best 60hp - final purchase results added

[Rob128]

Hey Steve,

We chose our boat (Quintrex Freedom Sport) and then torn between the Merc 60 and Yamaha 60 4 stroke engines. Whilst they are very similar and both great engines, we settled on the Yamaha and have certainly not regretted the decision.

As has been said above the engine has been for us; reliable, very quiet at cruise, vibration free, light, powerful, extremely lean on fuel and with the EFI, starts first time every time even without priming. Weve just had it through its annual service after 50 hours and now even seems to be running smoother, the service cost is not bad as well.

I did change the prop on it as it was revving a bit hard, we went from an 11 up to a 12 pitch where she cruises at 22 knots and at WOT will reach 29 knots. I think the basic boat weighs 480 Kg.

It is a hard decision between the two, good luck.

Regards,

Rob

[madman1]

Sorry Pillie,

I didn't have time to go through the "Guff" about all the other rengines!!! Here we Go!

I am on my second Etec now (60hp) powering a 5.2 metre Quinnie. Tiller steer with all the gear. Cant be happier. My Maiden voyage saw us doing 150km in good conditions for a measly 50 litres of juice. Tops out under full load at 50km / hr but 30km / hr suits me fine.

Pay the little extra and you will be thanking me and all other Etec owners in the long run.

Maybe not as quiet as the Hondas but definitely quieter than the Yammies (from personal experience).

Good luck in making your decision.

(My hands are now covering my ears)!!!!!

Cheers


Mark

[pilchardjones]

lots of good opinions in there so thanks guys.
i just haven't heard a bad thing about the 60 yam so am leaning that way (high thrust model), although the 60 etec seems to have a lot going for it also.
FYI saint i really do not want to put any more weight on the transom, which is why i am keen on a 115kg or so motor.

i am very interested in seeing what the weight of these new suzi's are. everyone talks about them but no one can seem to get a firm answer on the weights. if anyone hears from sanctuary cove i would love to hear. i have a 140 suzi on my reef boat and it would be great to just have 1 brand outboard and dealer.

i have the added luxury of having a mate who has just converted a 445 into a barra boat like mine, and he has just fitted a tiller steer 60 yam 4s so i will get to have a run and see how it goes. he hasn't even had a run in it yet after 1 week. o to have some time.

darren - yes the 445 is going great. i had it up in weipa for a couple of months last year while i was there for work. it was a perfect boat for up there. such a great ride when those gulf waters chop up.

thanks for the help.
steve

[boatboy50]

Good to hear Steve,

I've done plenty of searching for the new 60 Suzuki (spoken to Haines and US dealers), and i'm sure you will find the new 60hp Suzy will weigh around 160kg. Not good for the 60, but great for the 90hp which will also weigh the same.

I doubt you will find any advantage from a high thrust model Yammie. With a reasonably light boat like yours, i thought the normal engine would be better suited. Do you have a need to spin the bigger prop?

Check out www.seamedia.com.au, and look at the Profish 485 we had. I took it to Fraser, and it had a 60hp 4 stroke standard Yammie on it, for a pretty heavy boat. It was no speed demon, but handled it quite well. Find the actual figures on the site. Fuel consumption was incredible. Unbelievable!

There's quite a few 20" model's around second hand at the moment (I know I find them all, but need a 25"!) The prices are quite reasonable, and about 3-4k cheaper than new.

Some more options for you.

Regards

Darren

[Bowser]

Mate,

I haven't a loyalty factor for either motor as I haven't owned either. The reports on both a great and you shouldn't have any worries with either. But for what it is worth I am running a 40hp 4 stroke yammie on a 445 alum centre console which I would expect is a lot lighter then your glass boat. The problem I have with the yammie is that it doesn't have the grunt down low to quickly get out of the hole and also to hold power in a bar situation. The problem you are going to have is knowing if any 60 is going to do the job as you can't test drive them and finding out the motor isn't quite right on the first run is an expensive mistake. Remember you are dropping 1/3 in power from the 90HP, so bear that in mind when choosing a new motor.

I am going to a slightly larger tinnie soon and am seriously considering the Etec because it is 2 stroke and has that grunt. While I think the yammie is a great motor, if it was me, and I don't know your boat as you do, I would be looking at the Etec for that grunt. The economy reportedly is still there as is the quietness so you shouldn't loose anything.

Another advantage for me is that the Etec at that horsepower has available an of the shelf plug to conect to a NMEA2000 network such as the Lowrance system. With this you can get all the info you need about your engine such as revs, fuel flow, trim, etc etc, digitally onto either a specialised gauge or your Lowrance sounder/GPS. from my investigations, Yammie may or may not be able to do this and the factory is not in the least bit helpful in finding out info on this. So for me it would be the Etec

[madman1]

Bowser,

What model Lowrance systems run the Etec system?

I am keen to know as the tiller steer 60hp Etec has nothing to determine what revs, fuel flow etc it is running at?

Thanks in advance..


Mark

[Bowser]

Madman,

The best info on this is at Lowrance. Try this page:
http://www.lowrance.com/en/Products/...nits-Displays/

It lists all th eunits that plug in to the NMEA system. The current models have a red plug and previous models used the blue plugs.

There is a scarcity of info on NMEA2000 both on th enet and especially through the dealer networks. They don't want to have anything to do with anything that isn't bog standard. I picked up my info after lots of reserch and searches on the net. The details on the Etec conection can be located on the BRP site if i recall.

[Outsider1]

Good to hear Steve,

I've done plenty of searching for the new 60 Suzuki (spoken to Haines and US dealers), and i'm sure you will find the new 60hp Suzy will weigh around 160kg. Not good for the 60, but great for the 90hp which will also weigh the same.

I doubt you will find any advantage from a high thrust model Yammie. With a reasonably light boat like yours, i thought the normal engine would be better suited. Do you have a need to spin the bigger prop?

Check out www.seamedia.com.au, and look at the Profish 485 we had. I took it to Fraser, and it had a 60hp 4 stroke standard Yammie on it, for a pretty heavy boat. It was no speed demon, but handled it quite well. Find the actual figures on the site. Fuel consumption was incredible. Unbelievable!

There's quite a few 20" model's around second hand at the moment (I know I find them all, but need a 25"!) The prices are quite reasonable, and about 3-4k cheaper than new.

Some more options for you.

Regards

Darren

I think you mean the 70hp 4stroke, don't you Darren? As I understand it the new motors are a 70, an 80 and a 90hp based on the same displacement motor. All I have been able to find out is that the 90hp will be the lightest 4 stroke in the 90hp class, so your 160kgs sounds about right (the Honda 90 is 163kgs).

The new 100hp is a different displacement and weighs 189kgs.

We should find out in the next few days at the boat show.

Cheers

Dave

[boatboy50]

Hey Dave,

Good pickup, I did mean the 70hp.

I still doubt they will have the weights at Sanctuary Cove, as it hasn't been confirmed from the states yet either.

The motor at Sanctuary Cove will be a display motor, not a production model.

The 100 engine is simply a current model 90 up specked. Same weights, displacements ect.

Regards

Darren

[FNQCairns]

Hey Steve,

We chose our boat (Quintrex Freedom Sport) and then torn between the Merc 60 and Yamaha 60 4 stroke engines. Whilst they are very similar and both great engines, we settled on the Yamaha and have certainly not regretted the decision.

As has been said above the engine has been for us; reliable, very quiet at cruise, vibration free, light, powerful, extremely lean on fuel and with the EFI, starts first time every time even without priming. Weve just had it through its annual service after 50 hours and now even seems to be running smoother, the service cost is not bad as well.

I did change the prop on it as it was revving a bit hard, we went from an 11 up to a 12 pitch where she cruises at 22 knots and at WOT will reach 29 knots. I think the basic boat weighs 480 Kg.

It is a hard decision between the two, good luck.

Regards,

Rob

Here you go PJ some real info for ya, think you may need to keep your fingers crossed to see these figures on your boat?

cheers fnq

[STUIE63]

Pilchard don't buy the high thrust you won't need it just get the standard one
Stuie

[pilchardjones]

thanks once again for the useful comments.
my 445 was rebuilt with glass over ply so she does have a bit of weight. not sure but i guess similar to the original weight. i thought the high thrust may be a nice to have given it is a bit of a heavy boat.
Darren - yes i spoke to peter W the other day and he reckons the 60 on the 485 easily handled the weight (in the std thrust model too) which says a lot to me. my 445 wouldn't be that heavy i don't think.
2nd hand is definately a consideration as i am struggling to justify to myself putting a $9k motor on a 2nd boat i only use infrequently. with young kids and limited time to get on the water i like to spend my time at the reef in the goldstar when the weather comes good. if you have any leads on the 2nd hand market please PM me.

thanks,
steve

[Crocodile]

If you don't use it very often no need for the high-tech, high capital cost motors.
You will never recover the extra purchase price, even when petrol is two dollars a litre.
If the old 90 suited your purposes, go for a new low-tech two stroke, save some money and enjoy the extra performance.
I have a '91 60hp 2s Yamaha, quiet, powerful, smooth and will troll without fouling.
Two strokes have a lot to offer.

[sharkymark2]

My Yammie 60 4 stroke is on the back of a 4.6 Nautiglass half cabin. Fair bit of weight there and she goes well. I used to have a 50 hp evinrude on it and the few times I took it out it went just as well. Maybe a bit more top end on the 60 but when you max the revs out it sounds much the same as the 2 stroke. I normally cruise around at 3500 revs and she sounds almost invisible, if you know what I mean . The 60 big foot has more drag through the bigger box and was designed apparently for houseboat ,pontoon boats. It certainly is convenient not to muck around with oil and just one flick of the switch and brmmmm. Never have to prime the bulb ever. Happy with what I got and fitted was around $8350. I sell Yamaha home theater systems as well as tv's and yamaha is very reliable. Guess their culture goes through everything they make. Best of luck.

[Hebb]

I Have a 475 v-sea with a 60hp yamaha high thrust on it. I reckon weight wise it would probably be similar to your rig. Has heaps of get up and go and will cruise comfortably on 25 knots, pushing 30 knots at wot. I would not have put a standard 60hp on it as i like the lower gearing of the high thrust for grunt when travelling in rough conditions as opposed to higher top end speeds. Performs slightly better than the 70hp 2 stroke johno that was on it and very frugal on fuel.
Darren