying, that when you hear this sort of thing, be a skeptic. In the discussions I've seen, the general consensus is that somewhere down the road if a person tries to upgrade the HP, it ends up being cheaper to just trade it in on a new engine. The most economical way is to get the HP you need /want right from the get-go. I also hope that if I'm dead wrong, someone will correct me!

I appreciate your words of wisdom and you should note they are logged in the ledger! I am sure that with the proper injector modifications and with professional tuning it could be done! My point which I most likely was unclear on is, my boat is rated for a 40hp motor and I have a 30hp on it right now! I was just thinking out of the box with the 50hp version on account of the dealer's statement. Being retired, I doubt that I would spend additional funds to soup up a new motor! Im just another normal American (older) kid who wants it all but must pass such decisions on to the other board member who sits accross from me at the dinner table! Where are located?

ziemann · Mar 8, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

You will find that we Nissan/ Tohatsu fans are a very small yet loyal fanatic group. Nissan/ Tohatsu has built their reputation from the ground up based upon their dependability- it is almost a David vs. Goliath concept when you look at how well established Merc & Johnnyrude are in the US. But quietly, Nissan/ Tohatsu has seen their sales grow. I currently own a 50 TLDI. I have a couple hundred hours on it so far- so far flawless performance. It idles trolling for hours on end (with no vibration)...has never stalled, provides exceptional fuel economy, is lighter than a 4 stroke, and has no smoke cloud following it. Whats not to like? I always tell my friends that if my Nissan said Merc or Evinrude on the side (at the same price I paid)- everyone would own one.

Jim Machacek · Mar 9, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

Originally posted by Z-Man MT: You will find that we Nissan/ Tohatsu fans are a very small yet loyal fanatic group. Nissan/ Tohatsu has built their reputation from the ground up based upon their dependability- it is almost a David vs. Goliath concept when you look at how well established Merc & Johnnyrude are in the US. But quietly, Nissan/ Tohatsu has seen their sales grow. I currently own a 50 TLDI. I have a couple hundred hours on it so far- so far flawless performance. It idles trolling for hours on end (with no vibration)...has never stalled, provides exceptional fuel economy, is lighter than a 4 stroke, and has no smoke cloud following it. Whats not to like? I always tell my friends that if my Nissan said Merc or Evinrude on the side (at the same price I paid)- everyone would own one.

Based n what I've seen, you are so very correct! Back in 1990 or so I bought a pontoon boat from a dealer who was an exclusive "Nissan" agent. Back then the old "Nissan" crackeled, rattled and sounded as if it was dying of old age while being fresh out of the box. But now, and having owned one or more of each of the older more well known brands, I see no reason not to look at the Nissan/Tohatsu labels first! It's as if a comparison needs to be made to see if brands OMC/Brunswick can offer anything even close enough to be a worth while concideration!

fleetwin7.5 · Mar 9, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

The comparison of the Nissan/Tohatsu to the older brand names brought back memories of decisions I made back in 1987 when buying my first new 2 cycle outboard to repower my dad's 16ft open-fisherman hull. Having always had a boat in the family as I grew up, and always with a reliable older Evinrude, it was a tough decision to go with an upstart Yamaha 3 cyl looper. I researched quite a bit about their reliability and finally was satisfied and made the switch. It also didn't hurt that the controls, power trim/tilt and SS prop were standard at that time, not options like the OMC 3cyl 70HP package. I've never regretted this decision and it sounds like the Tohatsu's are following in this regard in owner satisfaction and reliability. And just as with the Yams back then, they offer better pricing than the competiion.

Jim Machacek · Mar 9, 2005

Re: To trade or not to trade

Originally posted by fleetwin7.5: The comparison of the Nissan/Tohatsu to the older brand names brought back memories of decisions I made back in 1987 when buying my first new 2 cycle outboard to repower my dad's 16ft open-fisherman hull. Having always had a boat in the family as I grew up, and always with a reliable older Evinrude, it was a tough decision to go with an upstart Yamaha 3 cyl looper. I researched quite a bit about their reliability and finally was satisfied and made the switch. It also didn't hurt that the controls, power trim/tilt and SS prop were standard at that time, not options like the OMC 3cyl 70HP package. I've never regretted this decision and it sounds like the Tohatsu's are following in this regard in owner satisfaction and reliability. And just as with the Yams back then, they offer better pricing than the competiion.

I still remember my first outboard motor! It was an old 2 cylinder elgin, 5 hp with rope start! Got the thing cheap, really cheap, about $5. Came to find out it came from the bottom of Fox Lake in Illinois and low and behold, thats where it rests today! Did have some good times though with it! Took it apart before and after each fishing trip or it wouldn't run at all.

To trade or not to trade

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