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We'll be spending more and more time in Southeast AK and own a 17' skiff that has a 20 HP Johnson outboard but the trolling/kicker motor has passed away and it's time for a new one. I've tried searching the internet but it seems that marine dealers in Juneau don't feel the need to have a web page. And we can't seem to find any informative comparisons of small outboard motors.
If you were going to be spending some time in Southeast Alaska and needed to pick up a decent 4-stroke outboard for saltwater use as a trolling/backup motor:
-- which brand(s) would you recommend and why?
-- which brands would you avoid and why?
-- Any outboard dealers in Juneau to recommend or avoid and why?
Things we are loking for in an outboard:
-- 4 to 6 HP
-- 4-stroke motor -- we don't want to have to mix fuel
-- reliability is the top priority
-- maintainability and/or ease of service is important too
Your main dealers in Juneau carry Yamaha, Honda and Evinrude. Since you want a 4-stroke, I'd go with Yamaha. Willie's Marine sells Yamahas and has a web page with contact info:
My experience with 4-strokes is that they are cold-blooded. They start easy, but they don't run well until they warm up. Once warm, they can go all day.
We've dealt with Willie's Marine once before, from long distance since we live in north Texas, so we don't know how they compare with other dealerships in Juneau. Nothing bad to say about them though.
We "inherited" a property in southeast AK and every two or three years we get a chance to actually enjoy it instead of paying to maintain it from a distance. Other family uses it from time to time so we try to keep things (including boat motors) maintained for everyone to enjoy. We're not full-time boat owners so we don't have a whole lot of experience with outboard motor maintenance and upkeep.
We would've considered selling the property but we're seriously considering moving to Juneau in the next year or two and if that works out, we'll make frequent use of it and maintain it ourselves. In fact, we're about to escape the miserable Texas summer and spend a couple of weeks in Tenakee Springs so that's why we have the sudden interest to get a new trolling/backup outboard. Bring on the rain and the cooler temps!
The boat (a Lund 16' skiff) has a 20 HP four-stroke outboard but the two-stroke trolling/backup motor died because it wasn't properly maintained so now we're in the market for another motor and we'd rather have a four-stoke mainly because everyone's tired of mixing fuel and also dealing with containers of mixed fuel that have sat in a shed for a year.
From what internet research I've done, it sounds like we're OK if we stick with a name brand motor and also a brand that is serviced by one or more local dealers. And also take care of the thing!
Heinz
Last edited by HEINZRX; 08-15-2011 at 07:40 PM..
Reason: spelling/grammar
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