2600 Hours &Two Years No Problems with V8 Water Taxi
It’s now two years since Sydney water taxi operator Shane Kearns fitted a pair of Yamaha V8 350hp outboards to the transom of his vessel. With 2600 hours logged on the Yamaha outboard engines and two full years of operation, Shane still has a big smile on his face.
The H2O Water Taxi was originally powered by a pair of Yamaha F225 4-stroke outboards. When Yamaha launched the ground breaking F350 V8 outboards, Shane became the first commercial operator in Australia to put these engines into a work environment.
“The Yamaha V8 engines have exceeded my wildest expectations,” Shane said.
“The reliability and operation cost factors alone have more than justified the re-power. But what I didn’t anticipate is the incremental business that has come my way because of the Yamaha V8 engines. Business is booming.”
Operating seven days a week during the summer peak, with 12 and 14 hour days, it’s common for Shane Kearns to log 80 engines hours in a week.
The reliability of the Yamaha V8 F350 engines has been the key factor in Shane winning new contracts on Sydney Harbour.
“I know with absolute certainty that those engines will not let me down. Every time I hit the start key, every time I open the throttle, I know that the Yamaha V8’s will perform. Every time.”
“As a direct result of the Yamaha reliability I now have contracts with a raft of NSW and Federal government agencies, not to mention additional new commercial contracts that include Channel 9.”
While the twin 5.3 litre Yamaha F350 outboard engines produce a combined 700hp, they also deliver the torque required to push a 5 tonne boat, with up to an additional 3 tonnes of passengers on board.
The maintenance schedule followed by Shane Kearns is also a key factor behind the success of the Yamaha engines. The oil is changed every 100 hours, filters are changed every 200 hours and the leg is serviced at 300 hours.
“The maximum revs for these engines is 6000 RPM, but we never have the need to operate the engines that hard. I believe that with our service schedule and operating conditions, these engines will easily get to 8000 hours, trouble free.”
“No breakdowns, no time off the water and absolutely no downtime at all.”
The H2O Water Taxi experience again reinforces the Yamaha F350 V8 outboards as a legitimate commercial workhorse too.
Running at 3000 rpm the H2O Water Taxi is good for 20 knots. The fuel consumption at this level is just 15 litres per engine per hour. With a load of 20 passengers on board, 20 knots is achieved at 3400 RPM.
“I reckon that the gearboxes on these engines are the hardest working parts and they are operating perfectly. We are in and out of gears all day long coming and going from harbour side wharves and the engines are also swinging big stainless steel props. But again, there are zero problems,” Shane said.
And what of the Yamaha F225 engines that Shane removed from his H2O Water Taxi prior to repowering?
“They are running as strong as ever with 4500 hours up,” Shane said. “I fitted them to our smaller H2O Water Taxi boat and they are still like new!”
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
Tel (07) 3906 7000
Fax (07) 3906 7099
www.yamaha-motor.com.au |
