Travelin OZ replied:

There is an old saying you get what you pay for.

Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Mercury/Mariner are all proven brands no question, as for Parson, well I have owned boats since I was 14 and I have never heard of them.

Maîneÿ . . . replied:

I went to the Bunbury boat show a few weeks ago now, was stated to be the 3rd largest boat show in Aust.

Guess what - Suzuky were not represented and doing research they were my choice for a 4.6 mt alloy boat.

Honda, looks good when you get down and talk to the various marine mechanics.
I was told there is no Suzuki mechanic OR spare parts outlet anywhere near where I live and further up the coast they are no existant.

That made my mind up about engines that need service under warranty.
Just to save a few $$ I figure it's not worth any possible future problems with service & spares and in my case if they break down your out in the ocean and it's a bludy long way to swim home :-)

Maîneÿ . . .

gbc replied:

Parsun have been going here for a few years now, and from all reports they look like a good thing.
They have full factory backup etc etc.
Would I buy one? Hmmmmm maybe? I've never even looked under the cowl of one.
Try the seamedia(F&B mag) website - they did a test of one a while ago and were pleasantly surprised.
I'd also throw tohatsu into the mix - chances are one of the mercs you've priced is a rebadged toey anyway.

Is this for a cartopper? I'd suggest having a look at the 9.8h.p. tohatsu as well - light (26 odd k.g.?) and strong enough for a cartopper.

Member - Michael J (SA) replied:

Hickson,

Hi, whereabouts are you situated? I have a Yamaha 15hp 2 stroke
that has seen very liitle work.

I am in the process of selling off unwanted gear. Might be able to
work something out.

Cheers
Michael

Member - Uncle (NSW) replied:

We had a new 15hp Mercury on our tinnie, decided on the American made model, slightly dearer, but had no dramas with it.

Voxson replied:

We have a merc 25 on our 14foot tinny and it is pain to start when it is freezing cold because there is no fast idle..
Whatever you buy make sure it has a fast idle..
The choke just kills the revs after about 10seconds and the only way to fast idle it would be to crunch it into gear..
What a pain some days..

hazo replied:

HI
I had a Yamaha 15 on my last tinny, first pull starts and excellent economy on a Quinny 385 explorer.

Superb little motor with good back up.

All Mercs 15s are now re- badged Tohatsu's. 18hp.

I may be wrong but I got the impression that Parsun were Chinese?

AdrianLR (VIC) replied:

I recently bought and sold a Merc 15HP Super for $1800. It was a couple of months old and traded on a larger unit by the previous owner. We didn't end up keeping the 3.3m inflatable it was on as it didn't suit our needs as well as we thought it would. The 15HP Super is the Japanese made Tohatsu rebadged as a Merc. The plain 15HP is the US made model with the gear shift on the tiller. If I hadn't got such a good deal on the Super I would have gone with the US made version because of the large difference in weight. The Super is 34kg (from memory) and is too heavy to take on and off a boat alone. Great simple motor otherwise.

Looked at the Parsuns but for the same reasons as other posters stayed away.

We had a 115 Suzi on the runabout which was great but then the company stopped selling outboards in Aus. They have returned and I haven't heard any negative feedback.

Adrian

Member - John M (NSW) replied:

Hickson

We've got a few boats and run 100hp & 150hp Yamahas 4strokes and all of these engines average approximately 1000 hours per year and are strictly serviced every 100 hours. At 2500 hours we fit new motors and go again with Yamaha. The engines are in salt water 24/7 and are never flushed out.
Sinful I know to the recreational boater but in the commercial world its not possible.

So for my car topper I have a 15hp 2 stroke Yamaha, starts every time when I get the opportunity to use it, yes it weighs about 36kgs and is a bit heavy but with the performance we get out of our work engines why would I have anything else.

Someone above stated a 9.5hp engine. I recall that the Yamaha 9.5hp is the same weight as they use the same block and leg assembly.

I have never heard of the Parsun, sounds like a name that comes from a country with "a great wall"

Good luck in your choice and remember that tinnies are not the easiest thing to row at any time.

John

stevesub replied:

Have a 15hp yahama - great motor. 1st time starts, even after no use for 6 months - and i would buy another.

Also had experience with 15hp Marineer, also a good motor and that would be my 2nd choice.

Stevesub

Member - Tony (ACT) replied:

I have a 15hp Yamaha Short Shaft on a 3.5 tinne. Very good motor, now 4 years old and never missed a beat. With two in the boat, top speed 34k.

Low speed trolling without a fuss, buy one again.

Volvo driver replied:

bit late
as someone else said, F&B mag did a review of a 15hp parsun a little while ago,
there's a short video report on their web page at the moment, looks alright atm but they were unsure about durability,
in the same 'boat' meself... looking for a 15 to replace a too small 7.5
didn't read the longer mag article ( spend too much on other mags now LOL )