Tohatsu SailPro First Impressions

[s2sailorlis]

Again, it’s a common issue with these Tohatsu. My dealer did a tweak with the low speed (pilot) jet. It ran perfectly today. Started on first pull on way out, idled and shifted fine, restarted on 2nd pull and idled/shifted back to the dock without issue. The pilot screw is either set too rich or lean. My plug was fouled and I showed it to them. I only have 8.4 hours on the engine….

[LSD87]

Thanks Rick! I’ll have the pilot screw discussion today with the dealer. I also happy to hear yours Sailpro is treating you well now. I like mine, but dependability is important and not just to me. The Hudson has a fair amount of commercial traffic and strong current.

[wikakaru]

How frustrating! I used to have an outboard like that way back when, but it was an old hand-me-down Evinrude that probably was as old as I was. It would always start and run fine when I tested it, then refuse to start when I needed it. Having a barge heading your way and not being able to get the outboard to go is no fun, to say the least. Best of luck with the dealer.

--Jim

[LSD87]

Thanks Jim. Dealer and Tohatsu tech support said the problem was likely dirt or water. Could be the gas, dirt in the tank, or dirt in the carb from manufacturing that came loose and worked itself out. They wanted me to clean gas tank, change out gasoline and test. They said that it’s difficult to solve a problem that’s not presenting itself. Further, the dealer said that when I get my non-ethanol gas that the same hose was running 10% ethanol. It’s a good idea to run a little into my car first. Anyway, I cleaned the tank and changed the gas and the engine has been fine for the last hour or so.

I did discuss checking the spark plug and checking the low speed jet. Dealer said would check it at 20 hour service, but not now if problem is gone.

I will continue to avoid barges and tankers!

[wikakaru]

Good idea to flush the gas station pump hose by running it into your car before filling your jerry jug. Some gas stations have a separate nozzle or separate pump for 100% gas, others use the same nozzle for all grades.

Another option, depending on how much fuel you use, is to spring for a can of pre-stabilized 100% gasoline from a big-box home improvement store. It's the kind they sell for garden equipment. TruFuel 4-Cycle Engineered Fuel is one brand. Be sure you don't get the 2-stroke oil mixture kind! This option is super-expensive (I just checked, it's now $27 per gallon, or $8 per quart), but if you burn as little fuel as I do it may last you several years and be worth saving the hassle of repairs caused by having even some ethanol in your fuel.

Smooth sailing,

Jim

[s2sailorlis]

Jim, that's exactly what i do. I use little fuel as well.

Steve, good luck with motor. Hopefully you're all set. Personally I'm not convinced that "fuel or dirt" was the issue. These dealers know the carbs are problematic, as does Tohatsu tech support. By the way their Tech guys are quite responsive.

[s2sailorlis]

Posting an update on my SailPro. The motor so far this season after 3 uses is fine. Starts easily, runs relatively consistent, still an occasional RPM hunt but not frequent. So far, it hasn't stalled when doing low RPM tight maneuvers at the slip. I use TruFuel from Home Depot. I use little fuel so not a big deal.

As mentioned in my original post, the jiu-jitsu needed to tilt the motor on Spartan bracket is still there, but I have a sequence of "maneuvers" to tilt....

Next up is finding a way to route the fuel line so I can keep it connected to the motor whilst sailing (without being in the way). Right now i have it held in place with a few cable ties so it's not lying loose on the cockpit seat. I want to pipe it thru the aft lazarette out the transom. Holding off on that as i might ditch the Spartan mount and go with a traditional transom motor bracket....

[wikakaru]

Next up is finding a way to route the fuel line so I can keep it connected to the motor whilst sailing (without being in the way). Right now i have it held in place with a few cable ties so it's not lying loose on the cockpit seat. I want to pipe it thru the aft lazarette out the transom.

What's wrong with just running the fuel hose along the poop deck and routing the hose through the little indent at the edge of the lid of the fuel tank locker on the port side of the cockpit? That's what it was designed for. Here's how I run mine (sorry the photo doesn't show the part where the hose enters the fuel tank locker):

DSC_4548.JPG

The previous owner of my boat didn't realize that the fuel tank locker actually was a fuel tank locker, and he kept the fuel tank in the aft locker and drilled a hole through the transom. That aft locker is not suitable for gasoline storage because any fumes will wind up in the bilge and be an explosion hazard. As a matter of principle I hate any holes in my boat and I had Tim Lackey fill them in during the refit he did for me a few years ago. You can see two holes by the old outboard bracket in the "before" photo.

Arietta 2020-2021 Refit - Transom - Before and After.jpg

Smooth sailing,

Jim

[s2sailorlis]

It tends to fall over and get in the way of me sitting back along the teak board just ahead of the traveler when i'm under sail. not an issue when motoring.

[wikakaru]

If you don't use the traveler as a traveler, you could add a slider to the T-track in an appropriate location and use a cable tie to keep the hose from flopping around and getting in the way.

If you decide to run the hose through the bulkheads you could use the opportunity to add a permanent Racor fuel/water separator inside the aft lazarette to help keep the carburetor getting clogged with the water that is in today's crappy ethanol fuel. There are some nice through-bulkhead barbed fuel fittings that would allow you keep the through-hull and through-bulkhead connections watertight and vapor-tight.

I'm not sure if your outboard has this option, but my Tohatsu has both an internal tank and an external fuel connection. If you have that option you could just use the internal tank as long as you don't need to motor great distances.

Smooth sailing,

Jim