CONTINUOUSWAVE

Give me your experience with using a 2002 Evinrude 225-HP FICHT outboard engine.

BACKGROUND
I may re-power an older OUTRAGE 22 (used by law enforcement) with a 2002 Evinrude 225-HP FICHT engines. My friends tell me not to bother.

[Moved to THE GAM for discussion.]

If that particular 225-HP FICHT engine is still running properly after 23 years of service, it has apparently demonstrated reliability. I suspect the acquisition cost for that engine will be quite modest.

A 2002-model year is probably the last year of production, and at that point I believe all the “bugs” had been worked out of that engine which for that time was a novel and unique direct-injection two-stoke-power-cycle design thatt was about to be superseded by the E-TEC.

I don’t see much risk in mounting the engine. It uses the standard BIA transom hole pattern. With 225-HP it will be a good fit to the 22-foot hull.

About the only drawback may be the injectors are a bit noisy.

ASIDE: a good friend had a 115-HP FICHT that was still running when he traded-in that engine for an E-TEC a few years ago.

We had a 1999 115 HP FICHT which was so quiet that I attempted to start it when it was idling. I learned to check the tell tale stream before starting.

My memory is a bit fuzzy on this, but as I recall the OMC company was so keen on the direct-injection technology of the FICHT injector that they bought out the patent so they could use it freely for their engines, rather than just licensing it from the German company that owned it.

Also, as I recall, the engine computer hardware that controlled the engine was designed in a metal case with a big heat sink. The injectors themselves were also rather larger than you might expect, at least compared to the fuel injectors used on automotive engines with are not direct--injectors, that is, those auto-engine type injectors don't try to inject fuel at high pressure into a compression chamber when the cylinder pressure is at peak values. The direct-injection injectors have to be able to "hammer" fuel into an already high-pressure combustion chamber, rather that just squirt some fuel into a flow of air into an cylinder intake manifold.

UPDATE: with a bit more research, I came across a very interesting article that gives a lot of background on the FICHT engine. See

https://www.screamandfly.com/content.ph ... ard/view/3

Bill -

I would expect parts and mechanics to service it will be very hard to find. This is party true if you live within driving distance of Lockeman's Hardware and Boats in Detroit Michigan.

Thank you all for the feedback, please continue. It is very helpful in my decision process.