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Well, I hope I'll be back in the charter biz very soon. It's been 2 weeks of returning charter deposits and answering the phone knowing that I won't be paying any bills with this inquiry....

I am dropping my boat off at a dealer tomarrow with a clean transom. Honda #2 dead on the rack in my shop.

Getting a Suzuki 250 30" coming from Atlanta to a dealer here in J-ville. And with Fly By Wire controls and goodies

I could write a book of what I've learned in the last two weeks.

I'll summerize:

-Honda wants out of the Marine engine biz, according to one dealer when I commented on the Honda 250's being labeled with Tohatsu, very soon. I think he was stretching the story a bit. We'll see.

-Some dealers will give you a good price on a Zuki, but fail to mention you could get a rebate from Suzuki. And then, another dealer says, I can get you Fly By Wire with that rebate of $2400. The final tax tag and title price is all I care about.

-Some dealers say that the reason Japanese motors have anodes in the block is because they need it, and Merc and Evinrude doesn't need anodes in the block because the alloys are better. (???) How do I know if thats true???

-There is no 30" Yamaha's around, especially 225 & 250 hp's.

-My dad and I can put on a Honda or take off a Honda from a boats transom in a matter of minutes and have it hanging on a rack. Have now at this time done both numerous times. WAY more than I ever thought I'd want too.

-I could get a J-O-B as a Honda rigger. I know all the plugs, how they attach and detach. All the little piss-ant things I didn't know 2 years ago. How to reroute cables, wiring and the whole she-bang.

-FLORIDA boat dealers and mechanics think everything that can and will go wrong with a motor is because YOU have it on a Aluminum boat.
They don't know that the G3, or alumacraft they are selling in the show room NEEDS ANODES when used in Jacksonville waters!
But all my problems stem from I own a aluminum boat!

-I'll add the last two weeks of "out of business" to my memiors and write that book when I'm 80, if I make it.

-My dad is a mechanically inclined kinda guy. Rebuilt BMW motorcycles that were under 10' of water during hurricane Katrina and rode them for years and sold them to do it again. He wants to re-gasket my entire saltwater infested 225 Honda and then get a big Skiff and put the 225 on it and I'll have a SPARE charter boat in the future.....Good idea. The entire gasket kit for the whole motor only costs, $250.
He enjoys motors and grease, like I enjoy FISHING. (But I hate doing motor work.)

Good move Dave

Good to hear you are getting it done...but sorry to hear that you were down for two weeks. Good luck! PJ

You a Sponsored Guide Now?

Good Luck my Friend

Naw, Goatram.......that was if I went Yamaha.

I'm just a guy off the street with this deal.

I forgot to mention one more thing in my LIST OF LEARNED THINGS IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS:

-YES, there was a distinct difference when Honda 10-30 oil was mixed with saltwater, versus a cheap automotive oil.
I have seen both now several times. Unfortunately

The Honda oil still gave a slippery slick surface. Enough to actually "feel" it after FROTHED into a soup of acidic/salty milky white nastiness.
And held more consistency to it.

My dad and I both noticed it right away.

Cheap Advanced Auto 10-30 when aggitated in the crankcase, add copious amounts of pure ocean water, didn't stand up. Went very watery, and no slippery feel at all. Zero, just white watery with clumps of GOOW.

They say......."who says?" Super fans of the motor. Evinrudes,,, "get this" can run on NO OIL AT ALL (injected oil) for 5 solid hours at the computers reduced speed, to get you home.
I told the guy, OH HOW I'D LOVE TO CHECK THAT OUT. PLEASE GIVE ME ONE AND LETS TEST THAT F-A-C-T OUT.

BECAUSE:
-No matter the brand, the HP, or super oil
-I can make it DIE
-It's the luck I have
-Proven via about 5 outboards
-From Evinrudes to Yamaha's (2 strokers)

Why don't I see that test on Youtube

sorry to hear about your troubles Dave. Hopefully you will have more luck with the zukie.
Mike

too say i'm excited is a huge understatement.

I have not been this long "off the water" and not fishing probably since I was in the USAF stuck in the arm pit of our nation (N.Dakota)
while it blew 50 MPH and was 50 below zero

I cannot believe I'm gonna be lucky enough to have the FLY BY WIRE system. After I dropped the boat off today at the dealer, he said I'll freak the hell out when I see the fuel economy. Especially if I get the fuel management deal later on ($200 additional item).

He said, if I thought that a ragged out 2005 225 Honda was good on gas. I better hold the hell on, for a shock.

I HOPE!

Just being able to eat and pay my bills, will freak me out. I was about 2 months from that card board box, or my parents extra bed room.
The card board box in the woods would almost be better. But now I'm really in debt.

I still have 7 years to pay on the boat, a "spare motor" that is filling with water, and this new suzuki. I hope to NOT be on here (aab.com)
because I'll be fishing making up for a Memorial day Holiday week $4000.00 loss

JETTYWOLF wrote: I hope to NOT be on here (aab.com) because I'll be fishing making up for a Memorial day Holiday week $4000.00 loss

We want to see PICTURES

Sorry to hear about the troubles, Jetty, and good luck with the new engine. I don't charter and so put a heck of lot fewer hours on my engine than you do, but we have basically the same boat (I've got the hard top), same year, and I've had the Suzuki 250 from the get go. It's been a tremendous engine. I can tell you, though, if you hit rocks with the lower unit while underway, you will be replacing the lower unit. And, if you hit rocks again, you'll replace it again. Fortunately, you've got softer bottoms down there (ocean bottoms, that is) than we do in Maine.

Oh yeah

I had the greatest time and will never ever forget my trip to Maine to see Jay. And sure was amazed at the amount of ROCK the N American Glaciers left ya'll and the carved out the coast. I kinda studied you coast line after my visit and it's really amazing.

You also have almost as many Lobster trap floats as rocks also

I really don't do that many hours. I don't troll, I don't make long runs offshore, and fish on anchor or drift as much as I can with my motor off.
I'd guess maybe 300 hrs a year'ish.

My original 2006 Honda that came with the boat and had a water leak in a bad spot in the block had just 2000 hrs on it in 7 years. Which isn't that bad........and that motor should be still on the boat, and lasted for me. But of course, started a "chain reaction" of driving me into a hole, and still is, because I'm still paying for it when I make a boat payment!!!!!

My Seatow operator Mike is vary happy with his 18 zuki's. And my gawd, they really get the crap beat outa them 12 months a year.


DID YOU KNOW THAT THE NEW SUZUKI CAN OPERATE ON ALMOST ANY FUEL
THIS WAS NEWS TO ME.

MENTIONED HERE:
[BBvideo 560,340]http://youtu.be/A5HSspdD6to[/BBvideo]

A couple years ago I went to Maine to go for a demo ride on a 26ST with a 300 Suzuki. It was ( And probably still is ) a monster & is very, very quiet. Good for hunting "Wabbit". It is quieter than my 90HP Mercury 4-stroke.

Oh yeah. I remember at the Miami boat show, years ago (the B-I-G Miami!) the Suzuki reps telling me....."we wanted our motors to be quieter than the competition....."

I like the new "bullet shaped" lower unit with the extra low water pick-ups, for traversing the shallows. Will give me a few xtra inches. And in less than 3 feet with the 1200lb fishing team on the boat. That makes a difference.

I'd still like a ATLAS jack plate some day......Peezer has two of them. (guess one would make no sense with two motors)

Just watch out for Concrete, Rebar and Sandbars. I don't think Suks like to plow sand either.

In an agreement announced July 31, 2013, Honda Motor Co. is set to private-label eight models of its four-stroke outboards for Tohatsu Corporation, beginning in November 2013.
Honda selling motors to Tohatsu, read below.



In the first year of the agreement, the private-label outboards from Honda will include 60, 75, 90, 115, 150, 200, 225 and 250 hp models, all of which are also in the current Honda line. Tohatsu's U.S. distributor is headquartered in Texas.

The Tohatsu models -- painted blue and bearing the Tohatsu logo -- will be available in U.S., as well as 17 other countries, according to an announcement by Tohatsu president Mitsuru Kaneko, who described Honda as "the industry's technological leader."

"We are very proud of our new relationship with Honda," Kaneko wrote in a letter with a Tokyo, Japan, July 31, 2013, dateline to Tohatsu distributors. "By adding these larger four-stroke outboards, Tohatsu will now be able to offer a full range of outboards from 2.5 hp to 250 hp and allow us to expand our worldwide distributor/dealer network." Historically, Tohatsu has had similar agreements with Honda Marine in Japan.

Tohatsu's line of outboards for the U.S. currently stops at 115 hp. Its current 40 to 115 models are direct-injected two-strokes, while the 2.5 to 30 hp outboards are four-strokes.
The U.S. division of Honda Marine, based in Georgia, confirmed the agreement, but had few other comments about the development. "Beginning in 2014, Tohatsu branded Honda outboards will be sold via the Tohatsu dealership network in a number of countries internationally," Honda said in an official written statement. "These outboards will be sold and serviced through the Tohatsu dealership network."

welder wrote:Just watch out for Concrete, Rebar and Sandbars. I don't think Suks like to plow sand either.

Either do any....I've put them into all three before.
It's a real biotch when ya seize the "splines" together and ya can't get the lower unit off. Super ouch.

BTDT- "been there done that"

Yep, Honda's a bit pissed off low market share and has to get together with tohatsu? Hmmmmm

Could mean the future end of Honda Marine? Going over to Tohatsu Marine?