Buying a new outboard.....maybe....

[MacGyver]

Shawn (and anyone else thinking the same idea)

Here are some pics for you.
First shows location of the shifter

This next pic shows the shifter to the right, shows the linkage location, which is about mid engine, then exits to the third picture

The cotter pin at the top is the linkage from the forward spot, it then ties into the black plastic piece with the boss, that also levers to the linkage going up and down with the white plastic clip on it to the left....
I am assuming that you have one with the old side shift, and from the looks of it, a side shift could be put on this one if needed, maybe a small mod?

What might be able to be done is order the cowling, then the proper linkages, etc...... not real sure but I will try to look at it in the next few days to see if I can make heads or tails of it.

Mac

[emcginnis]

Please give us a review of the sail pro after some time spent in the water.  I would like to hear about any starting/other issues.

[Mike K]

I know that the original poster already bought the 6HP Tohatsu outboard online and seems to like it.  But for those still wondering about buying an expensive outboard online, I also purchased a 4HP Tohatsu, 20" shaft for my Com-Pac Legacy this spring from onlineoutboards.com this April.  I didn't have any problems with the delivery, credit card payment or the outboard itself.  Shipment was fast, and it was exactly as ordered.  I just filled it up with oil, and broke it in in my driveway while the bottom end was in a bucket of water for cooling.  No issues at all.

By the way, I'm very happy with the 4HP Tohatsu for the 17' legacy.  It's exactly the same design, weight and parts as the 6HP model, but with a de-tuned carburetor.  (You can later buy a carb kit to make it into a 6HP motor).  It does vibrate somewhat, but it's fairly quiet.  By the way, all the small Nissan, and Mercury outboards are all Tohatsu's anyway, so you may as well spend a bit less and get the real brand without paying extra for a name.   It's made in Japan, with the usual high quality manufacturing that country is known for.

It has plenty of power to push the 1000lb Legacy plus gear and 2-3 people to boat speed at less than half throttle (no current or heavy winds), and I like the small internal tank for short sails as I don't have to have the big external fuel tank getting in the way in the cockpit.  For longer or overnight sails where I want more fuel, I have a separate 1.25 gallon fuel tank that I can use to top off the internal tank.  Although it's possible, I didn't go the route of making the engine "drink" from the external tank directly.  I don't like all the leaky smelly hoses dropping fuel on the cockpit floor.  The fuel economy is very good.

[skip1930]

I would not recommend purchasing a Mercury as these are fitted with a pulse operated fuel pump sharing the same casting as the carbonator that is fitted with diaphragms that fag out in the presents of ethanol.

While my friends have Nissan and other O/B's that have run fine with the same ethanol impregnated fuel.

I still like the idea of the 5 hp Briggs and Stratton air cooled [lawn mower] engines with F-N-R gear box.

skip.

[Billy]

Skip,
Mercury, Nissan, and Tohatsu are all the same engine, just with a different sticker. My Tohatsu, now almost 4 years old, has only given me one fit due to ethanol. And I will take responsibility for that b/c I let the fuel sit for a month or so with no stabilizer. Other that that she has been a great engine.

And pretty sure the Briggs and Stratton is not rated for salt water. Which may or may not bean issue for some here.

[Salty19]

One of the CLR guys had the Briggs and Stratton motor. God awful noisy! Sounded just like a lawn mower. Ugly and bulky too.
I would stick to a traditional outboard name at nearly any cost.

[Billy]

That is the air cooled. My friend has the 2hp air cooled Honda. It is loud too, especially for a Honda.

[Vipersdad]

I am currently using a fairly new Tohatsu 3.5 20" shaft on my 19 II and it works fine.  I don't have any reason to purchase anything else.

V.

[MacGyver]

One of the CLR guys had the Briggs and Stratton motor. God awful noisy! Sounded just like a lawn mower. Ugly and bulky too.
I would stick to a traditional outboard name at nearly any cost.

Would that person have been "DoppleCarl"?

If so, that was the noisiest engine I have heard...... well, besides a S-2's gas powered Sail Drive...........

Mac

[skip1930]

Why wouldn't an air cooled engine not be salt rated?
We don't pump any salt water into any cooling jackets, and the bottom end would be sealed up against the ingress of liquids?

Anyway, the Mercury metal parts on the 5 hp are all fine, it's just the choice of the carbonator manufacture [Keihin BCK] that gulls me. Who the heck makes a carbonator with 'rubber parts' that wrinkle and fag out in the presents of ethanol? These are also the choice of carb for Harley Davidson, but with a different designed carb.

I have an 82 year old car that loves ethanol and has zero rubber parts in the Zenith built carbonator. It's 100 % metal pieces. And it carborates just fine.

skip.

[MacGyver]

With today's people, most don't work on their own mechanical things. The rubber parts help to seal up parts better than the old only metal parts. Also efficiency is in mind now as we don't all wish to guzzle up all the gasoline, etc.

The 1952 John Deere 420 in my shop does the job everyday, but you can barely find parts.....that is a problem.

Mac

[Shawn]

"Why wouldn't an air cooled engine not be salt rated?
We don't pump any salt water into any cooling jackets, and the bottom end would be sealed up against the ingress of liquids?"

Because they were not built with any consideration of the electrolysis that will occur on the outboard by putting the outboard in salt water. The dis-similar metals in electrical contact with each other will corrode each other over time. This includes the parts of the outboard that are not even in the water.

From the Briggs and Stratton sales brochure for their outboard...

Where will you use the outboard?
Outboard motors are made for two types of water sources, fresh water and
salt water. All Briggs & Stratton outboard motors are designed specifically for
fresh water use. Salt water and brackish water is extremely corrosive and can
lead to premature failure of components.

As seen at:
http://www.briggsengineoutlet.com/pdf/motorguide.pdf

Page 3 of the owners manual in big print says:

"DESIGNED FOR FRESH WATER USE"

and says damage from corrosion from use in salt water is not covered under warranty.

as seen at:
http://bsintek.basco.com/BriggsDocumentDisplay/default.aspx?filename=18msBEX-nfBhU7y

Fresh water guys just don't understand how bad electrolysis can be.

Shawn

[Bob23]

I seem to remember when I bought my Tohatsu 3.5 for my Seapearl, that there was a salt water version, which I bought. It wasn't too much more $ than the non-salt. Plus it had reverse. It was a great little motor...2 stroke. I sold it with the Pearl.
Bob23

[Shawn]

Those 3.5hp Tohatsu's are supposed to be wonderful engines. They may have had a saltwater version, there were several different versions of it.

All current Tohatsu's are salt water rated.

Shawn

[skip1930]

Seagull's I assume are made for salt? Being from the U.K. ?

I did just change my sacrificial anode on my Mercury a couple of weeks ago. About half of it was gone, which is when it should be changed. I found one at West Marine about the right size, I cut her a little bit and drilled a hole in it for the bolt.

skip.