Vortex Outboard Motors

This has brought about the birth of Vortex, a line of outboards aimed squarely at the budget minded. They hail from the factory of Parsons, a company that has been producing outboard and other stationary engines for some years now in that part of the Orient.

Initially with Vortex, the main thrust seems to be in the realms of two-stroke technology, but there are rumours that some models in four-stroke are not too distant.

Recently we had a chance to look at a 30hp and a 40hp Vortex to see how they stack up in what most of us would have thought would be a segment of the market that was fading away (two-strokes) as the push for greener technology permeates the boating industry in the form of four strokes, and two strokes running high-pressure injection systems.

With the cowl off the 30hp model we found it fed by a single carburettor. The moulded sections of the metalwork of the head and block were neatly finished with no evidence of dags and runs of metal where dyes had joined. This motor apparently had about 30 hours running-time behind it, most of which was in saltwater. Close scrutiny of the gaskets around the head and side plates failed to expose any leakages from within.

A couple of the unpainted metal brackets were showing early signs of tarnishing from surface rust typical of metal that had been tooled and or swaged in machinery used for mild steel production. These items would not be critically affected by such blemishes. Generally speaking, the power head was neatly finished and vital organs such as the fuel filter were easily accessible for maintenance.

The engine displacement on this model is 0.496 litres and it features a standard rope pull start with an F-N-R gear shift on the off side on the cowl base. A throttle friction screw is fitted to the tiller arm and the tilt system is manually operated. A heavy-duty push pull pin secures the outboard in the full tilt position though this is not an aid to towing; rather one locks the leg in the raised position for work on the bottom end. There is a lever operating a strut so that the engine may be run in shallow drive if need be.

This model weighed in at 53.5kg and was easily placed in the full tilt or shallow drive position by hauling at the rear of the cowl via the engine breather vent.

With a cold power head, compression on pull starting was quite solid and it took three pulls to kick the motor into life. Thereafter it started immediately on the first stage of a pull on the rope; every time when warm.

Power output was excellent and as fitted to the Top Ender gave excellent hole-shot with two adults aboard. There was slight aeration at the propeller during hard turns but that felt like it was a propeller pitch issue rather than engine leg length in relation to the transom height.

Running with and against the wind and tide the boat averaged 44.33km/h on the GPS and exhibited good torque throughout its throttle range.

The fuel in the tank was mixed at 50:1 and there was minimal smoke on start up and when idling, indicating a good clean burn. Ambient noise levels at the tiller were not overly uncomfortable either (just typical two-stroke) indicating that tolerances of moving parts inside the power head were most likely more than acceptable.

Under the cowl it displayed the same level of quality in the finish and as did the 30, had a two-cylinder power head and single carburettor catering for a 50:1 ratio premix.

Filling the void under the cowl was an electric starter motor the key to which is mounted on the face of the cowl base pan and it also could be pull-started with the standard-fit rope.

Its F-N-R gear shift was also mounted on the front of the cowl base pan and a throttle-friction screw was fitted to the tiller.

Even when at running temperature the compression of the power head when pull starting was very high though not unmanageable. The key start was impeccable and just a touch had the motor purring into life instantaneously then running typically as a two-stroke would vibration-wise. As with its little brother, ambient noise at the tiller was acceptable as well.

Interestingly, this outboard motor does not feature a shallow-drive mode which is typical of motors that have been built for heavy-duty use in a commercial environment where they spend their entire life (save for downtime for servicing if they are lucky!) with the leg immersed. Driving punts, tenders and the like around oyster leases is typical of the places this type of engine was built for.

The 40 has an engine displacement of 0.703 litres with a gear ratio of 2.00 running a 3-11 (1/8”) x 13” propeller. It weighs in at 78.6kg.

Running an average WOT speed of 50km/h the hole-shot was not as snappy as that on the Top Ender but that comes back to the weight and hull type it was fitted to and the propeller it was spinning.

We walked away from the Broadwater a little surprised to say the least. Expecting to find some of the imperfections we conjure up in our minds when we hear 'Made in China', we couldn’t. There simply wasn’t any.

Sure, two stroke is old-style technology when compared to what we expect from modern four-stroke and high-pressure two-stroke engines in today’s marketplace. In reality they are nautical miles apart and never more so when it comes to purchase price.

These are bargain-basement engines that on the outside look the part and only time will tell how the metals stand up to the rigours of the marine environment.

Initially though, it would appear that Vortex has got off to a good start and on the right foot. The recommended retail price for the 40-hp is $3,565 and the 30-hp comes in at $2,740.