Tohatsu 3.5hp

[JRyno10]

I am looking into buying a Tohatsu 3.5hp two stroke short shaft outboard from a guy on craigslist. The price for it is 350$ and they owner says it has "very low hours" on it. I assume its relatively new and I'm waiting for the response to know the year/see pics. For my area I believe it is a good deal. I obviously would go check it out and see how it runs before purchasing it but before I took the time to do that I was wondering what people thought of this brand. I have heard/read that Tohatsu makes ALL Nissan and Mercury outboards BELOW 40hp. Are these outboards easy to find parts and to repair? Any and all input would be great!

 

[Buddychrist]

I would do a compression check cold and hot on the motor before i bought it.

Parts are not as easy to find as a mercury but they are out there.

I have two mercury engines one 25hp tiller two stroke outboard with a Tohatsu and my 115hp mercury 4 stroke outboard was made with a Yamaha power head and here is what i have learned.

That the only thing that is similar between Tohatsu and mercury is the power head and everything else is non interchangeable. Now I would go to guess that the price is decent but by my standards the motor is fairly low Hp. What kind of boat are you trying to push?

 

[Buddychrist]

Here is an 06 Tohatsu that is completely serviced and is a four stroke 8hp

I would follow this one and see where it goes, currently it is at $600 with no bids yet, and the shipping is only $50.

Just an idea if you don't mind another $300 for double the hp.

It's a four stroke instead of a two stroke. Personally I prefer two stroke smaller outboards but that's up to you if you are interested in it.

I would never own a two stroke 115 merc, imagine the amount of oil you would have to feed into that monster

 

[JRyno10]

Thanks for the info. That is a nice looking motor but I am only trying to push a 10 ft flat bottom. I think it may be a little to heavy at 81lbs. The 3.5 only weighs about 41lbs. I think it may just overpower the boat, what do you think?

 

[Buddychrist]

What is the boats rated hp?

 

[JRyno10]

5hp and weight capacity says 350lbs which I find hard to believe because it's only About 31" at the bottom.

 

[Buddychrist]

https://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=280895702765&index=2&nav=SEARCH&nid=96334513651

Maybe this would work better

 

[Buddychrist]

If you went over the rated hp you can really have a fast boat but it's not gonna last long but you would look like this

 

[JRyno10]

Haha I'm sure I would! I actually have been looking at those it just kinda scares me because those Chinese outboard brands seem to come and go. Would feel better about it if I knew of someone or a forum member has used one, if ao is love to hear what they say about it.

 

[Buddychrist]

If you wait I'm sure there will be a good used Johnson 2 or 3 hp tiller pop up on eBay

 

[Butthead]

My buddy bought a used '91 3.5 Nissan 2-stroke about 15 years ago. You could say it's low hours because it's probably gotten 40 hours at most in the last 15 years and 50 in it's life.
When he needs it he pulls it out of the shed, throws gas in it, and goes.
When he's done he drains the gas out, runs it until the carb is dry, and then sticks it back in the shed.
Never once has he had a problem with it starting and in addition it saved us a couple times when his '76 Johnson 35hp broke down on the water.
I can't knock it since it's been so dependable with virtually no maintenance.

You can find parts easy enough on the web for them.

 

[mrbacklash]

I have a 3.5b it's a good little engine doesn't use gas and runs good on a 12' v the neutral is a nice feature I think it's a 1992 model very simple to work on. It usually starts on the first pull unless it is super cold

 

[JRyno10]

Thank you everyone for the input. I think that I am going to try to purchase the 3.5hp Tohatsu off craigslist. I believe it is about the right size outboard I will need weight wise for the boat (not to mention i carry the Jon in the back of my truck). It is about 50 minutes away from where I live and I will hopefully be able to go get it before the weekend. However the seller didnt reply to my email today, although he was pretty quick his replies on Monday. Hoping to hear from him soon.

 

[JRyno10]

Just thought about this, does anyone know about how fast/slow I can expect to go with the 3.5? It will be on a 10ft flat bottom and the total weight in the boat (me, 3.5hp, gear, TM battery, TM) will be around 300-330 lbs?

 

[Buddychrist]

I hope everything works out for you buddy! I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures of your boat out on the water!

 

[mrbacklash]

mine will do about 5-7 mph loaded or empty

 

[JRyno10]

would I be better off with a 1969 Mercury 4 hp?

 

[Buddychrist]

Depends on its condition, is the price good?

 

[JRyno10]

I want something that's goin to push me 10+. I feel like my 67lb thrust TM pushes me about 5-6. But that 4hp mercury looks pretty good and priced at 350.