Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502180006
SECTION: BOAT SHOW PAGE: BS-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The first wave of change will show up in the boat show and at boat dealerships this year, subtle in the beginning, but destined to blow away the smoky, old two-stroke engines that have been around for decades.
Carburetors are giving way to fuel-injection systems; four-stroke outboards are moving into power slots that have been dominated by two-stroke engines.
"It is the way of the future," said Sam Phillips, of Lakeside Marine Supply in Dublin.
OMC, the parent company of Johnson and Evinrude outboards, is calling its involvement in the trend "Project LEAP."
But it isn't just a trend; it is a mandate.
After dealing with automobiles and motorcycles, the Environmental Protection Agency has directed its attention to marine engine emissions. Under the authority of the Clean Air Act of 1990, the EPA announced in the fall that it will mandate cleaner emissions from both outboards and sterndrives.
Unlike the automobile industry, which was an EPA adversary in the beginning, the manufactures of marine power are exerting a coopertive relationship with the federal agency. The feeling appears to be "Why fight it. It's coming. We can use it to inject new life into sales."
This means boaters will be seeing - and buying - some models of the new generation of engines even before the EPA requirements fully take effect.
The most visible offerings in the beginning will be the four-stroke outboards showing up for the first time in the lineups of major U.S. outboard manufacturers, like Mercury, Mariner, Johnson and Evinrude. Yamaha and Force also will have four-stroke engines. Dealers say they plan to have several examples in the boat show. These will join Honda Marine's four-stroke outboards, which have dominated the business in the past.
"Right now, I have a lot of people asking about them," said Mike Ratcliff, who will show Mercury four-stroke engines in his Conrad Brothers display.
Because oil is eliminated from the fuel, a four-stroke engine has a much cleaner combustion, with far fewer deposits entering the water and air.
"It is popular with the people who are interested in the environment," said Caroll Yeaman of Hughes Marine Service in Danville.
Cleaner combustion also results in quicker starts, smoother idling and increased spark plug life.
Most of the four-stroke outboards will be in low power ranges, because of weight and cost considerations, but Honda is moving up from last year's 45-hp top-of-the-line offering to a 50-hp engine. What's more, by the end of the year it is expected to have a 75- and 90-hp four-stroke engine. The 90 is being touted as the most powerful four-stroke outboard in the world. It captured the Innovation Award for new engines at the annual marine trade show in Chicago.
In order to boost the four-stroke power options available, Leo Teass of Paradise Boating Inc. on Smith Mountain Lake is putting twin 50-hp Honda engines on the 20-foot, center-console Scout fishing boats he sells. The dual engines come close to matching the performance of a 100 hp outdoor, and fuel consumption is less, Teass said.
"Your bass fishermen still want a 60- to 75-mph boat, but most people are satisfied with 35 or 40 mph," he said. "The four-stroke has more low-end torque. It looks like you get more planing power out of it, so you don't need quiet as big an engine."
Mercury and Mariner, which are divisions of the Brunswick Co., have 9.9- and 50-hp models in their 1995 offerings. The 50 weighs 215 pounds, just 8 pounds more than the weight listed for the standard two-stroke engine. These engines are the result of a joint venture with Yamaha Marine, which will be offering basically the same motors under its logo. Word is that Yamaha is experimenting with a 200-hp, four-stroke outboard.
Yamaha says its four-stroke engines are 50 percent quieter than competitive two-stroke jobs. Mercury-Mariner say four-stroke owners can expect a 30 percent decrease in fuel consumption over conventional outboards, and even more at idle and trolling speeds, which is where four-stroke engines really shine.
Fishermen, especially, are expected to be attracted to the trolling capabilities of the new engines. A 50-hp Mercury or Mariner, with its belt-driven overhead cam, idles smoke-free at a docile 850 rpms and trolls in gear at just 750 rpms, the company said.
Johnson and Evinrude are offering four-stroke engines in 8-, 9.9 and 15-hp models for 1995.
Honda has engines in horsepower ratings of 2, 5, 8, 9.9, 15, 25, 30, 40 and 50. The 50 is expected to go up against Mercury, Mariner and Yamaha's 50 as the most powerful four-stroke until the Honda 75 and 90 reach dealer showrooms.
While boaters can expect a four-stroke outboard to offer them a much cleaner operation, better fuel economy, the elimination of mixing oil with gas, less noise and improved idle, there is a down side. They weigh more, they cost more and you have to change oil and filters.
The 50-hp is about $1,000 more than a conventional outboard, said Caroll Yeaman, but over the life of the engine you should be able to make that back in fuel economy.
"It is an ideal engine for a pontoon boat," he said.
The EPA regulations and the advent of four-stroke outboards doesn't necessarily mean the end of two-stroke engines. That message clearly is being projected by OMC's Johnson and Evinrude, whose Project LEAP promises large, two-stroke outboards with up to 80 percent flatter exhaust emissions and a more than 35 percent boost in fuel economy. Look for this to begin showing up in the 1996 models. LEAP, by the way, stands for low-emission advanced propulsion, and that will involve innovative direct fuel injection systems.
by CNB