ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702210102
SECTION: BOAT SHOW PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
The makers of marine engines are out with a number of innovative products that not only will get a boat under way fast, trouble free and smokeless, but also should give the boating industry a welcomed boost.
Examples:
New from MerCruiser is a stern-drive called BlackTrac, the first mass-production automatic transmission designed for marine use.
Yamaha has the first twin-prop drive in the outboard market. The two props on a single shaft turn in opposite directions, a design that offers a significant boost in top speed as well as a reduction in ``boat wrestling'' brought about by steering torque.
``They are really something,'' said Sam Phillips of S&D Lakeside, Inc. in Dublin. ``You just have to ride one to understand.''
OMC has launched its 150-horsepower Evinrude Intruder and Johnson FasSTrike outboards, which already meet tough EPA emissions standards mandated by the 2006 model year. What's more, the new engines, with Ficht Fuel Injection, burn about 35 percent less gas. OMC is so high on the new outboards it has rented a special booth at the boat show to display them.
Honda has a new 90-horsepower, 4-stroke engine, the biggest in its class. The flywheel is at the bottom of the engine instead of the top. A shallow-running, jet-drive version is available.
Mercury and Mariner have new 200-horsepower engines, called the 200 DFI, that use an 80-pound-per-inch burst of compressed air to propel atomized fuel into the combustion chamber. The result is improved fuel economy; what's more, the manufacturer, Brunswick Marine, says the engines meet the EPA's 2006 standards.
Also new at Mercury and Mariner is a 25-horsepower four-stroke outboard that offers improved economy and zero oil smoke, meaning it also meets EPA long-range standards.
Suzuki has entered the four-stroke market with 9.9- and 15-horsepower offerings that feature an ignition system that automatically adjusts the timing based on engine speed. The result, says the manufacturer, is optimum performance. The new Mercury-Mariner and Suzuki engines mean that Honda has growing competition in the four-stroke market that it once pretty much had to itself.
Suzuki has a new 140-horsepower engine in which each of its four cylinders boasts its own fuel injector. The result is better fuel economy and performance. The engine is designed to lock onto a steady rpm even under varying wind and water conditions.
As can be seen from the 1997 models, the marine engine industry is being sharply influenced by the mandates of EPA.
New EPA emissions standards are cracking down on unburned hydrocarbon (HC) emissions, but the impact will be on new engines, not existing ones.
Engines already on the water - outboards, inboards and stern drives - are grandfathered in. They won't be banned from the waterways, contrary to certain rumors that have had boaters wondering.
As for new engines, the EPA has mandated a 70percent to 80percent average corporate reduction in unburned HC emissions between the 1998 and 2006 model year. The 1989 models will be in production late this summer. Most manufacturers already have models out that cut back on HC emissions, and as can be seen from the engines highlighted above, some meet the 2006 standards.
All this makes 1997 a transition year for outboard buyers who, in many instances, will be able buy a fuel injection engine or stick to the traditional carburetor model.
There are good arguments on both sides, said Ed Graves, boat show chairman. Fuel injection offers improved operation economy, but the initial purchase is going to cost more. Carburetor models are proven, while fuel injection is a new concept and requires special training for repairs.
The EPA says its new mandates, which were posted July 31, 1996, will improve air quality, even though its research shows that only 3 percent of summertime HC emissions come from marine engines.
As for those smoke-belching old engines, the best way to deal with them, short of trading them in for a new one, is to keep them tuned up. That's important, because there are nearly 13million outboards alone on the waterways.
An out-of-tune engine not only can guzzle fuel, but also dump massive amounts of unburned fuel out of its exhaust. It is the unburned hydrocarbons, not exhaust smoke or oil dripping, that cause the most significant adverse impact on the environment, the EPA says.
If your ignition spark is weak or the flame arrester screen is dirty, then your emissions are going to have a more harmful impact on the environment.
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Yamaha says wrestling the steering wheel of a boat toby CNBkeep a steady course is a thing of the past with its new, two-prop
engine. Mounted on a single shaft, the props turn in opposite
directions.|