Reliability of Hangkai 6Hp 2 stroke outboard?

[more]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Out of the usual suspects (Yamaha, Tohathsu, Mercury, Suzuki, Honda) which one would you recommend?
Reliability & longevity are important despite our modest budget. Simplicity is important too, so that it could also be fixed by a mechanic in remote locations.

https://www.svb.de/de/mercury-aussen...handstart.html
if you need stronger

https://www.bauhaus.info/benzin-auss...20210907000001

ut if you like chinese Parsun is not bad,is ok quality but price is not big differency from mercury-tohatsu 10-20% cheaper
https://www.schlauchboote-aussenbord..._campaign=2022

[Pete7]

You can still buy 2 stroke outboards in Europe and the UK, but just not for leisure use, commercial use only.

So you need to find a supplier and pretend to be commercial or chat to them very nicely.

Choice, probably Tohatsu if Yamaha is out of budget. They make lots of the smaller models. Yamaha did a lot of design work for the Merc/Mariner engines too. Strange world.

Pete

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by more

https://www.svb.de/de/mercury-aussen...handstart.html
if you need stronger

She wants a 2 stroke.

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

The Tohatsu every time. Dealers are literally all over the world. Ten million Asian fishermen cannot be wrong.

I like their 2 strokes 9.8 = 26kg You can pick up Tohatsu 2 strokes in Morocco.
They have got their 6hp 4 stroke down to 26kg and comes with really long warranty.

That's going to be the one than. As the 9.8 has the same weight as the 6, I think we might get a 9.8. A bit overpowered for our current dinghy, but in the long run we might have a different dinghy anyway.

Are there kits to turn a 6 into a 9.8?



Thanks.

[GordMay]

FWIW: At one time [?currently?], Tohatsu made ALL Nissan outboards, and smaller (< 10HP) Mercury outboards.

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by Franziska

That's going to be the one than. As the 9.8 has the same weight as the 6, I think we might get a 9.8. A bit overpowered for our current dinghy, but in the long run we might have a different dinghy anyway.

Are there kits to turn a 6 into a 9.8?



Thanks.

The one to go for is the M9.8B, we are on our second one, first one was 12 years old, daily use, when we part ex'd for a direct replacement. It was still running but the gear change lever broke and we had to resort to a mole wrench. Really easy pull start and smooth running 2 cylinder compared to single cylinder. Apart from a torque up of the bolts after an initial run in it required virtual no maintenance, replacement of the pull cord and keeping it clean and moving parts greased.

[VBsail]

I have had the 6hp hangkai for 6 years used seasonally saltwater on my dinghy. Use about 30 times a year. From what I can tell from tohatsu service manual it's an exact clone of the old tohatsu mercury 4/5hp 2 strokes. I have used their parts and running a tohatsu prop. Its light and planes my 10' portabote with 2 people no problem. I am still using it and it's outlasted the inflatable I bought with it. However, it does use inferior materials and I will replace it with a name brand eventually. The rubber on it like the gasket around the pull start and gas filler started breaking down right away and turned my hands black every time I used it. The drive leg, propshaft, and lower engine casing started corroding and paint bubbling after a year. I sand and hit it with black spray paint annually. It's ugly, no one is stealing it. The seal for the gearshift started leaking water in the lower unit around 3 years. It would maybe last in a seasonal freshwater, but for saltwater full time can't recommend it unless you plan to replace it in a year or two.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by GordMay

FWIW: At one time [?currently?], Tohatsu made ALL Nissan outboards, and smaller (< 10HP) Mercury outboards.

Nissan isn't selling outboards anymore, but historically they're Tohatsus. And yes, the modern Mercs up to 30 hp are Tohatsu as well.

[SailingHarmonie]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Out of the usual suspects (Yamaha, Tohathsu, Mercury, Suzuki, Honda) which one would you recommend?
Reliability & longevity are important despite our modest budget. Simplicity is important too, so that it could also be fixed by a mechanic in remote locations.

I can't speak to Asia, but in the western hemisphere the goto brand for fisherman, and most everybody else has been Yahama.

Two stroke engines are very mature technology. Since they have been removed from market where governments love to make rules, they don't need to change to comply with changing laws.

Yamaha, just as an example, has been making the 15SH as exactly the same engine for close to 2 decades. Makes parts inventory much easier than having a new model every year or two.

Yamaha, Tohatsu, Mercury, all should be fine. In this size range, I am pretty sure Tohatsu and Mercury are the same engine. I'd avoid Honda, and Suzuki. Mot a huge difference, but they are a lot less common and harder to get serviced.

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

Are you ordering this online in EU? If so it will likely be rejected at customs. Sale of 2 stroke outboards are banned in EU and UK. Except for professional users (primarily fishermen) and garden equipment users leaf blowers, chain saws etc. These groups have better lobbiest than cruisers. You can still buy in Morrocco and I suspect in Tunisia.

While it is still possible to buy 2 stroke garden equipment (I haven't seen a 4 stroke chainsaw) you do nowadays have to burn synthetic gasoline in them for Health and Safety reasons. And that is expensive (around 4,- a litre or so).

For that reason there is a move to electric equipment in that sector...

I personally hate those 2 stroke outboards with a vengance. They seem to not survive more than a few starts in my hands. So I am pretty happy with this thing:

https://www.temofrance.com/en_GB/temo-450

[more]

Originally Posted by Pete7

She wants a 2 stroke.

why somebody want outboards who hard start if start.ussualy when you need in life situation he dont start. spending expensive spark plugs like crazy, consume fuel like crazy.all my life i have 2 stroke,best engine ever build in world tomos 4-4,8 hp 10 hp and 18hp.
if start he work like clock,but starting is always avanture somethime from firs somtime after 1000 pull. no watercooled,simply carb. las 30-40 year easy,but starting is lotery and must ne very strong.
but if she want 2-stroke buy this https://www.burzanautike.com/hr/mali...sigurana/31702

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

While it is still possible to buy 2 stroke garden equipment (I haven't seen a 4 stroke chainsaw) you do nowadays have to burn synthetic gasoline in them for Health and Safety reasons. And that is expensive (around 4,- a litre or so).

For that reason there is a move to electric equipment in that sector...

I personally hate those 2 stroke outboards with a vengance. They seem to not survive more than a few starts in my hands. So I am pretty happy with this thing:

https://www.temofrance.com/en_GB/temo-450

There are definitely 2 and 4 stroke chainsaws, weed wackers and the like available that run on regular petrol.

The Temos are great for small short distance stuff. There is a guy using them on lightweight catamaran dinghies https://domimontesinos.com/tendercat...nte-et-legere/

But a Temo won't get my RHIB with 2 up including full dive gear on the plane for a 3-4 mile round trip to a remote dive site. Horses for courses.

[Stewie12]

Agree on Tohatsu. Their 2 hp one used not to have a gear box and for reverse you turned the motor around. Very good little motor

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

A 4 stroke may be a little more complicated, but the 6hp single cylinder models are still pretty simple pieces of equipment. I wouldn't be too scared of maintaining one.

So far the 6hp Tohatsu on our dinghy has needed nothing beyond maintenance (impeller, gear oil, engine oil, spark plug). It just works every time and it's very efficient as well. No 2 stroke smoke and smell either which is really nice when sitting right next to the thing in the dinghy.

I second that, on the Tohatsu. Pretty good machines, fairly reliable, decent parts support, not that I ever needed any parts for ours.

Relatively unknown newcomer brands from China, IMHO, are to be avoided. If you want a throwaway that is only needed for a couple hundred hours of use, you could save some money buying Chinese. The Chinese CAN make good products, (think "Astra IIIB Sextants", for example) but only when forced to do so. Their attitude is that good enough is good enough, and excellence is stupid, wasteful, and bad business. They want to get the product shipped and take more orders, not see happy end users. Look at the little 3-4 hp diesel engines all over fleabay and ali express. Casting sand in the block! Sloppy tolerances, lack of cleanup in the internals from casting, typical lifespan well down into the 3 figures engine hours, but cheap cheap cheap, far cheaper than any good engine with good quality control could be made, even in China. Sometimes cheapest is good. To me, that outboard is suspect. Don't be an early adopter. You are better off, if you just can't afford a good new one, to buy a used one of an established and respected brand and model, and learn to do your own work on it. Outboards are pretty simple.

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Hi,



our 20 year old Suzuki 2 stroke dinghy outboard just died with gear failure, does not look fixable.

We are on a budget and I like the simplicity of 2 stroke outboards.



Came across the Hangkai 6hp outboard from China which is very well priced for a few hundred Euros.



Question, has anyone here experience with the Hangkai brand? Are they reliable? I suppose they come out of the same factory as some higher value brands.

We use the outboard on a day to day base in seawater. I feel a two stroke is easier to fix for a small mechanic shop than a complicated 4stroke.
We are on a budget and would usually not go to the brand dealers to get stuff fixed.



Thanks for sharing your experience.



(Before someone tells me don't buy from China, we are in Europe, so I have no hesitation to buy non US products and Chinese products have come a long way).

You might want to do some more research on your Suzuki and see if this is the usual failure point or not. You presumably have a good power head. If you can find a carcass with good gears then you might be back in business for a couple hundred bucks or less or even free, and a few hours of turning wrenches.

I would be leery of a Chinese product without several decades of solid track record. You will need parts. That is an absolute given, for pretty much any Chinese product. And they would rather sell you a new engine than a $2 part to fix your old one. Plus Chinese manufacturers simply do not care about customers. You are simply a money source for them to milk dry. They CAN make good products but that is not their usual way of doing business. The concept of "good enough" or in other words, good enough to toss in a shipping container and send it off to round eyed foreign devils, is their philosophy. Why buy Chinese? Only one reason. Their products are the cheapest. Why are they cheapest? Because they use very poor quality control standards and utilize low paid, low skilled workers who likewise do not care about the customer and have no pride in the product. And to a lesser degree, use of inferior materials. If you think you might never have to actually use it, and expect to never ever exceed 100 total engine hours, it might be a good value for you. If you might need to depend on it and might need to use it on a regular basis for a few years, I think you are throwing away your money and are far better off with a parts donor carcass to fix your old OB, or a used one of respected brand name with proven track record and good support and parts availability, or a new Tohatsu or similar. The small Tohatsu 4 strokes get mostly high praise from owners.