Tohatsu Outboards

Hi,
I used to have an 8 HP Tohatsu and it was a very reliable outboard. I had it for about 10 years and it was still going strong when I sold it. It had a thermostat, which seems not to be the case for a lot of small outboards and strikes me as a good idea. It also had a lot of stainless steel parts where other better known brands would have bits that would rust or corrode.

I was very happy with the Tohatsu.

Cheers Frank.

I bought an 18hp Tohatsu about 12 mths ago for tinnie on CT also. Very happy with it so far - has not had any problems.

Regards

Alan

Colin,
Have owned a 25/30 HP Toey for quite a few years now with no problem whatsoever. From what i have been able to find out they are the basic reliable o'board without all the bells and whistles. Goes like s**t off a shovel.
When they were a woolies special only, a friend of mine bought one and had many years of trouble free operation. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Bros.

Hi Col

Tohasu's are huge overseas, I have a 25hp that has been upgraded to a 30hp. It has been fantastic, we have had for over 3 years now and always very easy to start and maintain.

cheers

crazie

The surf rescue boys reckon they're the go.

Gday Colin

I haven't had any direct experience with them, but have heard very good reports on both reliability and power. I have heard the hp ratings are at the prop not the flywheel, so a 25 hp toh. is suposed to have more go than a 25 hp "other" brand.

This is just heresay, I cannot confirm the information. Be wary of the weights if it is to be packed on a bracket etc on the back of the camper. My old Johno 15hp is very noisy, but reliable and only weighs about 30kg

Cheers Andrew

I dont know if this helps, but have you considered Yamaha? Most professional operators (tour guides, professional fishermen, etc) use them in both 4 and 2 stroke models. I'm not sure on the proce difference between Tohatsu and Yamaha, but professionals wouldnt spend extra money for no reason...As far as I know all outboards now measure their hp at the prop.
Drew

The Tohatsu's are very big in the commercial sector in Japan. They are well made, not fancy and have enjoyed a long reputation for reliability.
Also, Greg Bethune from Carpentaria Seafaries, a big charter operator that runs out of Seisa, Cape York, has been using them for 15 years. And they cop a flogging too.
Tim

I had a 25hp Tohatsu (upgraded to 30hp) for about 5 years and it was great - reliable and lots of torque. It was a little louder than the anorexic little 25hp Yamaha's but not enough to worry about.

The 30hp Mercury/Mariner Lite engine is a rebadged Tohatsu.

Their larger 50hp model with high pressure injection gets good press for its performance and fuel economy.

Chris

Col,

Haven't had any experience recently but 17yrs ago they were the outboard of choice for many crayfish trawler operators up in the Torres Straits when I worked up there. These things were used 7 days a week 10hrs a day, left in the water all the time and I never saw one break down. Our lives literally depended on these outboards and as I am typing this response today I would say they done their job. :-))
Have fun on the water.
Regards Trevor.

G'day Colin,

Firstly I need to state my afiliation. I am an engineering manager at Orbital Australia and it is our fuel system technology fitted to Tohatsu TLDI 50,70&90 HP outboards (similar system to that fitted to all Mercury Optimax range). I have no reason to push Tohatsu in particular as we work with all these guys, but just wanted to clarify my involvement.

Tohatsu are a great company to work with and have a sound approach to engineering development and validation. We have found their engines to be very reliable, including those we've tested without DI. We've recently done a bunch of work on spark ignited kerosene and diesel applications on these engines and have found that base engine has proven to be very durable.

A lot of the guys from work use them and I have recommended them to my friends and yet to receive negative feedback. As mentioned in a post above, there is an association with MM for the smaller engines.

I assume you'd be looking at something around the 15HP range. If so, then I think that you would find Tohatsu to be a good value motor.

Regards,
Hugh

Tohatsu started in Japan in the 1950's and have been going strong with an excellent reputation world wide. They have been few and far between in Australia and have never really gotten a following that say Mercury and Yamaha have.

Mercury and Yamaha have had troubled lives and have jumped in and out of bed on various projects. The development of Mariner outboards was in the main a Mercury/Yamaha venture. The likes of Envinrude, Johnson, Suzuki and others have been very successful at times over the years coming in and out of favour from the punters. Some have had their financial difficulties as well.

Tohatsu are quite ugly looking compared to the other majors and this could be one reason they have never been particularly popular in Australia. They have excelled in the smaller bracket especially 30hp and under to the extent where other manufacturers (Mercury, Mariner and Nissan particularly) simply rebadge Tohatsu engines. Tohatsu continue to win awards for their smaller outboards over seas. Yamaha has had a pretty good reputaion in small outboards also.

In short you will not be short changed with the Tohatsu as long as you don't mind an ungly looking outboard.

Please note that I am not an expert and have simply done a bit of research and have quite a few friends who also have boats. Apologies if any of the above statements are not factually accurate as this is all from memory.

For the record I own a Mercury. Sold as a package deal with the Quintrex.

Spade

I know a few blokes who used to race "Ducks" or "Thudercats". If you know what I'm talking about then you'll know that these boats absolutely hammer and do it in all sorts of conditions, mainly surf. In the competition, you'll only really see two brands of motors, Yamaha & Tohatsu. They are restricted to 50hp, but due to the minimal weight and design of the hulls, they turn out awesome performance. The guys said there was very little between the two. Tohatsu seemed to have more bottom end, where the Yamaha produced more top end. Depending on what the conditions were like on the day probably decided to a point which motors may have had an advantage. After that it just came down to who was crazier or had bigger balls. Go the Tohatsu, you'll be fine with that choice. They are an excellent value for money choice and have been well proven against leading brands.

We use the tohatsu at Gun SLSC , dont give much greaf and we give them hell

I've got a Tohatsu 25 which was uprated to the 30hp at the first service (you remove a restricter and reset the throttle body or something - same can be done to the 15/18 I think.)

I bought mine from AB Outboards in Caulfield (I think they've moved) and I have it on a Stessl Edgetracker 3.85HD. I'm wrapped with mine. I've done a heap of hours on it in the Goulburn & the Murray & at Dartmouth and up at Merimbula/Pambula/Tathra.

I use it for trolling and general running. I did fit a one of the permatrims or what ever they are called after I added the extra weight of floor and casting deck and battery for the MinnKota up front.

I bought mine on the recommendation of my neighbour who had the same boat and motor, and I was impressed with his. After I bought mine another mate bought a slightly smaller Edgetracker with an 18 and has been more than happy.

I was able to get the 25/30 with elec start for less than the cost of the pull start yammy. I haven't regretted it one bit.

I'd buy another one if that's any indication.

Dave

Hey, if you are going for a 15hp 2 stroke outboard, then go for the 15hp yamaha for sure, it beats the rest for top speed, efficiency, though slightly rougher running due to loop charging instead of cross flow induction. If you like i can direct you to the test of this motor. Joey.