BayCruiser 1 launched (and she floats!)

[Andy Dingle]

Hello Julian.

Have been following your thread re your new BayCruiser, a very nice boat, indeed, if I didn't have my BayRaider I would be very interested in ordering one. Your last comment re Tohatsu outboards prompted me to contact you.

I gave a lot of thought re the outboard that best suited my needs, as I too have to experience strong currents in a short tidal window. I already had a Tohatsu 3.5 that was adequate for my BayRaider but it was 2 stroke and I really wanted four stroke. Tohatsu do a 4 hp four stroke with an integral tank but my dealer told me that they also do a 5hp with both integral tank and a connection for a remote tank, (to save topping up the tank in heavy seas), it weighs the same as the 4hp. I ended up buying it and it has proven to be excellent. I believe the Tohatsu's are in fact Mercury/Mariner under another name and a lot cheaper! I think it would be ideal for the heavier BayCruiser?
Anyway, wish you well with your boat and hope to see her at some future event.

Andy  Bayraider 'Psalter'

[Julian Swindell]

Hi Andy
I had just discovered that Tohatsu/Mariner/Mercury are all the same engines, apart from the price. Interested to hear your experience. I noticed tht they also do a 6HP on the same engine block/weight, so I was tempted to go for that. Suzuki do a 4HP and 6HP which apparently are identical except fot the throttle setting, which is wider on the 6HP. For this you pay £200 extra!

[Terry Cross]

Hello Julian
Congratulations on the launch of your BayCruiser.
You say you had problems with your lazy jacks, am I right in thinking you have opted for a sail stack/pack system?

Regards Terry Cross

[Julian Swindell]

Hi Terry,
No I settled for a conventional boom and mainsail. I have fitted lazyjacks either side, supporting the boom at about one third and two third positions. I am still fiddling with them but basically I pull a line which comes from the base of the mast which tightens up the lazyjacks, and drop the mainsail between them. It works well. If you turn right into the wind, the sail just drops. If you are sligtly off the wind, you may have to grab a handfull and give it a pull. The lazy jacks are a little tight when the sail is full, but I have plans which will allow me to let them right out. It is also nice to be able to pull them in enough to really cock the boom high up. I like to do that if I am motoring as I like to stand up then. It gives a better view of shallows, rocks etc. If the boom is pulled high, it is right out of the way.
Daisy Grace is tied up to a pontoon at the momemnt with her masts down, ready to be hauled out in a couple of days time.

[Jeff Curtis]

I had just discovered that Tohatsu/Mariner/Mercury are all the same engines, apart from the price. Interested to hear your experience. I noticed tht they also do a 6HP on the same engine block/weight, so I was tempted to go for that.

Hi Julian
Congratulations on your new Baycruiser. I opted for a 6hp Mariner on my BayRaider primarily as the 4/5/6 hp Tohatsu based engines do not use a shear pin to protect the propeller; they have a rubber clutch in the prop just like on larger outboards. All these engines are basically the same but the 4hp has an integral fuel tank so is taller and slightly heavier, more so when full of fuel. My local dealer stocked Mariner's so that's what I got but I'd shop around for the cheapest deal if I was doing it again. I had to fit wedges to the outboard mounting board (transom?) to get it to sit lower in the raised position, otherwise the anti-cavitation plate fouled the rudder mechanism. And the leg is a bit big for the sealing fingers in the outboard well; I'm still working on that problem. But it goes for ever on a tank of petrol, will trickle along at a knot or two on tickover and has enough power to get me into Portsmouth harbour against the ebb - ballasted. It is a single cylinder four-stroke so it does vibrate a bit and it's noisier than I was expecting. You have to put the gear lever into forward before you can tilt the engine and you need two hands to get it down again. And to flush the engine you have to remove a screw in plug, fit an adaptor (£8.00 for the Mariner!!!) and hose and flush through with fresh water without starting the engine.

Good Luck
Jeff

[Julian Swindell]

Hi Jeff,
I have been very pleased with the Tohatsu and have discovered everything you have. Why you have to put it into forward to release it for tilting I don't understand. I bought the 6HP model and got the dual fuel version, even though I only paid the single, external tank price. Si I have an integral tank and a separate tank, which is quite useful.

On the BayCruiser, the power leg really fills the outboard well. If you just tilt it up, without turning it on its side, you can't use the rudder. When you turn it on its side, it only just fits in, but it does. If you leave it down, it slows the boat and makes it very hard to tack, so it has to be tilted up.

I would be really surprised if the propeller is held on in a different way on the Mariners, as the engine look absolutely identical to me, apart from the price. I committed the sin of storing it on the wrong side last week, but found that it started fine the next day, which was a relief.