Nissan 20 hp

After reading every post on here and elsewhere about Nissan (Tohatsu) motors, I pulled the trigger and got a electric start 20 hp. Bought it from onlineoutboards.com. Saved a few dollars by getting a 2013 (just shy of $2900, no tax free shipping). Arrived in great shape in less than a week.

I've been an Johnson owner all my life, but the 1973 20 hp was killing me with lower unit issues. I dumped money into it and finally decided that my junior mechanic tinkering days were over. That, and because I spend a lot of time on the water, I needed reliability more than a repair hobby. Thanks to all on here who helped me with the older motor. But I am done with that one. I still have a 1965 6 hp to fool around with if I get the itch again.

Speaking of the itch, I now have to complete two days of work before getting to a lake. I'm off this Th-Mon, so today and tomorrow may be the LONGEST DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF TiME!

Last night I put oil in the new motor, pulled the rope a dozen times with the switch off to prime the oil pump, put the ears and garden hose on and it fired right up. I only idled it for a couple of minutes and made sure that it shifted, pumped water, pumped oil etc. Killed it and tried the rope start - one easy tug. Life is good.

Congrats =D> and I hope you have years of trouble free boating in front of you. I know how exciting a new motor is because I just bought one today ( new to me ).
I had been looking at the Tahatsu 6hp and the 9.8 electric start with money really being the strongest factor in concideration. :-k So, which did I choose? Neither :!: I found a 2008 Yamaha 8 hp 4 stoke on Ebay. Thing looks like brand new inside and out; It's a one owner. They wanted, 1295.00 for it and shipping from Va to Fl was another 200, so I just kind of thought that after taxes it wouls be to much seeing how I could pick a new one locally for a little over 2200 and the Tahatsu 9.8 electric start was abot 2400. Anyway, after loosing an auction in the final minutes for a bebuilt 1971 Mercury 9.8 hp I called the place that had the Yamaha and bought it for a straight 1250.00 shipping, tax and the hose connection for my tank included. Now, This may or may not be a good deal; but for me, I'm estatic! I really wanted a Yamaha to start with!

So, again, Congratulations on your new motor, I share in your excitement :beer:

Thank you. I looked at your boat build and the yamaha ought to push it nicely. I considered them and Suzuki, or even a newer (not 40 years old) Johnson or Evenrude. But price, reviews, service availability and a broken forward gear for a 1973 motor that costs $350 led me to the Nissan.

The shame is that I had just got the 73 johnson running great and had put a brand new prop on it ($107), but it started jumping out of gear. I tried replacing the clutch dog ($110) because the forward gear looked okay. And it worked for about an hour and started jumping again. It needs a new forward gear, and possibly another clutch dog, but I haven't, and won't, open it up to look. There's a guy near me who rebuilds a lot of older Johnsons and I'm going to see if he's interested in buying it. If he has a gear, and he probably does, he'll be getting a great deal.

Good luck with the Yamaha. Hopefully it was only used in fresh water by one kindly, maintenance obsessive old guy.

Awesome! I'm glad to hear the good feedback. I too am in market for more power and reliability.

I have the same engine on my boat. Not a single problem so far :beer:

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=341516#p341516 said:

panFried » 54 minutes ago[/url]"]Awesome! I'm glad to hear the good feedback. I too am in market for more power and reliability.

Click to expand...

PanFried- below is a link to their non-current motors. Same 5-year warranty, just leftover 2013 models. Tohatsu, Nissan and Mercury in the lower horsepowers are all basically the same motor with different decals. The only difference is that the Mercs have the shifter in the tiller and therefore a little higher price. This place also sells Suzukis, but under a different website for some reason.

https://www.onlineoutboards.com/Non-Current-Popup.html

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=341522#p341522 said:

fool4fish1226 » 56 minutes ago[/url]"]I have the same engine on my boat. Not a single problem so far :beer:

Click to expand...

I just looked through the pages of your build. Awesome, awesome stuff. Also, glad to hear that motor has been trouble free for you.

Do you have a water/fuel separator on board? There is not ethanol-free fuel within 40 miles of my house, so I bought a filter before my motor arrived. I have not installed it yet, and have seen varying opinions on where to put it (tank-filter-bulb-motor seems to be the consensus). I've also seen some discussion as to whether or not one is even necessary. I pretty much use my boat weekly, so fuel sitting for long periods is not an issue. Curious if you or others have any opinions to share.

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=341529#p341529 said:

Earlo » Today, 17:38[/url]"]

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=341522#p341522 said:

fool4fish1226 » 56 minutes ago[/url]"]I have the same engine on my boat. Not a single problem so far :beer:

Click to expand...

I just looked through the pages of your build. Awesome, awesome stuff. Also, glad to hear that motor has been trouble free for you.

Do you have a water/fuel separator on board? There is not ethanol-free fuel within 40 miles of my house, so I bought a filter before my motor arrived. I have not installed it yet, and have seen varying opinions on where to put it (tank-filter-bulb-motor seems to be the consensus). I've also seen some discussion as to whether or not one is even necessary. I pretty much use my boat weekly, so fuel sitting for long periods is not an issue. Curious if you or others have any opinions to share.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I don't have a filter on mine - can't hurt - but I just did not see a need :beer:

[/quote]

Thanks! I don't have a filter on mine - can't hurt - but I just did not see a need :beer:[/quote]

I'm wondering the same. The filter kit was only $30 and I think I'm going to set it aside for the time being. And the fuel hose that came with the Nissan was so nice that I could not bring myself to cut it into last night. Even at 35 degrees in my garage, the new hose has no coil memory at all.

I have a 2003 tohatsu 15hp 4 stroke that starts on the 1st or 2nd pull always. You should enjoy that

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=341597#p341597 said:

longshot » Today, 12:26[/url]"]I have a 2003 tohatsu 15hp 4 stroke that starts on the 1st or 2nd pull always. You should enjoy that

Click to expand...

Thanks longshot. I sprung for the electric starter, but will probably pull start it a good portion of the time to save battery for my trolling motor. The sun is out here for the first time in a week and it's killing me to not be on the water today. The next 3 days are looking good and I'm off, so hopefully will have her broken in by Sunday.

I would have liked electric but I bought this one used for less than 500 so Im ok with the rope for now

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=341527#p341527 said:

Earlo » Yesterday, 15:49[/url]"]

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=341516#p341516 said:

panFried » 54 minutes ago[/url]"]Awesome! I'm glad to hear the good feedback. I too am in market for more power and reliability.

Click to expand...

PanFried- below is a link to their non-current motors. Same 5-year warranty, just leftover 2013 models. Tohatsu, Nissan and Mercury in the lower horsepowers are all basically the same motor with different decals. The only difference is that the Mercs have the shifter in the tiller and therefore a little higher price. This place also sells Suzukis, but under a different website for some reason.

https://www.onlineoutboards.com/Non-Current-Popup.html

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link! I was checking out some of the 2013, and I think the price tag on this one is a little steep!

[/quote]

Thanks for the link! I was checking out some of the 2013, and I think the price tag on this one is a little steep!
[/quote]

Yikes! At that price it should come with a lake house and dock.

Between Thursday and Sunday we had great weather and I managed to get about 8 hours into the break-in procedure. Top speed was 25 mph. The surprising thing to me was that during the first two hours I was only supposed to open half throttle, which pushed the boat at 20 mph. Later on 3/4 throttle got up to 23 mph. Then full throttle went 25. I tried almost all of the trim positions, and there was only one that did not cause the boat to dolphin.

This motor idles really quietly. It also barely sips gas. I love the tension adjusters on both the throttle and steering. The tiller handle is nice and long and comfortable. The only issue is that I have to turn side-saddle to make a hard left turn because of the handle hitting the seat back.

The water was 40 degrees this weekend. When it gets to 60 in a month or so, the crappie will start jumping into the boat. Good to know I'm not going to be deterred by motor issues this Spring.

Here's a link to a video of day two test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzcSZRw7-Yw&feature=youtu.be

Looks like a she pushes you along pretty good.
Hope she brings you many years of service.

And mann I love crappie.
Thanks for sharing.

Going out again tomorrow, wind permitting, to fish and continue break-in. The only concern I have is the trim angle. I tried several (4 out of 6) positions, and the only one that did not dolphin the boat was the 2nd hole from the transom. The boat planes and runs fine, but the plate and the hull bottom are on different angles (see photo, right diagram). Also, when I throttle down from running on plane, water washes up around the cowl cover because the motor is tilted back so far.

Do I need to shim and raise the motor? Add a hydrofoil? Forget about it? Any thoughts appreciated.

That's one of the best motors for a 14 ft jon. 20 Hp would be ideal in Pennsylvania.

Try moving some weight around before you add any shims. Take some empty 5 gallon pales and use water for weight.

looks like u need a slider for that rear seat or another mounting plate offset to run the tiller. iam on my second tohatsu. have fun