Repower Delivers Peace of Mind Along With Lower Operating Costs
John Duggan together with his wife Kathy operates an exceptionally busy charter boat out of Tuncurry (Forster) on the mid north coast of NSW. If their boat is not full with scuba divers on a charter, then it is loaded with fishermen looking to hook up some decent sized game fish.
It goes without saying that quite apart from the safety aspect of powering through the seaway at Forster several times a day, John rates engine reliability as a key factor in the success of his charter business.
“Without the confidence to hit the key and know that my engines are going to fire, I can’t sleep at night,” John Duggan said.
Today John’s 5.5 tonne plate aluminium boat is powered by a pair of Yamaha F225 four stroke outboard engines. With the ultimate in turn key reliability and now a fuel bill a third less than it used to be, John Duggan not only sleeps well, but has a thriving business which he can operate with absolute confidence.
But it hasn’t always been this way.
“I purchased my boat second-hand from a fisherman in Gosford,” John recounted.
“The boat came fitted with a pair of old 200hp two-stroke outboards. In their day these outboards were promoted as the ultimate in two-stoke fuel economy and low emissions.”
“But they let me down and were dreadfully thirsty on fuel. I had one of the engines completely fail while coming into Forster one afternoon, with a full load of passengers on board. It wasn’t one of my better days at work!”
“The writing was on the wall when my local dealer, Barclay Marine, virtually wiped their hands of these engines and said that they could not guarantee to keep them running much longer. I needed new engines.”
Having recently been appointed as Yamaha dealer, Barclay Marine suggested a pair of Yamaha F225 hp four stroke outboards. Over the years, John Duggan had owned virtually every brand of outboard on the market and had a great run with a Yamaha 2-stroke on a previous boat.
“The choice was pretty easy in the end,” John Duggan said. “I went up a little in power as there is no weight difference between the F200 and the F225. And besides my boat is pretty heavy so I figured that the extra power could come in handy at times.”
“The big bonus for me with Yamaha was the commercial finance program that was put together through Yamaha Motor Finance (YMF). As I was using the engines commercially, I am able to retain my capital and only pay a fixed monthly fee to YMF. I know exactly where I stand on my costs every month.”
Barclay Marine executed the re-power in two days flat, an amazing effort.
“As John is a commercial customer, we recognise that time off the water is money to him,” Mark Wilson of Barclay Marine explained.
“We had his old engines off and the new Yamaha F225s rigged and running in two days. Given that this was just prior to Christmas I know that John was both amazed and impressed with what we were able to achieve for him.”
In terms of performance, John Duggan has noticed the huge benefits of his Yamaha four-stroke outboards. Fuel consumption has been slashed by one third. And whereas the old engines also needed two-stroke oil, further cost savings have been achieved by eliminating this single cost.
“A regular trip to Seal Rocks and back is about 24 Nm and I used to burn 50 litres per engine on this round trip,” John said.
“Now on the same trip I use 15 litres less per engine thanks to the new Yamaha F225. And of course there is no need to be buying 2-stroke oil any more.”
“The Yamaha outboard engines have not given me any problems at all. They are quiet and smoke free, two things that are very much appreciated by my diving and fishing customers. In fact the Yamaha engines are so quiet that I often forget to shut them down when we are at sea.”
With the new Yamaha F225 engines on the transom, the big aluminium hull cruises between 3800 rpm and 4200 rpm or a speed of 20 to 23 knots respectively. And, John Duggan can now rest easy at night.
“I come down to the boat in the morning, turn the start key and know that the engines will fire up and run all day long. I’m a very happy Yamaha owner.”
Yamaha outboards are available through an Australia-wide network of authorised Yamaha outboard dealers. All Yamaha 4-stroke outboards are supported with a full 4-year manufacturer’s warranty and all 2-stroke outboards are backed by a 3-year warranty – standard conditions apply.
For further information on this story contact:
Brett Hampson
National Sales & Marketing Manager
Marine Products
Yamaha Motor Australia
Tel (07) 3906 7000
Fax (07) 3906 7099
www.yamaha-motor.com.au
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