Fisherman & Boatowner FIELD TEST
. but theres a lot more to this engine than just its quietness on the transom its virtually vibration free, it has no smoke at all, and being equipped with a traditional 4-stroke sump does not use outboard oil.
Yamahas Brilliant 60hp EFI 4-Stroke
More than any other outboard, the Yamaha 60 has probably done more to convert dyed in the wool 2-stroke boatowners across to the land of 4-strokes and with very good reason. At 108kg for this long shaft model, its as light as most 2-strokes, accelerates with the best of them, and demolishes the myth that 4-strokes are somehow more sluggish or slower off the mark than 2-strokes. In this special report Editor Peter Webster looks at the performance, features and benefits of the Yamaha F60C as fitted to F&Bs Trailcraft 475 Profish.
here was never any doubt we were going to purchase the Yamaha F60 for our new Trailcraft project boat last year, but when Yamaha advised there was a electronic fuel injected model coming through to replace the carburettor version, we took a millisecond or two to decide it was worth waiting for the new engine. More exciting still was the announcement by Yamaha at that time that the new engine was actually 3kg lighter than the carburettor model,
further boosting this engines already excellent power:weight ratio. The engines duly arrived, and were installed by Endless Summer Marine, our Gold Coast Trailcraft agent who happened to be Yamaha agents too. This followed on from the original test report we did in F&B #93 with John Durrington, when we first fell in love with the Trailcraft 475 Profish and the carburettor version of the Yamaha 60. The test was incredibly well received around Australia, and it took Trailcraft some time to catch up with the orders
flowing on from the promotion. But as weve documented before, although we decided the Yamaha 60 was standing head and shoulders above all other engines in this class, we werent quite so emphatic about the boat, and we went through the process of testing half a dozen different models from different manufacturers before we did settle on the Trailcraft as the best compromise of them all. Thats not a back-hander either all boats are a compromise of one kind or another, and we felt that in the
Trailcraft 475 we had less compromises than any other model and such is the way intensely competitive products are decided in this day and age. Its early days yet, but its been an extremely successful project, with some of the highest levels of reader interest weve ever recorded through the pages of F&B. We think its because the Trailcraft 475 and models above and below this one (455 and 500) hit the nerve that calls for a boat thats not too big and
not too small for bay and offshore work, but at the same time, can still be used in rivers and estuaries, with engines as small as this 60 Yamaha. In other words, they do go very close to the business of offering big boat performance with small boat economy - and quite frankly, thats how its worked out. Everybody whos used the Trailcraft comments on what a big, small boat it is and as one, chorus the fact that after theyve been in the boat for an hour or two, they stop thinking of it in
terms of being 4.75m long, and just accept it as a boat thats easily big enough for the job at hand regardless of its length. This is a wonderful compliment to the Trailcraft design team, and of course the object of this report the fuel injected Yamaha 60 sitting quietly on the transom doing everyones bidding. If ever there was a case of understatement this is it. The Yamaha F60 is so quiet and demure, most of the time everybody forgets its even Fisherman & Boatowner 3
2 Fisherman & Boatowner
Copyright SEA Media Pty Ltd (F&B#110 - 6/2005) from www.seamedia.com.au