posted 11-18-2005 03:08 PM ET (US)            

Concerning Yamaha big block HPDI engines, lhg says "internet rumors are usually a waste of time and patently false."

Please make your own decision:

posted 11-18-2005 08:50 PM ET (US)         

Rumors (remember that's all they are) persist that Optimax's days are numbered too, except for the 20" performance areas, which Yamaha may try to hold on to also.

Quite frankly, I am beginning to think that for anybody facing a true need to repower right now, or even looking at a new Whaler, 4 stroke is the answer. This way, down the road, you KNOW you will have a current technology engine, and not a technology which COULD BE only a relatively short term 8 year "blip" on the horizon such as 2 stroke DFI is likely to become.

I think of my old Classic 21 Outrage. At some point it will get sold as I no longer need or use it! I'm thinking (and you should too), won't this classic boat be a LOT more valuable (if you were to be the buyer) with a 2006 175 Verado on it than a 2006 175 Optimax? In my mind, no question.

Right now, if I had to buy an outboard and still wasn't a 4-stroke fan for any number of reasons, (didn't live in CA) I would pick up a conventional 2-stroke, either carb or EFI, while some are still around. Somehow, I think these will hold their value better than a used DFI, which people are always going to wonder about used. We are seeing it already. People are not rushing out to buy used Fichts, certain Opti's or 250/300 HPDI's.

I do believe that except, perhaps, for Mercury Racing Division and Yamaha V-Max, Evinrude will have the recreational 2-stroke DFI market all to itself. Without playing into Dick's hands, the question will be will this recreational market even exist? I don't think anybody really knows yet, but in any case, it's not going to be very large.

posted 11-19-2005 12:01 AM ET (US)            

I don't have any firsthand information about Yamaha HPDI engines, but I do notice that the Yamaha price schedule has the 150-HP four-stroke engine priced below the 150-HP HPDI engine. It sounds to me like Yamaha is doing their part to discourage HPDI buyers with the price.

This summer's price of gasoline (at $4-per-gallon) sent a lot of boaters into a panic. Now gasoline is selling for $2.08-per-gallon this fall, and when you crunch those numbers it makes the re-powering cost quite different. An old two-stroke that drinks more gas is back to being a reasonable proposition in lieu of a $16,000 new engine.

posted 11-19-2005 09:40 AM ET (US)            

I have a home on the beach in the Florida Panhandle. It is a secluded, private sorta location. Although there are many homes along this stretch of beach, access is by a dirt road, not a major thoroughfare. The people that go in and out generally have a reason to be there. There are part time residents and many full time residents. Jst about everyone has a boat, often multiple. They leave them in their yards and driveways. I suspect that we have the highest concentration of whalers along that 3 mile beach than anyplace in the nation. The topography is such that it is perfectly reasonable and even expected that you leave your boat at anchor or moored to a buoy 24 hours a day. Whalers are perfect for this, no bilge pumps to worry about.

Anyway, we were down at the beach in early October. That weekend, I finally got around to putting my new regis. numbers on the boat. I ALMOST brought the boat home when we left, to do some work on the teak. I had actually hooked the trailer to the truck. Two things then occurred to me. I needed to get back by a certain time and if I pulled the boat I likely would not make it, and gas prices were skyhigh. I left the boat in the yard, closed the gate, chained it, locked it, and left. I've done it many times. In fact, the Cohasset was parked in a corner not to far away. Nobody has their boats stolen down here. Boats are in all the yards, most not even under fence. Later on my neighbor calls and reports that someone used bolt cutters to get through the gate, cut all the cables to the motor, unbolted the motor from the transom, and took it. The responding deputy told me I would be happy to hear that it was a very neat and clean job. No harm to the hull itself. They even left the mounting bolts, etc. neatly in the sump. He says, whoever did this, has done this before and the likelihood of it being recovered is slim. My mechanic later determined that they had actually gone to the trouble of taking the foot off right there in the driveway, presumably for handling purposes, before hauling it away. Yes, I am certain it took more than one person. It is also my belief that the engine (or at least most of it) right now today is not too far away; possibly on the back of a mullet, oyster boat or some such. Thankfully, they did not want the hull. The could have gotten the entire boat in way less time than it took to remove the engine. My dealer says that when these type things occur; it is usually the engine they are after. The boat itself is too easy to identify. Plus, there is not that much to actually strip off a Whaler since they are fairly utilitarian to begin with. I had put all the electronics in the house.

Hence my present conundrum is two fold. First, I need to re-power. Second, I am now gun shy about leaving the boat at the beach house. That becomes triply true if I hang a really high dollar engine. I know there are many re-power posts. I generally haven't followed those in detail, because I have had no need to re-power, until now.

posted 11-19-2005 11:10 AM ET (US)            

I join the others here that have expressed concern with respect to the 250 HPDI. They seem to have developed a poor track record and I think the fact that Yamaha has discontinued it for 2006, a run of only 3 model years, shouldn't be ignored. In the first model year I recall them having oiling problems causing plug fouling. You should be able to use this fact to your benefit in negotiations with your dealer. If you go with the 250 HPDI, it might be smart to work an extended warranty (the Y.E.S. program) into the bargain.

posted 11-19-2005 05:19 PM ET (US)            

Look around and you can find a late model 250hp Ox66 for under $7K.