Honda or Ficht?

[Ed]

Otto-

I agree with Trayder.....definitely pass on the FICHT. The local Mako dealer down the street dropped Evinrude/Johnson during the whole OMC debacle and picked up HONDA and has been selling the shit out of the Honda 130s & 225's. Everybody and the mother is buying them and so far, very few problems. The mechanics are friends with my boss and have nothing but but good stuff to say about the Hondas (and the Yamaha OX-66 2-stroke motors---just to be fair) Plus, HONDA is standing behind their products....of the few motors that have had issues...HOnda replaced powerhead or lower unit and extended warranty for 10 years. Honda also asked the dealer if he had any customers with over 500 hours on their motors because they (HONDA) wanted to take them apart, inspect and reengineer them. The guy got brand new twin 130's....not a bad deal!!

Lastly, most of the coast guard boats in teh area have switched to Hondas. The rigid inflatable center consoles are running twin 130's and the new SAFE rigid inflatables with aluminum pilot house are running twin 225's.

Just some more info to help you make your decision. The only thing I would seriously look into is the added weight on the transom. Find out what your existing motor weighs and what the new Honda 225 weighs. If it is a big difference, it may throw off the self bailing characteristics of teh deck and the hull'd ride. 4 strokes are great....but your 1987 boat and my 1991 boat weren't exactly designed for that extra weight. Even if your transom is new and strong as the rock of gibraltar and can handle the extra weight.....balancing the boat is the key issue. (Several off the new boat manufacturers are moving some of the boats weight forward to compensate for the heavier horsepower on the transom)

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

[ocuyler]

I just reviewed the POWERBOAT REPORTS article in their Jan. 2003 issue. The test 23 had a Honda 225. They recorded 31.2 MPH @ 4000 RPM for 3.4 MPG and 85 db.

Interestingly, a 4500 RPM cruise yeilds a SLOWER 30.35 MPH and 2.5 MPG. What's up with that?

Top speed at WOT was 38.4 at 5600 RPM w/ 91.5 db.

I find the top speed quite low and we KNOW the hole shot is going to suffer compared to a DI, which should also give a substancially higher top end.

Trayder, I spoke at length with my local dealer, who sells both Ficht and Honda. He felt extemely confident that no matter who buys Bombardier, they will continue the push with the E-tec, etc. Further, he heard that the Bombar.dier family want a majority interest. I think that says something. As I've known this dealer/owner for 30 years, I have every confidence in a 5 to 10 year outlook for my 23 with a Ficht.

The only personal leaning I could get out of him was that the Honda was very quiet and smooth at idle, which is perfect for 2-3 MPH trolling on Lake Ontario. I don't do that.

I'll have pricing for both (installed) and will post the results. As I tell the kids, "we'll see"...

[ June 04, 2003, 12:34 AM: Message edited by: Otto Cuyler ]

[Finster]

Otto, down here Honda's don't have a great rep. I know a few people that have had nothing but problems, and their very heavy too boot. I agree with Trayder on the Suzuki idea and the savings should put you back in the ball game for the 4 boat theory. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Trayder]

JohnR- That is my frioends boat in Power Boat Reprts, the guys who run the boat from Greenwich CT to Edgartown so I guess what Otto published are the #'s?

[Trayder]

Otto- Being comfortable with your dealer is the most important factor in my opinion. I may disagree with his thoughts on the new owners as there is no telling at this point but he will be the one working on it if he is local and reasonable and you like him that is 80% of the battle right there.

[Mark]

It seems that on even numbered years I read that Evinrude/Johnson has their problems figured out. On odd numbered years the problems with financing/backing resurface again.

What Trayder said about being comfortable with your dealer is correct. However, wouldn't it be great to not only be confident in your dealer but also in the manufacturer he is representing?

I don't have a solution to this situation but personally would be a bit shy of a company with repetitive backer problems that are significant enough to make it widely into the press every other year.

[Briguy]

A guy on my canal just bought a c-hawk 23 with a 225 Honda. He loves it! You are taking a chance with the Ficht! Don't do it. As far as maintainance, I think that whole idea has been blown out of perportion. Check out this math. If you run your Ficht 500 hours and average fuel burn is 8gph that is 4000 gallons of gas. If the oil burn averages a 80 to 1 mix at $17.00 a gallon for the factory recommended stuff you would have oil costs of (4000/80)=50 gallons of oil x$17=$850.00. Of course you need to change the oll in your 4 stroke motor but my suzuki's use 4 qts at $1.50/qt and a $4.00 oil filter I can buy at the auto parts store. If I switch to synthetic like mobil one I could probably get 200-250 hours between oil change. On my first oil 100 hour oil change the motors hadn't burnt a drop and it was as clean as the day it was put in. My dealer charged me $80.00 total for my twins if I have him do it. As far as speed, don't expect any more than 42mph (38 kts) out of the opti, ficht or honda. Personally I would wait 2 months for the 250 Suzuki 4 stroker.