Just an outboard observation above the Arctic Circle...

[Roccus7]

I spent 2 weeks cruising the waters of Greenland and the northern Canadian Territory of Nunavut and was shocked by the singular dominance of a single brand of outboard motors in the 6 harbors we visited above the Arctic Circle. These are areas of very low personal income and their boats are important vehicles for transportation, hunting and fishing, both commercial for sale and personal consumption. The gas prices up there are insane so for people in both countries to depend on a single outboard speaks volumes of the dependability, value and performance of a favorite brand. Having a local dealer is NOT a factor, as these motors come in the yearly container shipments of orders they make for an entire year's worth of everything that's delivered to the community in a single, large container ship. Never saw a Chevy Silverado pop out of a container like that one that was delivered to Pond Inlet, CA while visiting.

I'm not exaggerating when there were more than 99% Yamahas, with a scattering of Suzukis making up the remaining 1% with the sole exception of a single "Welfare Motor", as we used to call them. There wasn't a single Honda nor Tohatsu. When I asked one of the locals Why Yammies?, his response was "They're the only ones that can take the punishment we give them!!"

 

[OVERBORED]

Commercial guys here mostly use Suzuki.

 

[cany]

Theres a show on the weather channel about places like this that get their stuff shipped in by ships

 

[Roccus7]

Commercial guys here mostly use Suzuki.

Here it's like 75% Yammies and 25% Zukes...

 

[MakoMatt]

Commercial guys here mostly use Suzuki.

I don’t know too much about outboard motors but I would think because they are less money.

 

[longcast]

I don’t know too much about outboard motors but I would think because they are less money.

Indeed. They are.

 

[Avenger]

Here it's like 75% Yammies and 25% Zukes...

After the crankshaft failure my friend stated that had he known this might happen, he would have repowered with 'Zukes instead of rebuilding the Yarmulkes.

Hindsight is 20/20, but it is interesting that even here, outside of Brunswick products it seems Yammis and Suzukis dominate in a similar ratio.

The YoMommaHas are the ones that get stolen. What does that tell us?

 

[pequa1]

From 1999 through 2020 or was it 2021 I never had a problem with the Yamaha C-90 that came with my Sea Pro.

 

[Chinacat]

I proudly buy American made products for most everything
No foreign cars or trucks. Not even ones that claim to be assembled in America
I have one major exception:
Yamaha Outboard Motors

Have been running with them since the mid 90’s

 

[BoatGuy]

Which is it?

When I asked one of the locals Why Yammies?, his response was "They're the only ones that can take the punishment we give them!!"
Or
but I would think because they are less money.

 

[Roccus7]

I would think because they are less money.

We all know that they are the most expensive outboard out there. So unless both Canada and Greenland/Denmark, gave a huge Yamaha credit for buyers, it's still the most expensive.

Even I, a diehard Yammie lover, would seriously consider repowering with a Zuke IF my 115, with over 1300 hrs on it, ever gave up the ghost. I'd love to save the $1-2K price differential for what would only be a few years of use. We're kind of having a race, will I age out of boat ownership before she goes tits up...

 

[Avenger]

I proudly buy American made products for most everything
No foreign cars or trucks. Not even ones that claim to be assembled in America
I have one major exception:
Yamaha Outboard Motors

Have been running with them since the mid 90’s

Well, here's some "good" news for you. Other than the Brunswick corporate monopoly on the boating industry, there are no more American manufactured outboards. And most of the Mercs are sporting Yammi powerheads anyway.