Hi All, I am thinking about buying a tinny with a friend (low budget) for fishing. Found a 4.5m tinny online for sale. 40hp yamaha 2 stroke less than 100hrs (year unknown, my guess is 2004-2008), forward steering, windshield. The lady selling doesn't know much, obviously selling it for someone else. It's quite a drive away so just want to get some opinions before inspecting. First question: I will get a motor mechanic to check the engine. What tests should the mechanic do and how much should it cost? Second question: from looking at the photos i can see a battery (presumably for power start). I want to add a VHF radio. Is this hard to do? maybe a second battery or at least replace the existing one? Can the batteries be charged from the outboard? How much would a marine electrician charge to fully install a VFH/antenna/battery? Note: I know little about mechanics or electrics. Thanks In advance, Toby
G'day Toby, welcome to TBX. It sounds like it is a bit of a lucky dip if the seller is unable to provide details to any questions you may have relating to the Yammie. I would be hesitant to part with any money unless the seller could produce a written report from a reputable outboard mechanic or service centre giving it a clean bill of health or be agreeable to paying for an inspection by a mechanic of your choice. Not knowing the condition of the outboard, the exact model and any inherent problems, it's impossible to say what a mechanic should look for and the cost involved. As for your second question, it would be electric start and most likely have a charging circuit for the battery. Wiring in any auxiliary items such as radio, lights etc is not hard, it is a simple process of identifying the cables and generally it will be red to positive connection and black to negative. Best to shop around for prices on a complete installation if you lack the confidence of doing it yourself or if you have a mate who can do it, you can save some bucks. A slab of beer (after the job is done) seems a fair price to me. The fact that you want to fit a radio indicates that you are looking at offshore fishing, so be careful that you are not buying a lemon. Jeff
G'day Toby...... it's a 2 stroke so not much to check 1st inspect for any corasion around the power head and leg and the wiring harness and all the throttle and gear linkages and inspect the fuel lines then turn over the crank by hand to check for any untoward resistance then start the mother to warm it up ready for a compression test and make sure it go's in and out of gear like it should . Having a mechanic check a mother is not a guarantee it will not blow up ...... And as for installing a vhf radio it easy and with all the info on the web and YouTube , just remember a vhf requires a proficiency certificate. And no doubt I have forgotten something . Cheers TAC
Thanks for the advice. Yeah I will definetly be asking for service history. Hopefully the person who was using the boat will be around when I inspect. Might try and find a mate to wire the VHF. Would it be fine on the engine battery? If it was one of those marine hybrid batteries? Not really going offshore, just around the coast and want to be safe! P.S. got my HF and VHF licence at school thankfully
That looks like it's got plenty of fishing space Toby. Radios don't consume much power, so wiring it into your main start battery would not be a problem. Another alternative would be to consider a rechargeable handheld unit, they don't have the same power output of most fixed radios, but if you're not venturing offshore then it may be a better option. Jeff
The motor is worth $3500 as long as it's been looked after so the boat is a bonus. As long as the boat is seaworthy then it looks like a nice little setup mate.
Better hurry up Toby looks like Emily is gunna pick it up ...... And the 25w vhf will pull around 6 amps on transmit and 800ma on standby .
