Tohatsu Pro-Sail 6hp flush question....and friction lock for steering....

[mayrel]

We just purchased a new Tohatsu Pro-Sail 6hp motor for our CP19.  It's a great motor with two exceptions...the fresh water flushing system.  There is a 10mm bolt/plug which you remove and install the fresh water flush hose(adapted to connect to garden hose). The plug is located under the rear engine cowling, easy to get to, but removing the 10mm bolt introduces a very high possibility of dropping it in the drink!  I've had no success finding a quick release adaptor on the internet.  I have emailed Tohatsu to obtain information about adding a quick disconnect to the flushing hose; brass of course.  The stock flushing kit uses a plug when not in use allowing you to leave the flushing hose connected.  However, it's too long.  I plan to reduce the length of the hose and install a quick disconnect fitting.
The other issue is the friction lock for steering.  Apparently this is a common complaint; it works good when new, but soon looses it's ability to lock the motor in place.  The do sell a bracket which locks the motor in the 90 degree position for steering with the boats rudder.  But there are times when you would like to use the motor for steering; you have to remove this bracket for steering with the motor tiller.  Obviously Tohatsu recognizes the issue and sells an optional bracket although it's not a versatile option.  One owner simply ties his motor in the position he desires; silly to have to do this.
I may not receive a response from Tohatsu as I mentioned they might want to have an engineer who actually sails a small sailboat and uses one of these motors...that will get a lot of attention, negative attention unfortunately; we'll see?
Anybody want to comment?

[AislinGirlII]

Yep. Same here on both items. My friction screw is twisted tight and has no effect at all..

[Tom L.]

I have an older 5hp Nissan 4 stroke. The locking screw is also useless. I am the second owner so I don't know if it ever worked. I put a PVC pipe slit down the sides and slipped over the throttle/tiller, clamped in place with a hose clamp. This is a common method to extend the throttle to make it easier to reach from the cockpit.  With this extension it is easier to lock it in place. In my case the boom gallows works as a stop. Just A lucky fit.

Tom L.

[kickingbug1]

   i too have that problem with my mercury 4 hp (same as tohatsu). that is more than annoying i have to say. this spring i am going to come up with a good fix . anyone who has fixed this problem please let us know.

[mayrel]

Just for grins, I emailed Tohatsu about these issues/complaints; I doubt I'll get a response, but you never know.  If more owners spoke up, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" might come into play?  I think I have a fix for the flush kit.  I think cutting the hose and adding a brass quick disconnect might work.  As to the friction issue, I did see one guy who took the friction assembly apart and added some material which is glued in place on the shaft and acts like a brake drum-sorta-thing.  He claims it works, but it's a lot of effort.  If you could steer easily with the motor tiller and the rudder up, that would be an option.  However, we have a stern pulpit on our CP19 which restricts using the tiller on the motor.
I was also thinking, if you removed the thumb screw and replaced it with a longer one, wouldn't this do the trick?  Of course, taking everything apart might be a chore and tricky; apparently there are some springs involved...dealing with springs or anything under tension can be a disaster!!  I'll ask the local Tohatsu tech what he thinks; they may have a fix for a price considering this is a common issue.
We should all keep up with this...and write Tohatsu a lot of owner complaints in a nice way, asking for their help...John

[kickingbug1]

  yeah, john, i kind of looked at the thing today and it seems that it must have something that wraps around the shaft to bind it somewhat. on a warm day im gonna take it apart and see what makes it tick. it is a bit aggravating to say the least.

[AislinGirlII]

Ran across this while Googling..
http://tillerfix.blogspot.com/2014/08/tohatsu-tiller-lock-fix.html

[Dogboy]

I don't use the friction lock.  The motor always vibrates in the same direction for me, so I just use a docking line cleated to the aft cleat at a length that keeps it from turning.  I also rarely motor.  Once I'm off the trailer and out of the launch area, I hoist the sail and tilt the motor.

My previous gen Nissan 6hp on the capri 22 was more problematic, so I used two docking lines on alternate cleats.  That was more a pain since my marina was 1/2 mile from the lake.  Both methods work and make it easy to "unlock" when needed.

[alsantini]

I have had my Nissan 4 hp 4 stroke (Tohatsu) for around 12 years.  It is a great motor but the friction lock is just about worthless.  I have attached 2 short bungee cords between the carrying handle and the boat mount.  It keeps it centered  but allows me to turn the motor to steer.  The sun tears up the bungee every 2 years and I just replace them.  Regarding the flushing adapter, I have installed a flush hose directly to the port.  It has about 10 inches of hose with a garden hose female threads adapter and a plug that threads in when not in use.  It is perfect.  Run a garden hose to the adapter, thread it in, turn on the water and start the engine.  It is a waverunner flushing adapter (Yamaha) available just about anywhere.  I meant to take a pic yesterday when I was out sailing but forgot (it is hell getting old.... er).  Search for waverunner flushing adapter for a Yamaha WR and it will pop up on the screen.  Good luck.  Al  (Eclipse owner)

[mayrel]

I finally got Tohatsu to send me the fitting for the motor.  I then added a section of hose, a ball valve and female hose connection.  It's all brass.  I used some blue lock tight on the fitting going into the motor.  It remains on the motor.  I run the hose to it and let it run for a few minutes.  My shaft is 25" so I can't get it to clear the water inlet on the foot. If I fire up the motor, I'll be sucking water from the bay; sort of self-defeating.  And I agree, you have to be tuff to get old....Tohatsu explained there is a back log on these flush kits due to dock strike in CA; orders may be as two months late...

[mayrel]

My motor is new, so the friction lock seems to work.  I did purchase the locking bracket to hold the motor straight, but this won't allow you to use the motor for steering.  I'm thinking I may be able to modify the bracket using a pin to lock it in position/unlock when wanting to steer.  But this all seems like a lot of trouble to me.  I called Tohatsu service folks and relayed mine and others' complaints,not that it will do any good.  But I do think the "squeaky wheel gets the grease" might come into play here?  It's obvious the engineer has never owned/operated a sailboat with a small motor.

[Gerry]

My Tohatsu friction lock has not worked since the day I purchased my 4hp.  Let us know what we can do to help solve this problem.

[mayrel]

Gerry,  I spoke with John at Tohatsu(service)and he explained if you over tighten the friction knob, it will soon fail.  I have mine just snugged and it's holding.  I also purchased the bracket that holds the motor in the forward position.  This might work depending on the angle of your motor mount; if the stern is slightly con-cuvered this might position the motor slightly off center to the keel.  However, I'm going to inspect this bracket to see exactly how it mounts.  It's possible it could be modified to accept a pin vice the bolts, thereby allowing you to remove the pin and regain steering.  I haven't examined the bracket yet.  I also have the 25" shaft, which I found is really a little too long.  Fortunately my motor mount allows three positions, so I can adjust it to the middle position and it's fine; I can raise the motor, tilt it and it clears the water. All the way up, I can't tilt it forward enough.  Ideally it would be nice to have a motor mount which would simply raise up and down getting the motor out of the water.  I suppose I could remount my motor mount and it would do just that.  But that's a lot of filling with epoxy, drilling and getting the height just right for this motor.  If you changed shaft lengths, this might not work, so I'll leave well enough alone.
I also thought of another possible locking system to hold the motor in position.  It might be possible to install a small turnbuckle which would allow you to adjust for stern curvature to get the motor straight with the keel.  It could be mounted to the stern and attached to the motor again with a pin.  This would allow you to remove the pin/turnbuckle when you wanted to steer with the motor.  A simple bracket could be attached to the motor in an appropriate location. I'll look at this possibility too.  I might be able to use the current optional bracket for this purpose with minor modification?
I spoke to John about this issue along with the flush kit.  I solved the flush kit issue by adding a short piece of hose from the small motor fitting he sent me, then a brass ball valve I purchased at Ace Hardware with a female connector at the end.  I can attach my hose, open the valve, flush the motor, remove the hose and turn the valve off.  It works and the flush kit remains attached to the motor.  I did use some blue lock tight when I installed the motor fitting.  It's about 6" long and isn't in the way hanging off the bottom of the motor.  I told John these motors are suppose to be designed for sailboats, so the engineer needs to actually test these features.  All they did was add the 25" shaft option to the stock motors with a high thrust prop.  It's OK, but could be far better in design.  I can't post photos to this site, so if you want a photo of the flush kit, and possibly later the steering bracket, send me your email address...hope this helps, John

[mayrel]

I just viewed a CP19 where the guy had installed a Torquedo electric motor through the hull where the fuel container is located in the cockpit.  Adding a motor well intrigues me.  This would place the motor in front of the rudder(where it ought to be) and it wouldn't really hinder the cockpit utilization(I don't think?).  Adding a motor well could be accomplished fairly easily.  Of course, you'd have to move the fuel container.  Any thoughts out there??John

[brackish]

John, I owned several boats with well mounted motors and there were advantages and disadvantages.  You mentioned an advantage, motor in front of the rudder but that would normally be with a stern mounted rudder not so with a keel/skeg mounted rudder.  My Columbia challenger 24 had a well with a hatch cover and a plug you could put in when the motor wasn't down.  The disadvantage was that it was awkward and back breaking to lift that motor up high enough to put the plug in and then lay it on its side in the well in order to use the plug feature.  If you did not put the plug in, the boat would ship water into the well when sailing creating a lot of drag.  If you don't care about the motor drag and the marine growth on the foot you can just leave it in the water all the time. 

If I'm going to have an outboard, I think I would prefer an external mount with spring assist so I can get the entire motor out of the water when I'm sailing or docked.

I think your turnbuckle idea has merit.  I will be looking into that.  I like that better than modifying the friction lock which has to be accessed by feel when on the boat.  It can be a quick ball detent pin to engage and disengage.