My old Honda 130 has pretty much given up after 18 years and 1600 hours. A leak down test suggests the water in the oil is from a bad head gasket, which isn't such a big deal in itself if not for me seeming to have oddball problems.
A few of the early Honda 130 blocks had a problem with cracks and they also had a corrosion problem with the fuel delivery system. When I first got the boat I had Les at EQ give it a check up. He verified that the block was not one of the problem ones and updated the fuel system under warranty/recall. Honda extended the warranty out to ten years on everything and the motor has been perfect until now. It was in 2002 that they issued the recall and the 130s built since then had the updated fuel system parts along with a new design for the cylinder head.
Fast forward to today - the head gasket for the original head on my 1999 motor is obsolete and to repair it requires an updated head. A local shop found a used one that he could put on but I decided it was too much to do for so old an engine.
Off to Sportcraft Marina in Portland we went (a great place for all things C-Dory, by the way). They successfully converted me to the dark side and I will soon have new black Suzukis hanging off the back - a DF200 main with a DF9.9 kicker. The big motor is ordered and they will put it on shortly after Labor Day.
The DF200 is a recent design using an inline 4 cylinder that weighs 498 pounds total, about a 100 pounds less than their previous V6 200 hp model, and a few pounds less than the Honda 130 I now have. I think the Honda 150 which is a good fit and popular on the CD25s is a few pounds lighter.
I went there planning on a 15 or 20 hp kicker, but the tech explained to me, once again, about hull speed and how the smaller motor will move the boat just as well as the larger one up to that point. The DF9.9 has electric start and power tilt and still comes in cheaper and lighter than the all manual 15/20 hp so it was an easy sell.
The only sad thing in this is that I decided to sell my tractor to pay for the boat upgrade. I never really needed a tractor anyway, but it was a John Deere so it was tough letting go of it.
Anyhow, even though I am missing out on the big crowds for the salmon fishing this year, we might be able to make it north for the late September Stuart Island gig. I would not have trusted the old Honda and no kicker that far from home. Who knows - I might even catch a fish or two while we run up the initial 20 hours on the new motor.
A few of the early Honda 130 blocks had a problem with cracks and they also had a corrosion problem with the fuel delivery system. When I first got the boat I had Les at EQ give it a check up. He verified that the block was not one of the problem ones and updated the fuel system under warranty/recall. Honda extended the warranty out to ten years on everything and the motor has been perfect until now. It was in 2002 that they issued the recall and the 130s built since then had the updated fuel system parts along with a new design for the cylinder head.
Fast forward to today - the head gasket for the original head on my 1999 motor is obsolete and to repair it requires an updated head. A local shop found a used one that he could put on but I decided it was too much to do for so old an engine.
Off to Sportcraft Marina in Portland we went (a great place for all things C-Dory, by the way). They successfully converted me to the dark side and I will soon have new black Suzukis hanging off the back - a DF200 main with a DF9.9 kicker. The big motor is ordered and they will put it on shortly after Labor Day.
The DF200 is a recent design using an inline 4 cylinder that weighs 498 pounds total, about a 100 pounds less than their previous V6 200 hp model, and a few pounds less than the Honda 130 I now have. I think the Honda 150 which is a good fit and popular on the CD25s is a few pounds lighter.
I went there planning on a 15 or 20 hp kicker, but the tech explained to me, once again, about hull speed and how the smaller motor will move the boat just as well as the larger one up to that point. The DF9.9 has electric start and power tilt and still comes in cheaper and lighter than the all manual 15/20 hp so it was an easy sell.
The only sad thing in this is that I decided to sell my tractor to pay for the boat upgrade. I never really needed a tractor anyway, but it was a John Deere so it was tough letting go of it.
Anyhow, even though I am missing out on the big crowds for the salmon fishing this year, we might be able to make it north for the late September Stuart Island gig. I would not have trusted the old Honda and no kicker that far from home. Who knows - I might even catch a fish or two while we run up the initial 20 hours on the new motor.
