All I want for Christmas is a new engine...

[gstraub]

So a few months ago my wife and I were out in our C-22 with a Honda BF90D. Noticed something different about the feel but just thought I had some growth on the bottom. On the way home, it started to run rough and I started to worry about getting home. After we got home, I pulled the cowl and didn't see anything odd, but when I pulled the oil dipstick...classic milkshake! Anyway, a local independent mechanic pulled the head and said the head gasket was intact and he was having a hard time finding where the water came in from, but there was lots of corrosion inside. He said he could probably get it running again, but he wouldn't guarantee anything.

So, I need to re-power. Going to think about single or twins, and have read several discussions about that, and also what brand. I'm guessing that any of the major brands of motors are going to be fine, but open to any comments or experiences.

[jkidd]

After cruising with Hunky Dory last summer in Alaska I would choose twin 60's. Plenty of HP while loaded heavy. Run on a single for best fuel economy. Only use hours on one motor when at displacement. A single motor should troll plenty slow enough for fishing. The down side would be more cost to install and maintain. This is coming from someone who has a single 140 HP on a 22.

[thataway]

I have chosen engines based on price and availability of service. All of the engines are good, and all have occasionally had issues. I cannot agree with HunkyDory's argument about the twin 60's and If I were doing what Jay does, I would go that way.

Look at weights also. There is the issue of re-rigging if you change brands. Recently some of the larger motors have been hard to get. That seems to be easing some.

Was your engine flushed after every use? Milky oil, with intact heads (no cracks or bad gasket) becomes far more serious. Hondas do seem to have a bit more susceptibility to corrosion in salt water, However there are some who get thousands of hours out of the Hondas in commercial use.

[gstraub]

The boat was normally in the water at our dock and would go out often for short runs, so it wasn't flushed after every use, but usually at least once a week. However, the boat was a boat that was donated to a museum and had been sitting in a slip for at least four years before they got it, so I do not know the history, and I bought it knowing this was a risk, but the price was right! In fact, I bought it with a bottom full of barnacles and not knowing if the engine would even start, so I knew that re-powering was a distinct possibility. Pay now or pay later, right?!

Anyway, I got a couple of years out of it, and I'm not complaining, just trying to decide what to do. I know of another Honda that had a similar issue and the mechanic that looked at it was trying to steer me away from another Honda, which is one of the reasons for my post. I've had good luck with smaller Hondas that I have had and I know they generally have a good reputation, so not sure what I'll do yet. It will probably come down to price and what one of the local shops have available.

[drbridge]

Our 2004 Honda 90HP had relatively low hours, but was starting to have some corrosion issues. We did not want to have problems while cruising hundreds of miles from home, so we decided to repower while we could still get something for the Honda on trade. While another Honda would probably have worked well, I was not fond of our local Honda dealer and instead went with a Yamaha F90 on our 22 cruiser. I love this motor. It has all the power we could ever use even when loaded heavy for Cruising trips of up to 3 weeks. It is quieter than the old Honda, has noticeably more power and gets better fuel economy as well as a bigger alternator that recharges batteries faster. We actually use this motor for trolling for Salmon, as it is even quieter than our 8HP Honda kicker. The Yamaha is also really easy to service compared to the old Honda. There are lots of good motors on the market, but I can give the Yamaha a big thumbs up.

[ssobol]

If you get another Honda you can probably use the same rigging, controls, and instruments. Could save some $$.

Might try the BF100.

[srbaum]

Gerhard,
There is a Honda dealer/repair facility in Yorktown, VA, that is absolutely the best of the best. They only work on Honda outboards and are truly the best experts on the East Coast of the USA.
I would recommend taking your boat to them. They will troubleshoot and provide the best information about repair or replacement. I do my own maintenance and overhaul lots of smaller outboards for a hobby. I was really concerned about reaching out to someone for advice, when I had serious problems with my 200 HP. They helped me do basic troubleshooting on the phone, then when things looks more serious, they had the boat at their shop for less than 2 hours and had all of the questions answered.
I had to purchase a new outboard, but was out the door in less than 3 days, for under $14000, for a 225 HP, including their troubleshooting of the old outboard and the installation of the new one.
If this sparked your interest, give Atlantic Marine a call at 804-815-2666.
www.atlanticmarineva.com
PS, they have worked on many happy C-Brats boats and all rave about their work and fair cost.

[DayBreak]

Unless Honda has made some changes to the internal cooling passages or whatever is going on with the issues of compromise in motor corrosion, I agree with Doug to consider Yamaha over a Honda 90 in replacement. Another consideration would be to go with Suzuki in that you would avoid timing belt maintenance because it has a timing chain. I have a Yamaha 40 on my aluminum bay boat and think Yamaha as a great motor. Rigging, controls, and instruments as mentioned are a consideration with the total cost of a motor change. Local dealership service is another concern.

[thataway]

Just a comment that no outboard is immune from corrosion and salt passage build up. I bought a 16' bay boat when I first moved to Pensacola powered with a 90 hp Yamaha. It had corrosion and water passage issues due to not being properly flushed after each use in salt water. If you are using the boat every day, such as on a cruise--not an issue. But if you only run the boat occasionally, it is an issue. We had to clean the passages, and I used a rigorous program of flushing after each use. Even when I was running almost every day in the Keys, I flushed the 140 Suzuki on the Caracal Cat daily.

[gstraub]

Thanks for all the comments, and thanks for the lead on the place in Yorktown, Steve. I'm going to get through the holidays and then proceed on this one way or another. As for flushing, I'll certainly be more diligent about that, but I think this issue started well before I got the boat. Just frustrating to see it sitting in the yard on the trailer!

[-Waypoint-]

I repowered my boat 3 weeks ago with new Honda 2022 twin 40's. Each motor was $6500 rigging was $3000 with all the latest Honda controls (2022) NEMA 2000 network. Total cost with tax came to $17,000. I did the install myself. It's like a new boat now and burns 1/3 less fuel than the old carb 40's that were 23 years old and are way quieter too.

[davidJ]

I repowered my 19 with another E-Tec 90 2 years ago. I got a left over 19 model that was discounted to $9,300 that included all installation costs. I didn't have to do the 3 yr. service on my old motor ($1,000) and didn't have to repair the motor tilt trim that was going bad ($1,500) and they still gave me 1,400 trade in bringing my cost down to $5,400. Then I was able to use my old controls, saving me another 1,000 or more, now down to $4,400. Now my new motor came with a 3 yr warranty. If I had kept my old motor, I'm pretty sure that I would of had at least 1 break down in the next 3 years that's another $2,000 possibly a lot more. I usually put over a 100 hrs. per year on the motor. That brings my cost for a new motor down to about $2,400, at least that's what I told my wife. Note they quit making E Tec motors in 2020, so that's why it was discounted so much.

[gstraub]

Thanks for the additional info on the recent projects. Except for the cost, I'm kind of looking forward to this project now!

[Pacificcoast101]

[T.R. Bauer]