2-Stroke Ban (Older Engines)

I think I would consider keeping your boat as is since it has so much history and is so unique.

This is a perfect time to get a new one from Tom with a new motor. It would last you the rest of your life.

jim

 

If you want to keep your classic inline sixes, about the only option would be to try to get the law changed, or possibly see if any exemptions exist. I am pretty sure an old Chris-Craft is not going to meet emission standards either.

You still have all of 2011, and 2012 to use your boat as it is.

Reality is, the old Mercury motors are pretty dirty. When they were made, gas was cheap, it was important that outboard motors be light, and powerful. Nobody cared about the amount of unburned gasoline that just went straight through a two stroke engine, as long as it made a lot of power for its weight.

It was not that long ago, it was thought that is was OK to use asbestos for building insulation, and lead in gasoline, and house paint. We now know better

The good news, if you switched to modern technology engines, is this. You will probably use about a 1/3 to 1/2 of the amount of gas you currently use. If you use your boat 200 hours a year, it may make economic sense to switch. If you use your boat 20 hours a year, not much advantage in switching. They make good sense for a ski team. When our ski team was looking at getting new engines, we debated the difference in cost of the engines, vs. the amount of fuel use for the different types of motors. Bottom line with a ski team, practicing regularly is this. The new engines are the equivalent of about a thousand dollar fundraiser, for each boat. Our ski team's Hydrodyne, with two 200 HP Optimax Mariners uses less gas per hour than my 1997 fuel injected Ski Nautique. I use around 3 gallons per hour of operation on my inboard, the twin rig uses about 2.8.

The bad news, purchase price on new engines, and they are heavy.

Some things are not all that rosy up here in Oregon. There are groups lobbying the state marine board about banning wake enhancing devices on many of the popular waterways. These groups are also trying to get a no wake zone in some popular skiing areas, so kayakers can have smooth water to paddle in. I am pretty sure the issue of the old technology two stroke engine has ban also discussed.

 

Here is some more simple truth. I work out of the North Wastewater Treatment Plant operated by the Village of Addison, Illinois. Since November 29, 1993. The work I do involves waste water and storm water sampling for the Village to maintain compliance with local, state, and federal parameters. The VOA has seen its acceptable level of copper released to the receiving waters go from .075 parts per million down to .039 parts per million. Consider this Village as the fourth largest industrial park in Illinois. Several businesses are regulated for multiple heavy metals in their waste water. When the Village is dealt the mandate to reduce the levels of these metals flowing into our receiving waters following treatment, there is only one place to go to reduce the levels; the Industrial Users themselves. In the last 4 years, the Illinois EPA has been cutting the acceptable levels of Zinc as their engineering staff feels that the levels need to be reduced. Thanks to a coalition of business owners and operators here in Addison, pressure was placed on the EPA to at least allow a 6 month review period on the current Zinc levels. Fortunately, there were no problems with any levels that would have caused the EPA to tighten regulations. The direct effect would have been to have watched 5 businesses either relocate or cease to exist. In this fragile economy, there is no room for elimination of jobs as they are scarce enough now. Five years ago most companies were safe and warm, now not so much. People who have decades of experience managing small industries are tearing their hair out trying to cut all unnecessary expenditures and to run lean to a point where the work can be done on a timely basis by a smaller staff.
Who here in this forum likes polluted water? It sticks to nice Dyne hulls and makes them look bad. Can anyone here think of a body of water near them that is completely fouled? The north branch of the Chicago River used to bubble day and night as the gases from anaerobic decomposition of waste on the bottom would float up to the surface. Some of my former co-workers at Greyhound Lines (1985 on the North Branch) thought that the bubbles were fish coming up to take a "breath of air" since the water was so disgustingly foul. Now the north branch is a vibrant fishery supporting many species of sportfish. How much cleaner must it be?


So, where does this initiative stem from?

Even the Sierra Club has knowledgeable attorneys serving to enforce the will of the environmentalist whackos on to the politicos. Here in C(r)ook County, certifiably one of the most corrupt governments in the USA, a few phone calls and some "soft money" will make a career politician be putty in the hands of the highest bidder. What happened to statesmen who were elected on the promise to do the bidding of their constituency?

Why do kayakers and canoeists deserve to have their way over and above fishermen and water skiers? I own a kayak myself and when I see kayaks and canoes ahead, I slow down to no wake speeds out of courtesy. Have any of you had a lot of fun dealing with wakes from 50' motor yachts at planing speeds? Perhaps not for wakeboarders and wakesurfers. It is a challenge in a kayak. It goes without saying that there is a whole lot of fantastic water in the USA. As income and property taxes creep up, our government amasses more power and listens to the squeakiest wheels and the nut jobs in the green party. We need to write polite and carefully worded letters and emails to our elected representatives letting them know we are out there keeping Hydrodyne history alive and well.

Tim