Boating Magazine - Engines

Yamaha F200

bdaugherty — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 20:00:23 GMT

For a list of hot new 2013 marine engines, click here.

Yamaha’s new F200 is the lightest four-stroke outboard in its class. At 487 pounds (20-inch shaft length), the four-cylinder engine weighs just 14 pounds more than Yamaha’s 200-horsepower HPDI two-stroke engine.

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

Yamaha F200

Joysticks for Outboards

bdaugherty — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:08:57 GMT

New outboard joystick controls from Mercury Marine and Yamaha Outboards promise to relieve the fear of docking, which marketing research reveals is the chief anxiety of many boaters. As with inboards and sterndrives, a digital joystick manages the independent shifting, steering and throttle of multiple motors to achieve fingertip, low-speed control beyond the imagination of most weekend captains. The technology isn’t cheap, but neither is therapy.

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

Joysticks for Outboards

Seven Marine 557 Outboard Test Run

bdaugherty — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:13:03 GMT

Timing is everything. While testing boats in Biscayne Bay, Florida last week, this Midnight Express powered by triple Seven Marine 557’s roared past. Sources tell us it’s a 100-mph boat, but we can’t confirm that speed.

Seven Marine 557 Outboard Test Run

Five Things Your Sparkplugs Are Telling You

bdaugherty — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:10:46 GMT

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

Installing Spark Plugs

bdaugherty — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:10:05 GMT

Today’s fuel-injected marine engines run so clean that plugs need changing less often than in years past. But the day will come. For those with a mechanical jones, or with older engines, here are some helpful tips.

The Right Plug

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

Installing Spark Plugs

Rebuild Versus Buying a Rebuilt Engine Block

bdaugherty — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:00:59 GMT

Your boat’s once-purring power plant now sounds like a bucket of bolts. The block is a goner, and you’ve got three choices: Buy another engine, rebuild ol’ Nelly Belle, or get a rebuilt block.

A new engine sounds sweet, but you’re looking at big bucks. And while a used motor costs less, you might be inheriting problems. So it boils down to a rebuild or a rebuilt (aka reconditioned) block.

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

Rebuild Versus Buying a Rebuilt Engine Block

BoatingLAB Tests: Fuel Stabilizers

bdaugherty — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:06:19 GMT

Pass the Gas

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

BoatingLAB Tests: Fuel Stabilizers

Top 10 Motors at the 2013 Miami International Boat Show

bdaugherty — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:46:34 GMT

You’ll find just about any kind of motor you can imagine at the 2013 Miami International Boat Show. Some are on display at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Others are powering test-rides on boats at the Sea Isle Marina. You’ll be amazed by the sheer variety, including some never-before-seen marine power from Evinrude, Mercury Racing, Suzuki and others. Here’s a countdown of the 10 hottest propulsion products you can see, feel and demo at Miami this year.

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

Top 10 Motors at the 2013 Miami International Boat Show

Volvo Penta V8-380

bdaugherty — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:06:48 GMT

Working closely with General Motors Corp., Volvo Penta took the new 6.0-liter fourth-generation V-8 truck engine and created a more fuel-efficient, lighter, quieter marine propulsion system with great durability and maintenance features.

“GM is always exploring ways to reduce noise, harshness and vibration (NHV),” explained Mel Cahoon, manager of Volvo Penta’s engine engineering. “The gen-4 engine gains structural rigidity and low NVH with its deep skirt block with six-bolt main caps.”

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

Volvo Penta V8-380

Whitewater Jet-Boating Adventures

bdaugherty — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:06:28 GMT

In most types of boating, captains avoid treacherous water. But not Carl Johnson. He looks for it. On the wild rivers of Idaho, Oregon and Washington — on the Snake, the Salmon, the Rogue, the Columbia and the Payette.

This is whitewater jet-boating, and it takes a different kind of captain willing and able to challenge the raging rollers and menacing troughs wrought by tons of meltwater crashing through narrow, boulder-strewn canyons.

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

Whitewater Jet-Boating

New Boat Engines for 2013

bdaugherty — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 14:15:39 GMT

Lighter, smarter and more-efficient new options in marine power promise to enhance our boating experience. Here’s a roundup of the latest fresh ideas.

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

New Boat Engines for 2013

Are Four-Strokes More Efficient Than Two-Strokes?

bdaugherty — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:47:40 GMT

Myth: Four-stroke outboards are more fuel-efficient than two-strokes.

You’ve got to burn fuel to make horsepower. Comparisons are often made between older, carbureted two-strokes and newer fuel-injected four-strokes. In those cases, the enhanced economy comes from the fuel delivery system, not from the number of revolutions in a power cycle. Compare modern two-strokes like Evinrude’s E-Tec outboards to modern four-strokes, and the difference is too close to call. Check our boat test database and see for yourself.

How to Properly Winterize a Marine Diesel Engine

bdaugherty — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:56:43 GMT

You’ve kept your marine diesel mains and generators running well all season, and now the grip of winter is near. But your work isn’t done. To make sure these engines perform well next season, take these six important steps to properly winterize your diesel systems before giving them a long winter’s rest.

Do You Need Synthetic Oil?

bdaugherty — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 13:00:56 GMT

Synthetic oils for marine engines can cost twice as much as conventional oils. But does your outboard or inboard really benefit from lab-spawned lubricants instead of those distilled from dead dinosaurs?

“We recommend a synthetic blend, a combination of synthetic and conventional oils,” says David Greenwood, product planning manager for Suzuki Marine (suzukimarine.com), which switched its company branded oil from conventional to a synthetic blend two years ago for its four-stroke outboards.

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

Do You Need Synthetic Oil?

Yamaha SDS Propeller Hub

bdaugherty — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 20:53:38 GMT

Big gears with beefy teeth — that’s what you want in the lower unit of a powerful outboard to help ensure long-term durability. Yet these brawny gears can have a downside — they generate a jarring “clunk” when shifting into forward or reverse. A couple of years ago, the engineers at Yamaha Outboards (yamahaoutboards.com) set out to cure the clunk with a proprietary propeller hub system that absorbs the shock when shifting.

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

Yamaha SDS Propeller Hub

High-Performance Outboard Lower Units

bdaugherty — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 20:22:41 GMT

You all know that a boat goes faster when you trim an outboard higher. Less gear case in the water equals less drag, and since drag is inversely proportional to speed, the faster you go, the more drag the lower unit creates. Trimming out also raises the bow, cutting drag even more by reducing wetted surface.

Some boaters reduce drag by adding a jack plate to raise the mounting height. The biggest limiter is keeping water flowing into the cooling intakes. Racers and hotdog anglers have for years used low water pickups to allow increased trim and height.

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

High-Performance Outboard Lower Units

Cummins 6.7-Liter QSB Diesel

bdaugherty — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:05:41 GMT

Diesels are smelly, smoky and loud, right? Not if my advance trial of Cummins’ new 6.7-liter QSB common-rail diesel is any indication. This marine power plant offers clean, Tier 3 emissions as rated by the Environmental Protection Agency along with quiet operation and laudable fuel economy. The new in-line six-cylinder series debuts this summer in 380, 425 and 480 hp offerings, mirroring the current horsepower ratings of the 5.9-liter engine it replaces.

Photo by: Cummins

Cummins 6.7-Liter QSB Diesel

Joystick vs. Joystick

bdaugherty — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:34:02 GMT

Are you a control freak? We hope so. At least, we hope you are when you’re on your boat, since a lack of control at the helm can lead to all sorts of frightful antics, like smashing pilings and scarring gelcoat. Lucky for you and me, the advent of pod drives has made it much simpler to maneuver boats, thanks in no small part to their easy-to-use joysticks — a form of control we’ve been comfortable with since Pac-Man hit the arcades.

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

Joystick vs. Joystick

Ethanol Problems: A Proposed Solution

bdaugherty — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:46:22 GMT

The National Marine Manufacturers Association took key steps in March to create a certification program for marine fuel additives, particularly treatments designed to mitigate the damaging effects of ethanol-laced gasoline on boat engines and fuel systems. [See: Taking a Stand Against Ethanol]

Certifying Ethanol Treatments

bdaugherty — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:21:36 GMT

They sprouted like weeds — marine fuel treatments claiming to stabilize ethanol-laced gasoline and to forestall ghastly complications such as phase separation.

Yet, how can you be confident that these work as intended or that they won’t damage an engine? This is an issue that the National Marine Manufacturers Association is attempting to resolve within its Oil Certification Committee, made up of marine engine manufacturers, additive companies and petroleum refiners.

Photo by: Boating Magazine Editor

Certifying Ethanol Treatments

What You Need to Know About Gensets

bdaugherty — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:28:17 GMT

Before making the investment there are some things you should consider.

Whether considering the addition of a generator, aka “genset,” to your current boat or purchasing a new boat with a genset installed, here are some things you should consider before making the investment.

Eric Colby

LEHR Propane Outboards

bdaugherty — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:21:27 GMT

LEHR's new outboards provide an intriguing look into the future of marine propulsion.

The new 2.5 hp and 5 hp outboards from Lehr (golehr.com) run on the same fuel your barbecue does. Not charcoal, but propane. You can hook up one to the same propane tank you have on the grill, or you can pop in a 16.4-ounce Coleman-style cylinder.

Jim Hendricks

Jet Drive vs Sterndrive

bdaugherty — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:02:52 GMT

To prop or not to prop, that is the question.

Muscling their way onto the market in the early ’90s, “sport jets” were dismissed as little more than toys, quick and agile playthings, scoffed at by serious boaters. They peaked quickly and then vanished just as fast.

But a funny thing happened on the way to obscurity. Sea-Doo and Yamaha developed bigger, more versatile offerings. Today jet-powered runabouts are the best-selling models in the 24- and 21-foot segments.

Jeff Hemmel

Build Your Own Hybrid Boat

bdaugherty — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:51:45 GMT

Hybrid technology can help power your boat in ways you might not expect.

When was the last time you pulled back the throttles to save fuel? Yeah, that’s what we thought. Cruising slowly to burn less sounds great — right up until you try it. Once you discover that the entire world is a no-wake zone, boating gets boring. Yet just as surely as the sun sets in the west, we boaters still love to pretend we’re green. We put oil-absorbing socks in the bilge, switch to phosphorus-free boat wash and keep that Y-valve cinched down tight. If we really want to clean up our act, of course, we need to burn fewer dead dinosaurs.

Lenny Rudow