Professional fisherman keen on Yamaha 4 stroke

by Jeannette Durlak on 26 Jan 2007 Vaughan Barnsley is a professional fisherman of 16 years standing. He heads out onto the water virtually every day of the year, both early morning and then again at sunset.

Located at Green Point on Wallis Lake, just south of Forster in NSW, Vaughan is an enthusiastic advocate of Yamaha four stroke outboards.

While he runs just two commercial boats in his fleet, Vaughan has logged more than 5,000 hours on his Yamaha F80 hp model. And just to prove that this is no fluke, his younger Yamaha FT60 model has almost 2500 hours on the hour meter.

Amazingly, in consumer terms, this equates to 100 years of boating use!

An average recreational boater logs about 50 engine hours a year. So the 5000 hours logged on the Yamaha F80 is equivalent to 100 years of recreational boating.

'When I bought my fishing licence, I took over an existing business and inherited a 2 stroke 60 hp engine of another brand,' Vaughan reflected. 'I soon changed to Yamaha and ran a series of Yamaha 70hp two stroke outboards.'

'I would get 1200 hours up on these 70hp engines each year. In all I had three of these engines before making the switch to my first Yamaha four stroke, an 80hp model.'

The switch from two stroke to four stroke delivered an instant one third saving in fuel usage. In addition to buying 1/3 less fuel at the pump, Vaughan also noted that he no longer had to buy 2 stroke oil, thus reducing his costs even further.

'The reliability of Yamaha over all the years that I have owned these outboard engines has just been amazing,' Vaughan said.

'I can’t fault them. They are easy to start, quiet to operate, smooth running and very light on fuel consumption.'

Vaughan often travels to wilderness areas chasing mud crabs. In these remote areas working alone in shallow water he can’t afford to be breaking down. The Yamaha engines have proven 100% reliable and they work really well in the shallows, frequently digging mud out with the stainless prop without any overheat problems.

A days work on the water for Vaughan Barnsley in season will see him out at 4:00 am to pick up the nets that he laid the previous evening. These need to be removed by sun up. On the homeward journey, Vaughan stops by his 30 traps to check these. He is generally back at the mooring by 10:00 am.

Over this time the engine never stops running and is constantly in and out of gear. And typically on the run back home the boat could be weighed down with a load of nets and fish weighing 600 kgs.

'One night I had a record catch and had 950 kgs on board, and that Yamaha FT60 still got the boat up and planing thanks to the high thrust that it develops,' Vaughan said.

Just before sunset, Vaughan fires up his Yamaha outboard and sets out once again to lay his nets, a process that takes him about 3 hours. Through the year depending on the season, Vaughan will fish for prawns, crabs, flathead and mullet. Spring and winter are the quieter times.

According to Vaughan, his Yamaha F80 with over 5000 hours on the clock has had nothing more than routine maintenance over the years, with Yamaha oils and lubricants used exclusively. At 3000 hours a few gaskets and seals were replaced by his local Yamaha servicing dealer, and then at 4500 hours the starter motor was replaced.

While the engine cowling may show the scars of working many long hours, when the cowl is lifted to reveal the powerhead is virtually as new looking as the day it rolled off the production line. There is barely a spot of rust to be seen.

The story is the same with the younger Yamaha FT60. It is serviced every 250 hours with new oil and filters. The engine is at an idle for most of the day with masses of shifting in and out of gear while trapping. This engine logs about 30 running hours a week depending on the season.

'The change to Yamaha was good and then the move from two stroke to four stroke was even better,' Vaughan concluded.

'But the long life and reliability of these Yamaha’s is just astounding. They keep running, seemingly for ever.'

Yamaha outboards are available through an Australia-wide network of authorised Yamaha outboard dealers. All Yamaha outboard models are fully backed by a comprehensive two-year manufacturer’s warranty.

More information at www.yamaha-motor.com.au