Best outboard

[Bobj]

They look good boats, but mine is 2mm and a little heavier. Whats $7k in £?

 

10 HP will do me fine, my 5hp used to do 10 knots one up in a flat sea! I usually troll to my fishing grounds picking up bait on the way. No real need for anything bigger, plus the cost is much more, I'd have to pay anothewr £1000 for a 25 or 30HP, plus I'd not be able to carry it into the garage. Unlike you guys we only get 3 sunny days a year so it wont get used that much!

 

Dan

 

$7000 = £2,940

[Dan]

Good price then, mines nearly £3300 with a trailer ........... damn I wish I hadn't added it up! but cheaper when I sell my old one

 

dan

Edited April 22, 2008 by Dan

[gannet]

Ive been hearing realy bad reports about mariners losing power, ive got two mates that have gone down with the same problem also wher one mate has taken his engine there was 4 others waiting to be done costing hundreds to be fixed, I only needed 4 bolts for mine costing me £31

HI sandpipper, any idea what model/ hp/ 2/4 stroke Mariners were giving problems? The old 2 strokes were very reliable and used by the RNLI.

[chesters1]

we had a brilliant 8horse outboard ,it had a honda air cooled engine (no nasty waterway blockages) with poxy gearbox that snapped shear pins strapped to it ,the outboard was designed for a tecumsa (sp?) engine and was about in the 60's ,the company failed because the engines were crap .some geezer in a garden center had the bright idea of buying the gearboxes shaft and props and sticking a far more powerful engine on it.

the engine was faultless and ran on fumes never mind fuel the rest just scrap ,after the 3rd gearbox failure we gave up ,by then the chap had scarpered the annoying thing was the write up in small boat owner was very good

a fair few months later a letter with the exact same address but a different surname offered to repair it at a ridiculous fee ,we didnt reply!!!

 

if the engine was mounted to a decent leg it would have been extremely good ,full remote, onboard charger ,self starter, on paper it ticked all the boxes.

we managed to buy another original outboard and its original stainless leg (the modern one wasn't),the engine was seized (not that it was any good anyway) so we swopped engines and sheared the shearpins first trip with it out ,fitting a stronger one sheared teeth instead ,it was a mismatch made in hell.

 

we bought it new because our johnson 20 was unreliable ,but in the end we carried both usually the johnson got us back home!!!

 

it was an ocean 8 if i remember

Edited April 22, 2008 by chesters1

[Dan]

My friends had a perkins, usually known for diesels but that was reliable, as were seagulls, just so so noisy and smelly! Hopefully the Tohatsu will be fine, they are the oldest outboard builder in Japan, so should be ok, and I bought from my local dealer who I trust! so here's hoping.

 

Now if Honda made a C90 or CG125 outboard, that would last!

Dan

[chesters1]

just fit a couple of paddles and hang it over the back

[Norrie]

HI sandpipper, any idea what model/ hp/ 2/4 stroke Mariners were giving problems? The old 2 strokes were very reliable and used by the RNLI.

 

Hi Gannet, Hope you are well mate, long time no speak!!!

 

I'm one of the guys Tony is talking about...I have a 2002 Mariner 50hp Four Stroke, with a Bigfoot gearbox,which I have had since 2006. It has been giving me trouble almost since I bought it. It starts no problem at all, but when the engine is under load, it runs very erratically , and will often cut out when I "flutter" the throttle trying to get the revs back up. It has always gotten me home, and is more annoying than (IMHO) dangerous.

 

Anyway, ChrisP from here, and WSF, asked me, is it 4 years old ?....and then proceeded to tell me what was the problem.

 

Seemingly its a gasket between the powerhead and the leg that has a hole cut in it for the water to get into the engine to cool it. The gasket starts to corrode on the clean cut edge of the hole,It takes approx 4 years for this to happen, the corrosion blocks the waterway, and pumps it back out the telltale, it doesnt go through the engine, cooling it. So, the sensor cuts the revs down to save any damage to the engine. I have ordered the parts, a gasket and an "O" ring, along with an oil filter. The yard is giving me the parts at cost, so £53 for all. Should be around £100, or more. according to Chris, it shouldnt take any more than perhaps 3-4 hours, as its only a nut and bolt job... I will need an engine lift tho, as on replacing the powerhead,there are two lugs on the bottom of the engine, which must be replaced correctly, or they will destroy the new gasket..bang, £40 gone...

 

Mariner know there is a problem, but will not acknowledge it at all, the repair would be done under warranty if the engine was under 3 years old...the yard wanted almost £50 an hour, 4 hours minimum,and £100 for parts,not incl oil, and filter.. so decided to do it myself...so probs a cost of around £325!!!

 

BTW, the last owner of the engine was the RNLI...

 

I have got a lifter,shed,and power all organised for 3rd May....oh, and plenty credit in the phone ,and Chris at the other end...:)

 

So, there you go mate...

 

Dan, Tohatsu build the blocks for lots of major players in the O/B market, Yamaha etc etc....just as good as them, but not got the finnesse, but who cares about finnesse mate. I have heard nothing but good things about them, and my next engine will be a Tohatsu ..

Edited April 23, 2008 by Norrie

[Norm B]

Hi Gannet, Hope you are well mate, long time no speak!!!

 

I'm one of the guys Tony is talking about...I have a 2002 Mariner 50hp Four Stroke, with a Bigfoot gearbox,which I have had since 2006. It has been giving me trouble almost since I bought it. It starts no problem at all, but when the engine is under load, it runs very erratically , and will often cut out when I "flutter" the throttle trying to get the revs back up. It has always gotten me home, and is more annoying than (IMHO) dangerous.

 

Anyway, ChrisP from here, and WSF, asked me, is it 4 years old ?....and then proceeded to tell me what was the problem.

 

Seemingly its a gasket between the powerhead and the leg that has a hole cut in it for the water to get into the engine to cool it. The gasket starts to corrode on the clean cut edge of the hole,It takes approx 4 years for this to happen, the corrosion blocks the waterway, and pumps it back out the telltale, it doesnt go through the engine, cooling it. So, the sensor cuts the revs down to save any damage to the engine. I have ordered the parts, a gasket and an "O" ring, along with an oil filter. The yard is giving me the parts at cost, so £53 for all. Should be around £100, or more. according to Chris, it shouldnt take any more than perhaps 3-4 hours, as its only a nut and bolt job... I will need an engine lift tho, as on replacing the powerhead,there are two lugs on the bottom of the engine, which must be replaced correctly, or they will destroy the new gasket..bang, £40 gone...

 

Mariner know there is a problem, but will not acknowledge it at all, the repair would be done under warranty if the engine was under 3 years old...the yard wanted almost £50 an hour, 4 hours minimum,and £100 for parts,not incl oil, and filter.. so decided to do it myself...so probs a cost of around £325!!!

 

BTW, the last owner of the engine was the RNLI...

 

I have got a lifter,shed,and power all organised for 3rd May....oh, and plenty credit in the phone ,and Chris at the other end...:)

 

So, there you go mate...

 

Dan, Tohatsu build the blocks for lots of major players in the O/B market, Yamaha etc etc....just as good as them, but not got the finnesse, but who cares about finnesse mate. I have heard nothing but good things about them, and my next engine will be a Tohatsu ..

As a matter of interest, a design or manufacturing fault doesn't have a time limit under the sale of goods act. Rovers got taken to court over a manufacturing/design defect and lost the case because they knew there was a problem and should have carried out the repairs FOC, even though it was out of warranty. My Nikon developed a fault more than 3 years after I bought it and they fixed it FOC. It might be worth a chat with your local TSO.

[gannet]

Hi Gannet, Hope you are well mate, long time no speak!!!

 

I'm one of the guys Tony is talking about...I have a 2002 Mariner 50hp Four Stroke, with a Bigfoot gearbox,which I have had since 2006. It has been giving me trouble almost since I bought it. It starts no problem at all, but when the engine is under load, it runs very erratically , and will often cut out when I "flutter" the throttle trying to get the revs back up. It has always gotten me home, and is more annoying than (IMHO) dangerous.

 

Anyway, ChrisP from here, and WSF, asked me, is it 4 years old ?....and then proceeded to tell me what was the problem.

 

Seemingly its a gasket between the powerhead and the leg that has a hole cut in it for the water to get into the engine to cool it. The gasket starts to corrode on the clean cut edge of the hole,It takes approx 4 years for this to happen, the corrosion blocks the waterway, and pumps it back out the telltale, it doesnt go through the engine, cooling it. So, the sensor cuts the revs down to save any damage to the engine. I have ordered the parts, a gasket and an "O" ring, along with an oil filter. The yard is giving me the parts at cost, so £53 for all. Should be around £100, or more. according to Chris, it shouldnt take any more than perhaps 3-4 hours, as its only a nut and bolt job... I will need an engine lift tho, as on replacing the powerhead,there are two lugs on the bottom of the engine, which must be replaced correctly, or they will destroy the new gasket..bang, £40 gone...

 

Mariner know there is a problem, but will not acknowledge it at all, the repair would be done under warranty if the engine was under 3 years old...the yard wanted almost £50 an hour, 4 hours minimum,and £100 for parts,not incl oil, and filter.. so decided to do it myself...so probs a cost of around £325!!!

 

BTW, the last owner of the engine was the RNLI...

 

I have got a lifter,shed,and power all organised for 3rd May....oh, and plenty credit in the phone ,and Chris at the other end...:)

 

So, there you go mate...

 

Dan, Tohatsu build the blocks for lots of major players in the O/B market, Yamaha etc etc....just as good as them, but not got the finnesse, but who cares about finnesse mate. I have heard nothing but good things about them, and my next engine will be a Tohatsu ..

Hi Norrie,

Still alive and kicking, hope you are keeping well. Mabye meet up with you this summer on the MOG at Snatcher's Hilton Many thank's for your very comphrensive description of the problems associated with the Mariner 50hp four strokes. Well, I suppose that with a new product problems such as this take some time to manifest themselves. Lucky that this problem failed safe by cutting the revs and did not cause overheating. Glad it's not too serious or expensive to repair. The RNLI only keep their outboards about three years so they would not have experienced this problem. I still use the Mariner 20 hp two stroke on my Orkney Strikeliner. Was considering a four stroke but decided to stay with the old reliable Devil I know Good luck with your repairs and have a good summer.

[Ian Burrett]

We have moved over to the Tohatsu's. Apart from a teething problem with one of them they appear agricultural but reliable. They were developed for the commercial Japanese fleet. You would need to use a hell of a lot of petrol to justify going for a four stroke