2 Cylinder Yamaha F6 on a Suncat (The Beast wieghs 87 Pounds!)

[cruz-in]

Hi,

As discussed in another thread, I plan to use my Suncat as a power displacement boat. We have tons of great rivers and creeks to explore and sailing, I have neverr gotten around to seeing them. I would like to.

So I an looking for the smoothest and quietest engine I can find. I have found a previous version Yamaha 6 HP 4 Stroke near me in great condition. It is a way cool motor with the F/N/R shidfter on the tiller....and, being a two cylinder (with thru prop exhaust) it is very smooth ad quiet. Really a nice engine!

However, this beast wieghs in at 87 pounds!

Understadning my desire, to quietly and smoothly  power for 20 plus miles in a day, am I nuts to consider hanging that much wieght on the back of my suncat?

Anyone  use one of these outboards or the similarly heavy others (Honda comes to mind) on thierr suncat?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and opinions.

[Mike K]

Hi Cruz,

You already have my opinion on the Tohatsu 4, 5 or 6 HP from the older thread. (not suitable for you because lack of ability to keep it pointed straight ahead).

However, I also have a Honda 5HP 4 stroke on my Precision 21 which is about a 2000 Lb boat.  I like the motor a lot and it's a little quieter than the Tohatsu, easier to pull start, and has a couple of gallon remote tank for good range (no tiny internal tank like my Tohatsu).  It seems to vibrate less also.  Maybe there's rubber vibration cushions that reduce the vibration to the boat?  I remember seeing the motor move more than the mount when I had the cover off one time while running. 

The Honda has a better steering friction lock.  Although you need a big flat screwdriver to adjust it (hard or impossible to do when standing in the boat), once it's set, it stays put, but when you want to steer with the motor, a good jerk will move it to a different position.

The downside of the Honda may be more a problem with my boat.  On the Honda, the shift lever is on the starboard side, where the Tohatsu is on the front where it's easy to get to.  On the Precision 21, I have rear catbird seats and rails, and it's hard to get my head under the seats to be able to reach out and shift the Honda into neutral or reverse gear.  You may not have a similar problem with the Suncat however.  I don't have any experience with the Yamaha or Suzuki small motors.  Good luck.

[Potcake boy]

cruz-in,

If you intent is to use it primarily as a motor sailor, then it won't really matter so much about the boat trim especially on sheltered waters. You can shift some of your other gear forward to help compensate. Yes, that motor will be really smooth and quiet as you won't need to operate it much more than about 1/4 throttle. If you decide it is unsatisfactory, you can always resell it as it is a vanishing breed.

[Shawn]

"That Yamaha sounds nice, two cylinder will definitely idle smoother than a single cylinder. Is it a long shaft engine?

87 pounds is really heavy though. Are you going to be trailering the boat or does it stay in the water. If you are trailering the boat putting that outboard on and off is going to get old.

I can't imagine that it won't alter the balance and waterline on a Suncat. My Suzuki is about 50% heavier on a boat that weighs about 500% more than a Suncat... and it (along with other changes) altered my waterline.

Shawn

[Shawn]

"You already have my opinion on the Tohatsu 4, 5 or 6 HP from the older thread. (not suitable for you because lack of ability to keep it pointed straight ahead)."

It is easy to lock it ahead if desired. Or better yet just get one of the kits that connects the outboard to your rudder so that they both steer together.

Shawn

[cruz-in]

"You already have my opinion on the Tohatsu 4, 5 or 6 HP from the older thread. (not suitable for you because lack of ability to keep it pointed straight ahead)."

It is easy to lock it ahead if desired. Or better yet just get one of the kits that connects the outboard to your rudder so that they both steer together.

Shawn

Interesting, a kit that connects outboard to the rudder?

[cruz-in]

I am considering buying/installing a much more robust motor mount and installing it with a large backing plate inside the transmo to spread the load.

[cruz-in]

Yeah...weight aside, this is virtually a perfect motor (IMHO of course).

Yamaha reliability

Smooth quiet operation (two cylinder and tru thru the prop exhaust)

Shifter mounted on the tiller.

Moderatly nice looking

Long shaft.

etc....

[Craig]

Powertiller  (powertiller.com) makes a kit to connect your motor to the tiller. I had that and their tiller mounted shift/throttle on my Suncat. Worked like a charm. Steering rig could be connected/disconnected in a matter of seconds. Mounted the blocks for steering lines on the gallows and did not have to drill any holes!

[Shawn]

Interesting, a kit that connects outboard to the rudder?

Yes, search for "trolling motor steering kit" and you will find plenty. Instead of connecting your "trolling" motor to a big outboard you just connect it to your rudder. Attwood, Panther, Marinetech and others make them.

Shawn

[Potcake boy]

Actually, as I recall it was this exact motor I used on my 19' (not the 8 hp). I purchased a thrust prop and rectifier kit which solved the obvious problems. Another thing to consider is a simple system I used on the 19' and my SunCat. I used a 4 part system like a boom vang for lifting the motor. I attached it to the boom gallows with a flange thru bolted and then the lower end onto the motor bracket lock handle. I removed half of the counterweight springs and the pin that the locking handle engages to lock the motor mount in position. The motor weight holds the motor down and it is easy to raise from the cockpit with the 4 part system. The cam cleat is at the upper end of the system so it is easy to reach. Never had a problem with that system and it made raising and lowering the motor a whole lot easier.

[cruz-in]

Hi Team,

Yeah, I have kinda "fallen in love" with the 2 Cylinder 6 HP Yamaha. The tiller mounted shifter is just too cool.

In 35 years of small boat sailing, I never thought of hooking the motor and tiller together. That sure would make things great for slow speed docking. That and the tiler mounted shifter, should make me look like an ole salt when docking.

Potcake Boy,

That is a great idea for handing the increased weight of raising this motor. I too think I will get the thrust ( lower pitch) prop.

Having had the same motor (Yamaha 2 Cyl 6 HP), how did you like it? Did you find it smooth and quiet?

Thanks All

[brackish]

I'm curious, is this transition permanent.  Do you plan to remove your mast and rigging, gallows?  That of course will further shift weight, removing a lot forward.  I agree that you should shift or add weight forward and give it a try.  Who knows you may like it so much you will end up adding a pilot house or a custom canvas equivalent of same.  Certainly much less bucks to try the concept than a Ranger Tug (which I kinda drool over myself). 

[cruz-in]

I am taking this in stages.

goal is to get a quiet smooth power source that I could do more power cruising with. Maybe add a dodger to the existing Bimini, leaving all sailing abilities intact.....we will see where it goes from there. 

The one big concern I  have with the Ranger Tugs is how loud the Diesel is.Especially the R21 with the Diesel square in the middle of the cockpit. While cruising, conversation in the cockpit is challenging. I am concerned this would get very bothersome to me and my wife.

Now the new R23 is a different story. It can be equipped with a modern quiet outboard. Folks say, at displacement speeds, you can barely hear the engine. One person said they had to look at the tack to make sure it was still running. Of course if is north of $100K!

[Shawn]

You have a two stroke now, correct? Pretty much any four stroke is going to be quieter than that. My 23 had an 8hp Johnson 2 cylinder 2 stroke when I bought it. First season I replaced it with the Sailpro that was dramatically quieter and had much better fuel economy.

"One person said they had to look at the tack to make sure it was still running."

Not surprised. My Suzuki is that way at idle. I forgot to take a video of yesterday but will try again today.

If you haven't seen them this is the Suzuki's first start.  https://flic.kr/p/JDCQSL  That is of course out of the water and against a brick wall, it sounds louder in the video than it did there. We were very surprised how quiet it was.

At low RPM. https://flic.kr/p/JxErxN

At about half throttle. https://flic.kr/p/JFca8H  Notice how quiet it is when the camera isn't right at the engine. My kids *love* how much quieter the engine is compared to the old diesel, esp. down below.

One thing you may need to do after you swap engines is track down vibrations in the boat. Depending upon where you are you may find those louder than the engine. I have a number of different rattles I am tracking down. For example the car on the mast track (whisker pole) rattles louder than what the engine sounds like up there.

Shawn