New outboard

When I purchased the boat there was a 9hp Johnson outboard which was in 3 pieces in, kept in the quarterberth.  How it was every placed back there, I dont know, but it was a massive pain in the ass to get out.  Purchasing the boat in July in Southern California and removing a 100 lb engine from the breathless quarterberth was one of my better ideas, but once out it was quickly evident nothing was reparable.  The craigslist stars aligned and a newly repaired Tohatsu was found online for a great price.  The guy flipped all kinds of engines, so he discounted the price of the new outboard by taking my old broken engine.

The new outboard was impeccable, freshly overhauled, and ready to be strapped aboard.

After 6 months of use, the propeller went bad.  The propeller on a Tohatsu (and many other brands I have discovered) does not directly connect to the drive shaft.  There is a vulcanized rubber bushing inside of the propeller which fits over the drive shaft.  In my case, when the rubber gave out, I wouldnt have any power under water, but in the swells, when the prop would come out it would spin and spit water everywhere.  This is confusing, even more so when the sun is going down at Catalina Island (20 miles off the LA coast) and you are trying to make your way into Two Harbors for the evening, as was my experience.  Harbor Patrol at Two Harbors are some of the greatest people on the Island.  Once secured, my neighbor on the mooring ball quickly identified the vulcanized rubber problem, but how the hell do you get a new prop to an island?  And even if you could, how would know what you need?  Its not like internet is walking around the streets of Two Harbors, a village with a population of 298 souls (2000 Census).  Outboards are carefully engineered making an the incorrect propeller decision catastrophic to the engine dynamics.

For some strange reason, there exists a certified Tohatsu dealer at Avalon Harbor on Catalina Island, 20 miles south of Two Harbors.  I believe a separate blog could be written about the bus ride between the two villages on this island.  Precarious cliffs, switchback roads, an airport bus transfer, airport beer, a school bus from the 50's racing over washboard gravel roads making an internal racket so loud your vocal cords can not possibly compete, wild buffalo, beautiful San Nicolas Island views, and remote/exotic camping locations.

Point of all this, I got a new prop and it works great.