1300 Hours on V8 Water Taxi with Zero Problems

by Bob Carter on 12 May 2009 After logging 1300 hours in eleven months of commercial operation with his twin Yamaha F350s, Sydney Harbour water taxi operator Shane Kearns couldn’t be happier.

The H2O Water Taxi was originally powered by a pair of Yamaha F225 4-stroke outboards. When Yamaha launched the ground breaking F350 V8 outboards, Shane became the first commercial operator in Australia to put these engines into a work environment.

Now, having operated these powerful engines for almost a year, Shane Kearns is still coming to terms with the success that he has enjoyed with his new Yamahas.

'Whichever way you look at the F350s from Yamaha, they are an impressive performer,' Shane said.

'In the eleven months that they have been running on my H2O Water Taxi, I have had no problems. No breakdowns, no time off the water and absolutely no downtime at all.'

While the performance and fuel economy of the Yamaha F350s in recreational applications is well documented, the H2O Water Taxi experience now establishes the Yamaha V8 outboards as a legitimate commercial workhorse too.

Over the eleven month period that the H2O Water Taxi has been operating with the Yamaha F350 engines, Shane Kearns has been accurately logging the performance and fuel usage. The resultant statistics are impressive to say the least.

Running at 3000 rpm the H2O Water Taxi is good for 20 knots. The fuel consumption at this level is just 15 litres per engine per hour. With a load of 20 passengers on board, 20 knots is achieved at 3200 RPM.

'At first I didn’t believe the data,' Shane Kearns said. 'I re-checked the data and double checked everything and it’s absolutely correct. And now after a full 11 months of data entry and statistical analysis it is all 100% correct. The low fuel usage is just amazing.'

Servicing of the F350s is simple and straightforward thanks to the support of the servicing Yamaha dealer, Power Marine at Waverton. The engine oil is changed every 100 hours, the filters are also changed every 200 hours. On a 300 hour cycle a major service is performed where the gearboxes are removed and water pump inspected, spark plugs and fuel filters are replaced.

'I reckon that the gearboxes on these engines are the hardest working parts and they are operating perfectly. We are in and out of gears all day long coming and going from harbour side wharves and the engines are also swinging big stainless steel props. But again, there are zero problems,' Shane said.

'These Yamaha F350 engines are fantastic. I reckon these engines will last forever! But from a business point of view my plan is to change them over after four years when we have about 5500 hours up.'

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.