Evinrude E-TEC HO range

After a day on Sydney Harbour with a pair of recently-delivered Evinrude E-TEC HO motors, one can only marvel at how far outboards have come. It only seems like yesterday that we were continually let down by temperamental 'Smoky Joes' with a mind of their own.

Today's motors are more like works of art and technology than science and mechanics. And they start first time every time, without those stomach-curdling blue fumes. Boating is just so much more pleasurable, especially when you're traveling at 73mph. Yes, that's 116km/h. And we were in a fishing boat! Perhaps I should say fishing boat extraordinaire, because the purpose-designed bass/bream competition thoroughbred test boats were designed to get to the best spot first. So when the tournament 'go' flag drops, the idea is to fly very low, just touching the water occasionally so the prop can give you some thrust, and claim bragging rights later. The bigger the rooster tail the hairier your chest.

In the manufacturers' world of outboard motors, it is very important to have the hairiest chest - because that sells more product. Pure and simple. The customer wants grunt. Mind you, he wants a few other things too, and governments have some rules and regulations called emission controls, which get thrown into the mix.

Anyway, the purpose of this exercise was to test the best, brightest and newest outboard motors on offer from Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP). The brand is Evinrude, and the motors causing windburn are the E-TEC HO models, two of 150hp (2.6lt, 60 degrees, V6) and one 200hp (3.3lt, 90 degrees, also V6).

First a little history. Some years ago, most other outboard manufacturers went down the four-stroke path in engine development (remember Honda's first oh-so-quiet four strokes that we all drooled over?) But Bombardier stuck with two strokes, determined to make a good range of engines a whole lot better through innovative technology.

The point-of-difference direct injection technology Evinrude uses is a computer-based electronic engine management system that monitors engine temperature, air temperature, atmospheric pressure, crank position, and engine load then delivers the perfect amount of fuel needed through an injection system into the combustion chamber when the exhaust port is closed.

The pulsing of the fuel is timed to happen after the piston has closed off the exhaust port, meaning that there is a power stroke with every revolution of the crankshaft, whereas a four-stroke is designed to have a power stroke every second revolution. The E-TEC range is the result, an outboard with a high power-to-weight ratio performance of a two-stroke with the reduced emissions and double the economy of a conventional two-stroke. In the early days there were a few hiccups, but now Bombardier is boasting some very telling leading edges, and saying 'we told you so...'

The HO (High Output) motors we tested were the first in Australia. The HO bit indicates they're fitted with the Lightning gearcase which allows you to mount the engine higher on the transom - usually on a jacking plate - to increase prop performance and generate higher speeds.

The tech-heads tell me you need an appropriate boat for this combination to work, and we were using two US-built Skeeter SX190 bass/bream tournament boats and an Aussie-built Haines Hunter Pro Strike 495.

So let's look at why there is a long waiting list for these engines already and why Bombardier is currently flying - rather than shipping - them from the US just to keep the customer satisfied.

According to the brochure, no comparable four-stroke can match the power, speed or torque of the two-stroke E-TEC. For example, comparison charts indicate the Evinrude 225 E-TEC has 27 per cent more mid-range torque than the Yamaha V6 F225 four-stroke and 40hp more throughout the midrange.

The company also claims higher top speeds and quicker acceleration than the equivalent Yammie and Mercury Verado 225 four-stroke.

A big plus for the Evinrude is weight. For example the Evinrude 150 weighs 190kg. Equivalent four-stroke motors from other brands are: Mercury 231kg, Yamaha 212kg, Honda 217kg. Evinrude claims its E-Start system ensures easy starts every time, without choking or priming. Its motors have no belts, camshafts, valves, timing chains, oil pumps, which four-strokes have. While Yamaha and Mercury four-strokes require maintenance every 12 months or 100 hours, E-TEC only goes to the mechanic every three years or 300 hours.

Fuel consumption during our tests were impressive. At idle, 500rpm, the 150 E-TEC HO-equipped Skeeter SX 190, spinning a 22-inch Raker stainless prop, used just 0.82lt/h. At 3000rpm (48km/h) 22.7lt/h; 4500rpm (65km/h) 38lt/h; 6000rpm (100km/h - WOT) 72.6lt/h. The similarly-powered Haines Hunter was slightly slower at 96km/h, which, according to the experts, was about 12 to 16km/h quicker than one would normally achieve without the Lightning gearbox.

Our top speed of 116km/h (GPS registered) was achieved on the better equipped Skeeter ZX 190 powered by a 200hp E-TEC HO, spinning a 24-inch Raker. Fuel consumption figures were: idle (500 rpm) 1.36lt/h; 3500rpm, 43lt/h; 6000rpm (WOT) 90lt/h. One wondered as we rooster-tailed across Hen and Chicken Bay and Canada Bay whether the sun-roomed sedentary waterfront locals had ever seen anything quite like it.

Bombardier also claims the E-TEC is the cleanest outboard in the world, and waves the US EPA's Clean Air Excellence Award around as proof. In fact, it claims to be three times cleaner in carbon monoxide levels than Yamaha or Mercury.

It also claims that under any load or condition, the E-TEC will use less fuel than it competitors (and regular unleaded at that), thanks to a full stratified combustion system coupled with an Engine Management Module, which delivers the exact amount of fuel needed in an instant directly into the combustion chamber.

Noise at full throttle? Yes, there is, but no more than a four-stroke. At idle (and that's a very low 500rpm, which also means less fuel consumption) you can barely hear it ticking over.

All E-TECs over 115hp are compatible with National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) standard 2000 for CAN (Controller Area Network) Bus instruments. What this means is that various pieces of modern electronics on board your boat, like engine management computer, dash instruments, GPS and fishfinder, from makers such as Lowrance, Raymarine, Furuno, Humminbird and Garmin, all network together to share information and even displays.

Several types of CAB Bus instruments are already available and more are coming. Evinrude's own I-Command system combines analogue and digital displays on the same dials. The digital displays are changeable so you can display one or more of several possible combinations at the press of a button. So not far into the future is one 'dial' which will provide all information at just one fingertip.

So, after an era when four-strokes were all the go, is the two-stroke fighting back? You betcha!