1999 OMC FICHT V4s review

Let's get something straight from the start OMC's Evinrude FICHT 90 is the best all-round engine in this power category I've ever tested and suits a wide variety of family runabouts and fishing cuddy cabins around the five-metre range.

As with the Ficht 150, you have to actually try the 90 to experience how good it really is. This is especially the case if you've owned an old crossflow OMC 90... Not that this motor was badly engineered or unreliable, but the FICHT 90 is so many generations ahead in throttle responsiveness, fuel efficiency and user-friendliness.

In the 18 or so months since OMC released the Ficht 150 to the Aussie market, the company has steadily improved both this model and its 175 counterpart. The result is even better performance and running qualities across the entire rev range. These improvements have flowed on to the FICHT 90. For example, both the ECU (management system) and fuel vapour separator are watercooled for increased lifespan in tropical climates.

The system is set up so that (providing the engine is kept at or above 2000 revs) you don't have to worry about adding oil to your underfloor fuel tank during the break-in period. Another benefit of the increasing oil at the 2000 revs mark is that during the break-in period the engine won't 'oil up' when being warmed up from a cold start.

Some readers have asked whether computer-controlled motors such as the FICHTs are Y2K compliant or will be affected by the infamous Millennium Bug. With so much hype, I contacted OMC Australia to see if there would be any problems. According to spokesman Paul Dawson, neither the FICHTs or their diagnostic software will be affected. Yes, every OMC product two- or four-stroke is Y2K compliant.

With little induction noise the FICHT 90 is much quieter than its carbie counterpart and appears to vibrate little more than the V-six Ficht 150. It has excellent low speed to midrange throttle responsiveness and really comes alive over 4000 revs.

Tested on Stacer's new 500 Seaprowler Deluxe Runabout which is rated to 90hp and is the 'biggest' 5m aluminium runabout I have ever tested the FICHT 90 was nothing short of brilliant.

Fitted with a 17-inch pitch SST stainless steel prop and pushing an estimated total of 950kg (including a four-adult load!), it maintained a clean plane at 29kmh at 3000rpm and cruised unobtrusively at 49.1kmh at 4000.

At wide open throttle (WOT) it reached 71.6km/h at 5500rpm, consuming 32L/h. At this speed and despite the sound-amplifying canopy we could still hold a normal conversation at the helm.

Even through hard-over figure of eights, propeller ventilation was non-existent. Brett Keys Marine of Blacktown (NSW) supplied the rig and had clocked up only three hours on the FICHT 90 before I tested it. Yet unlike many motors virtually out of the box it had no quirks and like the 150 started instantly hot or cold.

Again, like the 150, there was no difference in idle revs whether the motor was in or out of gear. Interestingly it idled at only 650 revs, not 800 as per the 150. Despite running on double oil over 2000 revs there was no oil smoke or the slightest smell of oil.

For fishos who like a mix of fresh and saltwater angling, the FICHT 90 is without peer. It performs even better than a normal two-stroke 90 but seems to have virtually all the trolling attributes of a four-stroke engine. And as it's relatively light compared to these, it won't adversely affect boat trim, which is so important with smaller hulls.

Shortly after the review of the Ficht 90 was completed, my local FICHT dealer, Hirecraft Marine of Toronto (NSW), provided a FICHT 90-equipped Seafarer V-Sea to compare with a carbie version I'd tested several months earlier.

Spinning a 17-inch prop and pushing the same total load of 950kg (including two adults), the FICHT powerplant was faster than its carbie counterpart above 3000rpm. At 4000rpm we averaged 49.9kmh (2% faster) with lower noise and vibration levels.

Through hard-over turns at these revs the FICHT seemed to maintain revs better than the carbie motor, most likely due to the ECU (management system) which compensates for increases in load.

At WOT we averaged 70km/h on 5300rpm 5% faster than the carbie 90 and another 100 revs higher. Being brand new and not run in the motor was fairly tight and after a few hours would probably pick up another couple of hundred revs. The fuel consumption at WOT worked out to about 32L/h, 11% less than the carbie 90. Given the higher top speed this is a fuel efficiency improvement of 18%!

At 32L/h the FICHT 90 consumption is about the same as a three-cylinder Yamaha CV75. However, on the V-Sea, the FICHT 90 did suffer from some prop ventilation in hard-over figure of eights unlike this motor on the Stacer 500 Seaprowler Runabout.

Unlike its 90hp counterpart, the Evinrude FICHT 115hp is in a much more competitive market. It has to do battle against the Honda BF115 and upcoming Optimax 115, which will have the smallest V6 powerhead on the Aussie market!

On a Seafarer Viking and spinning an 18-inch stainless steel Raker prop, at midrange throttle openings the FICHT 115 was only slightly faster than the Honda BF115 I tested on a 5.5m Savage Mako SP Cuddy Cabin. With both boats set up to displace around 1200kg, the FICHT planed the Viking at 28.9km/h at 3100rpm and cruised happily at 49.9 at 4000.

Fitted with a 17-inch stainless steel prop (which in my opinion is slightly overpropped), the BF115 planed the Mako at 25.6km/h at 3000rpm and cruised slightly quieter at 48.2km/h at 4000. But from fast idle to 4000 revs the FICHT was appreciably quicker and did not need WOT to plane the Viking.

Surprisingly at WOT the Ficht 115 averaged 64.4km/h on 5800 revs, while the BF115 averaged exactly the same speed at 5200 revs! The FICHT consumed 40L/h and, according to US figures, the Honda used 36L/h with slightly better midrange fuel efficiency as well.

When you consider that a carbie two-stroke 115 normally uses 45-49L/h at WOT, the FICHT is still damn economical!

As an aside, a spokesman for OMC Australia recently told me that the de-rated versions of the FICHTs (90 and 150 hp) provided better out-of-the-hole acceleration for skiing and really the only benefits of the 115 and 175 were higher top-end speeds.

With much fewer moving parts than the Honda, the FICHT was significantly quieter at WOT, but then with its twin counter-rotating balance shafts the Honda had lower vibration levels. Both motors showed no evidence of prop ventilation in hard-over figure of eights.

When I tested both the FICHT 90 and 115 on the Seafarers, I had the opportunity to do so with Alan Smith of Hirecraft Marine. Alan is the service manager responsible for setting up each FICHT before it's delivered to Hirecraft Marine's customers.

Setting up a FICHT involves attaching a laptop computer with OMC's diagnostic software, which has several modes. For example, during the break-in period the engine's ECU must be programmed accordingly. This ensures the engine receives double oil for the first five hours whenever the motor is run at or above 2000 revs. It's also useful for whenever a new or rebuilt powerhead is fitted.

Whether you choose the 90 or 115 FICHT you're getting state-of-the-art technology in a compact, user-friendly package. Of course, Honda's BF115, Yamaha's new four-stroke Yamaha F100 and Mercury Marine's yet-to-be released Optimax 115 will provide serious competition, but make no mistake, OMC's FICHT V4s have definitely been worth the wait!

Stacer 500 Seaprowler Deluxe Runabout

Stacer's 500 Seaprowler measures a massive 5.0 x 2.25m, weighs 425kg and has 3mm bottom sheeting and 2mm topsides.

Rated to 90hp, the Seaprowler has no trouble handling this amount of power. Standard is a 90lt underfloor fuel tank, mounted amidships to help the hull trim correctly underway.

Fitted with the Evinrude FICHT 90 tested and carrying four adults the Seaprowler maintained a clean plane at 29.0kmh and wound out to 71.6. Propeller ventilation through hard-over figure of eights was non-existent and the ride over a substantial slop on Sydney Harbour was soft for an aluminium hull with very little bottom-sheet drumming.

Best of all was the stability of this wide-beam hull, particularly at rest where the Seaprowler could handle up to three adults fishing from one side!