Another problem….what’s the issue with 2-strokes?

[green_monster]

Another problem….what’s the issue with 2-strokes?

I attempted to register my boat for a private lake that my family leaves on and was denied because I have a 2-stroke motor. In the last year the have banned new registration of 2-strokes (EFI’s or IDFI). They only allow 4-strokes or 2-stroke with direct fuel injection.

What is direct fuel injection?
Who makes a 2-stroke DFI?
Are two-strokes really that much worse environmentally?
How difficult is it to swap out a motor on a boat? Costs?
Anyone interested in trading a 4-stroke for a 2-stroke?

[Sacto John]

Optimax, E-Tec, FITCH, HPDI are all direct injection 2 strokes. The costs to re-power a boat can be very costly as the outboard is the most expensive component of the boat.

[green_monster]

vi) Only two-stroke, direct-fuel-injection (DFI) and four-stroke outboard engines may be registered new (first time) in XXX. New, first time registration in XXX of two-stroke, non-direct-fuel-injection (NDFI) or two-stroke, electronic-fuel-injection (EFI) outboard engines are prohibited.

how many lakes have restictions like this?
what are my best options to comply?

my motor is a 1999 Mercury 2-Stroke 60HP ELPTO

[MIKE TREMONT]

These are some of the restrictions that our wonderful global warming friends have been pushing for. There is more and bigger waters to come.
Granted the older carburated engines can really be ineffecient and I've read that up to 40% of your fuel/oil mix will go straight through the exhaust and into the lake. With numbers like that I won't argue to much with our extreme earth loving friends.
As John stated there is no easy fix for you that I know of except to change out the motor.

To all of you that lean a little more left. Please don't take my sarcasm as a lack of caring about this wonder place we all share. I just can't stand the extremism on the left side. The sky is not falling and us outdoorsman are the biggest ecologists going. We want all this beauty here for generations to come.

[kamm]

Yeah, I will cut to the chase for you. I had a 7 year break in bass fishing due to work in Southern Ca. My boat was stored in Northern Ca. I couldn't bring it to SoCal for the same reasons you are going through. After lots of research and many calls my 200HP EFI MERCURY will be going on the market at the closest boat shop to Mexico. The Mexicans love the hard running EFI's and come to Cali to get them. Good luck.

[CharlieS.]

Yea...I feel exactly the same Mike...what gets me about the 4-2 cycle stuff.....all the flat bottom "fun boats" that I see..yea..they are 350 chev.ford...etc,,etc...4 cycle..legal every where..yet they are cammed so rough that at idle you see gas spewing out every where,,who knows about on throttle....I would imagine a stock merc EFI more fuel efficient just due to its a newer technology than a 70's car motor...but it gets the door slammed down..ohh just me ranting...Charlie

[Smile_n_Jax]

Charlie, I will agree, but we have to look at the numbers and degree of control. How many "fun boats" are there compared to 2-strokes? I don't have a clue. Also, consider the legislators can't control the "fun boats"because they are home built, but they can control the outboard manufacturers. The boating industry is going the same way as the motorcycles. The 2-stroke is being ruled out which is something I hate to see only for the reason that, if my motor were to disintegrate tomorrow, I would not be able to replace it with a 4-stroke.

[Phil Crader]

My understanding is that the two-cycle bans aren't really a result of global warming concerns. As was pointed out earlier, with a two-cycle engine, a lot of unburned fuel goes directly into the water. This is not the case with DFI motors, but can be a problem with EFI and the old carbuerated engines. These bans are typically due to concerns for sources of drinking water. MTBE, the much debated fuel additive, is also a carcinogen. They don't want us putting that in the drinking water. I'm not sure why the bans are applied so inconsitently. But I'm thankful that they haven't banned two-cycle engines on Folsom or the Delta. Hopefully the DFI two-strokes will continue to be exempt from these bans when and where they occur.

[NaCl]

New 2-stroke technology is actually producing cleaner engines than the equivalent horsepower of 4-strokes. In fact, several companies now offer 2-strokes with the 3-Star CARB rating that used to be only on 4-stroke motors. Consequently, even some of those jurisdictions that talk about "4-strokes only" are making exceptions for any 2-strokes with "3-Star CARB ratings.

.....NaCl

[kamm]

Technology......WOW. I wish we could lease these motors.