E-Tec or Yamaha on a SeaArk

[SCDolphin]

I am interested in buying a SeaArk 18v. I can either get a 4 stroke 60 yamaha with ~31 mph speed or E tec 75 or 90 with ~ 41mph. The 90 4 stroke yamee is too heavy. I have been on the an E Tec Blog like this forum and the only problems I have heard of is a crack in the plastic oil tank which was an old problem. I have been talking to a fellow Heath Johnson (Johnson Marine in OrangeBurg). He seems like a straight shooter.

Would love some advice

[wdhigh]

I had a 90 e-tec, and am very glad I sold it. Mine ran fine, but I saw too many having trouble to keep that warm and fuzzy feeling.

I ran the premium xd-100 and it ran as advertised with zero smoke and very little gass and oil usage. After it broke itself in it was using very little oil and ran fine. I do not feel they "brp" have gotten all the bugs out of this delicate system, along with the majority of the mechanics who rig them not knowing how to set it up. The oil delivery system has a lot of clips on the line that have to be removed to obviously allow the oil to flow after it comes out the crate. I have also been told the oil system has to be initialy primed, but can not confirm that. I do know that the computer has to be set to what ever oil you plan to run being either xd-50 or xd-100. The xd-50 is the normal 50:1 oil and the xd-100 is the synthetic that runs like 100:1 or something crazy like that. Once it is set you can only run what it is set for untill you have it reprogramed.

Personaly if I were to buy another one, it would run xd-100 again. I laugh at guys that spend thousands of dollars on the newest baddest outboard and then attempt to run the cheapest oil they can find on the shelf. Maybe there is no difference in walmart crap vs other stuff, but it is small price to pay when you compare it to what you payed for the engine.

Another thing I saw while working at a mercury dealership was a requested oil sample. Our mechanic rigged a merc 150 V6 1995 model out the crate. Put the boat in and it blew up in 6-7 minutes. The first thing mercury insisited on was an oil sample before they would ship out a new powerhead.


Have you thought about a 90 yam 2 stroke? They can be had for $5100 plus tax here in charleston. Will not be as quiet as the e-tec at idle or use as little fuel, but less complicated and very good reputation. The oil injection on yamaha has been said to be the most reliable made.

[SCDolphin]

Thanks for the information. I had hoped to have a nice quiet fuel efficent non smoking boat that would run 40mph. I was told that the 60 4s yamaha would only run about 30 and I will have my family in the boat so weight and hp is important. The 90 yamaha is old tech with carbs no FI but I quess simple and dependable. I just worry about resale??

Thanks

[Birchwood2]

I just got a 115 e-tec on the new boat it runs great ands uses very little gas

[blackduck]

The main issue with the E-tec that has been mentioned on this site a few times is that it is hard to find someone that can work on them. Personally, I would get the old yamaha 2-stroke and you won't have to worry about resale value...it will still be running when you die. BD