New Dink, Looking at Tohatsu 3.5 - Page 4

sailingdog · #31 06-22-2009

yup....still happy.

eolon · #32 06-22-2009

My 8' dinghy came with a pair of long pole things with flat ends. I stick them in the water and pull on the skinny ends, and the dinghy goes through the water at a pretty good clip. The only problem is they are stuck in reverse - to go forward I have to sit backwards. That's annoying. I'm checking to see if they are still under warranty.

Best Regards,

e

.::.

Joel73 · #33 06-22-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailingdog

yup....still happy.

Thanks Sailingdog... i appreciate that. Do you know what the deal is with laying the (4 cycle) motor on one particular side? What is the reason for that?

Quote:

Originally Posted by eolon

My 8' dinghy came with a pair of long pole things with flat ends. I stick them in the water and pull on the skinny ends, and the dinghy goes through the water at a pretty good clip. The only problem is they are stuck in reverse - to go forward I have to sit backwards. That's annoying. I'm checking to see if they are still under warranty.

Best Regards,
e

.::.

eolon... i think you have to put the long pole things in the water and hold the flat part in your hands. That is the only way to get the motor thingy started while keeping the boat inflated. As for the stuck in reverse part... man... i thought everyone knew you have to turn the dinghy upside down and climb underneath for it to go backwards. Seriously.

sailingdog · #34 06-22-2009

Has to do with the sump and not spilling the oil out of it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joel73

Thanks Sailingdog... i appreciate that. Do you know what the deal is with laying the (4 cycle) motor on one particular side? What is the reason for that?

blueoctober · #35 06-22-2009

Perhaps retry a search and buy the Johnson 2 cylinder beyond reliable!!

chef2sail · #36 06-22-2009

Spilling the oil out is why it has to be laid on the particular side.

An update: we have had great luck and really like our Tahatsu 4 hp. It has definitely been a great addition. Has plenty of power through strong currents we experience in Long Island on our last trip. We especially love that it has both external and internal tanks. The external tank has been what we use most of the time with a 3 gallon low profile Muller tanks strapped down in the dingy. Its great when we want to take a long ride, like a few eeks ago we went about 2 hours up and back down the Stillpond Creek.

I would highly recommend it and go the extra 1/2 HP to get the external tank option.

Dave

sailingdog · #37 06-22-2009

However, the 4 HP is significantly heavier than the 3.5 HP... which can be a problem if a weaker person has to carry it or move it from the boat to the dinghy or back. The 3.5 hp is 41 lbs., where the 4 hp 57 lbs., almost 50% heavier...

Joel73 · #38 06-24-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailingdog

However, the 4 HP is significantly heavier than the 3.5 HP... which can be a problem if a weaker person has to carry it or move it from the boat to the dinghy or back. The 3.5 hp is 41 lbs., where the 4 hp 57 lbs., almost 50% heavier...

Thanks for the input Blue & Chef!!

Weight is a big concern too because i want my wife to be comfortable with it. The 3.5 Tohatsu at 41 pounds is at the high end of what she could handle. I'm actually considering a 1998 2.5 HP Mariner 2 cycle because it's 13 lbs lighter. the cost is $400. of course we loose 1 HP of thrust but i'm not sure it would really matter. We would not have a three year warranty either so that is certainly a trade off.

I'm trying to decide in time to get an engine by next Thursday which means ordering tomorrow or Friday at the latest. What would you do? Maybe i should just wait and see what's down the line. We could just row the inflatable for our upcoming trip but i had hoped to have a engine.

Thanks for the input everyone... we appreciate it!

billangiep · #39 06-25-2009

Joel, One downside of the 2.5 Mariner is there is no neutral, you pull and go.

(copied from an earlier post)

Having both a Nissan 3.5 two stroke and a Suzuki 2.5 four stroke it's a toss?
They both weigh with in a pound of each other, the four stroke is defiantly quieter, vibration is less than half of the two stroke but is not as fuel efficient. Another nice feature is the 2.5 has the throttle on the tiller handle.
On the other hand the 3.5 is just more ergonomically friendly moving from mother boat to dingy and back. Seems better balanced, the weight of the 2.5 is mostly in the power head. The 3.5 lower end looks to be a bit more robust.
I've used both to push my 17' daysailer the 2.5 being just .5 a knot slower than the 3.5 (GPS). At 1/2-3/4 throttle the 3.5 will run almost a 1/2 hr. longer than the 2.5 on a full tank.
Bill,

sailingdog · #40 06-25-2009

Joel-

four stroke engines are far more efficient, and far quieter...also, not having to mix fuel and oil for the engine makes your life a lot simpler and reduces the "consumable" you have to keep track of and inventory by one.... Finally, getting parts for the Tohatsu and service for it is usually very simple, as most Nissan and Mercury dealers will have the parts, since the small Tohatsu, Nissan and Mercury engines are all made by Tohatsu and essentially identical.