After 14 years of mostly trouble-free operation (including 3.5 years on Toy Boat 2), we finally decided to do a re-power. Not that there was anything mechanically wrong with the motor. As noted in the Toy Boat 2 Scorecard, we had to have a head gasket replaced at the 10 year point, but other than that, the motor was running fine - for an old carbureted 2-stroke.

But we live in California, and we began running into situations where the old motor was not allowed on the water, due to pollution concerns. As mentioned in Issue 1, we take TB2 out freshwater fishing occasionally (gasp!), and right now there are at least two Southern California lakes (Skinner and Diamond Valley) which will not allow anything less than CARB 2-star motors out on the water.

If we upgraded to a 3-star motor, we would also pick up better fuel economy. TB2 had been running about 2.9 MPG, which meant carrying 12-18 gallons of extra gas on many offshore trips, even with our 45 gallon tank. If we could get to 4 MPG, we would have the same range, without having to carry over 100 lbs of extra fuel. Besides, with gas going well over $2.00 /gallon, the extra mileage would lighten the load on the pocketbook as well.

With that decision made, the next question was "Re-power with what?" Given TB2's performance with the old 90 HP Johnson, it was obvious that the new engine would be a 90 or 115 HP. TB2's performance was exactly in the right zone with a 90 HP motor at 75% throttle (21-22 MPH), so going larger wouldn?t buy us much, except perhaps letting us run at lower RPM while cruising.

We initially ran through all of the major manufacturer's websites and tried to do some initial screening based on these criteria:

• Engine must be CARB 3-star rated
  
• 90 or 115 HP
  
• Dealer reputation & proximity
  

But this didn't help much. The only brand that was out of the picture at this point was Honda, who did not have a dealer which sold larger models within 25 miles of our home.

This left us with the following motors:

Manufacturer	Motor Type	Horsepower
Evinrude	2-stroke DFI (E-TEC)	90
Johnson (rebranded Suzuki)	4-stroke EFI	90 or 115
Mercury	2-stroke DFI (Optimax )	90 or 115
Mercury (Yamaha powerhead)	4-stroke EFI	90 or 115
Suzuki	4-stroke EFI	90 or 115
Yamaha	4-stroke EFI	90 or 115

Interestingly enough, the pricing for the BASE MOTOR ONLY for most of these models was roughly equal (+/- $600), once you got down to some serious bargaining. This is DID NOT include controls, gauges, and propellers.

• The Evinrude E-TEC seemed like an obvious choice because we could use the existing motor controls and gauges, and the current propellers would work. On the other hand, there were concerns about the newness of the technology.
  
  
• The Johnson 4-strokes looked like a good choice because we could reuse our existing throttle controls and gauges, but we would have buy new propellers because of the final gear ratio. 
  
  
• Mercury fell out of the picture early on, because the local Mercury / Suzuki dealer immediately recommended Suzuki over Mercury based on their experience with use in salt water. They also voiced concerns over Optimax reliability and the rockiness of the Yamaha / Mercury relationship (Yamaha makes the Mercury 4-stroke powerheads).
  
  
• Suzuki seemed out of the running because of the price for new controls, gauges and propellers . Since the Johnson was essentially the same motor, it would make more sense to buy the Johnson.
  
  
• Yamaha makes a great motor in this horsepower range, but again, the cost of new controls, gauges and propellers weighted against it .
  

Then, a great opportunity came up - a friend in Northern California, who recently became a Mercury and Suzuki dealer, offered me a Suzuki DF115, controls, and props at a great price - more than enough to offset the added costs for the new controls and propellers. The only hitch was that we would have to find a local Suzuki dealer to install the motor, or drive TB2 north to let him install it.

Well, the trip north seemed to be too much of a hassle (he is located up in Santa Rosa, which is north of San Francisco, over 500 miles away). And when we approached the local Suzuki dealer about the install, they refused, since we would not be purchasing the motor from them. We even offered to pay them an extra $500.00 over their usual fees, but they still declined.

So. . . that left us with the Evinrude E-TEC 90 . After a little soul searching, web searching for problems, and reading of tea leaves, we purchased a 2005 model year E-TEC 90 Salt Water Edition from Sunset Marine in Oceanside.

The web search revealed little, other than opinions and innuendo, both pro and con. The E-TEC 90 HP has been out on the market for at least two years now, but there haven't been many problems reported. Part of the silence may be that there haven't been enough sold for major problems to surface, but you'd think something, even second-hand Internet stories, would have surfaced by now.

Sunset Marine gave us a good price and a significant trade-in allowance on the old motor. Because the engine was pretty much plug-compatible with the old motor, installation labor charges would be minimal. On top of that, BRP had the motor sitting on the loading docks in Wisconsin, so the motor arrived within a week.