Bama96 said:
Vero nice job! Can you post the link to your build thread? Thanks.
Bama, build link is below. First three pages are more relevant to build, and after that a lot of conversation with other builders on details.
http://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=19949
Magicalbill, I wanted twins because most of my boating is out in the gulfstream of the eastern Florida coast, with an occasional Bahama trip in the plans. The way I rigged them, they are completely separate from each other, including fuel lines from tank, batteries, etc. It's strictly for peace of mind.
The choice of Tohatsu outboards came about because I was looking for low hour newer twin outboards in the 115-125hp range. I stumbled upon a matched pair of Tohatsu 115s that had fewer than 200 hours on them. They were from a 2003-04 catamaran, and included all controls, and complete hydraulic steering. The price was real good, so I researched the engines and found that many commercial boaters use these engines because of their durability, endurance, and fuel sipping characteristics. The one comment I kept coming across while looking into Tohatsu outboards was, "you'll never hear anyone say anything bad about a Tohatsu". And I havn't. Even better, during my research I found out that Tohatsu makes their 115hp outboard by "detuning" their 140hp outboard. They retard timing 2 degrees, and place a throttle stop on the number 1 carb. I confirmed this with Tohatsu, and then removed throttle stop, and set timing to 140hp specs. Found out that many outboard manufacturers do the same.
Actually, Tohatsu and Mercury build their under 50 or 60hp outboards in a joint venture in a plant in Japan. They are supposed to be identical except for paint and decals. Nissan outboards are built by Tohatsu also. I'm fairly certain that Tohatsu is the second largest outboard manufacturer in the world. Yamaha is the first.
Thanks again for the comments. Mike