Netting Huge 20% Fuel Savings With Yamaha Four Stroke Re-Power

12:39 AM Fri 3 Apr 2009 GMT

'In action Shark Netting - Yamaha Four Stroke' Connexion PR

When a commercial operator is contracted to head out to sea 20 days out of every 28 days, fair weather or foul, there is no room for compromise on reliability.?And because this is also about the livelihood of a man with a young family, there is also no room to waste money on fuel.

Paddy Dimond is a Mooloolaba based shark netter.?He heads out of Mooloolaba at 4:00 am in the morning to check the string of shark nets that run from Noosa Heads to Bribie Island.?The nets are placed offshore at the direction of the Queensland Department of Primary Industry as an effective means to keep sharks away from beach goers.

When he won the DPI contract, Paddy acquired a 2004 built 31' Noosa Cat which was fitted with a pair of 225hp high tech two stroke outboards (non- Yamaha).

'I rapidly realised that these engines had to go,' Paddy said in a frank admission.?'I was spending $130 per week in oil alone, not to mention the 600 litres of fuel that was being used.?On average we were burning 1 litre of oil per engine per hour.'

'It didn't take long to work out that four stroke was the way to go and that all the professionals were running Yamaha outboards.?I did my homework and repowered with a pair of F250 Yamaha four stroke engines.'

'The savings have made a whole world of difference to my boat and my bottom line.'

With over 500 hours up on the new Yamaha F250's in a matter of months, Paddy Dimond is right on target to log his usual 1400 hours over 12 months.?Already the savings have proven to be staggering.

First off the oil bill has simply gone.?That alone represents a saving of almost $7000 a year.?Moreover, the fuel consumption has dropped by about 20% and that is in spite of the power on the transom increasing by 10% from 450hp to 500hp.

At cruise speed the 4.1 tonne Noosa Cat now revs at 3800 rpm for a speed of 22 knots or 40 km/h.?At this speed fuel consumption is 28.5 litres per hour per engine or 57 litres per hour combined.

In a flat sea at wide open throttle, the tachos spin up to 5900 RPM with top speed being 43 knots (80 km/h).?Paddy has Yamaha 17' pitch SS props fitted to the counter rotating F250s.

'I reckon that I have hit a winner all round with my new Yamaha F250's', Paddy Dimond said.?'I've got more power, no longer need to mess about with the inconvenience, mess or cost of two stroke oil, am saving over 20% on my fuel bill and I have the absolute turnkey reliability of the Yamahas.'

'My expectation is that I will easily get 4000 hours out of these engines.?And because I leave at 4:00 am in the morning, the quietness of the Yamaha engines is really important to me.'

'Re-powering with the Yamaha F250 four strokes was the very best thing that I ever did for my business.?I don't have any regrets at all.'

Yamaha Four Stroke - Connexion PR .

Yamaha outboards are available through an Australia-wide network of authorised Yamaha outboard dealers.?All Yamaha 4-stroke outboards are supported with a full 4-year manufacturer's warranty and all 2-stroke outboards are backed by a 3 year warranty - standard conditions apply.

by Bob Carter

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