Chineese Tohatsu knockoff outboard motor...

[SVDistantStar]

Has anyone messed with one of these. It looks as if its a Tohatsu, but its got to be knock off. The price isnt that bad on it. Im thinking of replacing my aged 3hp Johnson outboard with one of these.


Link to ebay auction eBay Motors: BRAND NEW 3.5HP 3.5 HP OUTBOARD BOAT ENGINE MOTOR 2.6kW (item 150132494002 end time Jul-13-07 19:41:20 PDT)

[USCGRET1990]

If it is truely Chineese, it will make a super anchor...;-)

[rperret]

Originally Posted by SVDistantStar

Has anyone messed with one of these. It looks as if its a Tohatsu, but its got to be knock off. The price isnt that bad on it. Im thinking of replacing my aged 3hp Johnson outboard with one of these.


Link to ebay auction eBay Motors: BRAND NEW 3.5HP 3.5 HP OUTBOARD BOAT ENGINE MOTOR 2.6kW (item 150132494002 end time Jul-13-07 19:41:20 PDT)

Aren't most of the motors made today built in China? I though I read in practical sailor that the Johnson/Evinrudes are made in Chain, and thought the Tohatus's are made in China. I think the Honda's are still made in Japan.

But face it EVERYTHING is being made in China. Even our Ethan Allen dining room set - table was built in USA, chairs in China. In fact most of the big buck furniture in the store was made in China. So much for the US furntiure industry...

[yotphix]

So much for industry in the Western hemisphere period. There really are very few things not made in china now. If not the whole item than a good portion of its parts. However, unless you can find a N.A. built outboard I would let its country of origin stop you from buying it.

[SVDistantStar]

Well its not the fact of it being built in China, its the fact that it looks to be a knock off of the Tohatsu. It doesnt look like that bad of a deal. I might give one a try, the only thing i worry about is getting parts should it die. I had a china made moped that needed a carbkit that i could never find for it, poor thing got junked at 600miles.

[LaPlaya]

Get some warranty info cause I know that the briggs and stratton outboards are not warranted for salt water use.
AL

[ulpilotrmh]

3.5 HP 4 stroke I recieved in Jan. Doesn't look like the one in the eBay ad. You can see it in the Photo Gallery.

[SVDistantStar]

The one in the eBay auction is like the older 2-stroke Tohatsu's. Ive got a 3.5 2-stroke Tohatsu on my workbench right now that im trying to find a carb kit for.

Ive got a feeling that i wont retire my trusty old Johnson 3hp anytime soon, but still may get one from ebay as a back up motor.

[rperret]

A new tohatsu 4 stroke is $900. I know the ebay price is cheaper - but you get what you pay for. Plus - you'll keep the motor for 10-15-20 years. I would rather pay for something good now - that you know is a good product. the extra $400 over 15-20 years is not much in the long run.

[JTT]

Hello everyone,

After seeing this thread I thought I would sign up for the Sailnet forum.

I will happily test another little Chinese outboard - and hopefully this weekend. It's not the one that was posted here earlier - rather it is on ebay australia (search for "3.5hp outboard motor" - sorry, cant post links yet on this forum....)
The only problem is that it will be hard for me to provide any comparison at all to other marine motors as I have little to no boating experience.

My background is that I own a 9ft inflatable and use it to do some fishing in the Sydney area. Originally I thought I was smart and bought a 54lbs electric trolling motor to keep things as basic as possible. However, with the heavy battery and low performance of the electric motor I soon started looking at petrol outboards.

I was surprised to find the ebay deal online and I got the motor for 300 AUD - I think that corresponds to about 240 USD. In saying that: I dont expect all too much of it ;-) . It's rated at 3.5hp and, after unpacking the carton, it looks pretty okay to a rookie like myself. However, and I dont know if this is normal for these little engines, two things strike me: there is a lot of plastic and the required fuel mix 25-30:1. As for the plastic, it extends all the way down the transom and up to to the exhaust. THe propeller is plastic as well. And as for the fuel mix: dont modern ouboard motors use a mix of 50:1 or even 100:1?!?

Well, as I said, I hopefully will get the chance to test the motor on my 9ft inflatable over the weekend. I am hoping for better performance mainly - especially against the current.

Anny recommendations for my endeauvour? As I said, I am quite a rookie at this. And, believe me, the manual is little more than a series of english words that dont make any sense at all in combination.


Cheers.