Aiming at the Market Sweet-Spot
“WE FOUGHT so hard to get this up
through research and development,”
said Rick Layzell. “There are a lot of
reasons why having a great engine in
the 40 hp range is really important,
especially in Canada.”
Rick continued, “Considerations
we face that aren’t necessarily in
other markets are Canada’s Age and
Horsepower Restrictions for boat
operation. The regulations state that
‘Youth under 16 years of age may not
operate boats with motors over certain horsepower limits unless someone 16 years of age or older, is in the
boat and directly supervising them
so, for families who need their
young people to drive a boat to their
island, who want their kids to be
able to go water skiing or fishing, an
older person must be in the boat
supervising unless that boat is under
the horsepower limits. Since many
families with children have just one
boat, they have to choose carefully.”
Specifically, the regulations state
that unsupervised people under 12
years cannot operate motors over 10
hp and people between 12 and 16 are
limited to a maximum of 40 hp.
Clearly and for many reasons, the
regulations impact many families and
that makes it particularly desirable for
dealers to have a strong product offering
in the 40 hp range. But, there’s more
than just the Age and Horsepower
Restrictions attracting buyers to the 40
hp level.
“This is a real sweet spot in the market,” said Rick. “Our new F40A address-es the diversity of boating types here in
Canada. This is an engine that works in
a multitude of different applications. A
40 hp engine is ideal for many two-log
pontoon boats and it also works very
well for small center consoles and aluminum fishing boats. Because of its light
weight, a 40 hp boat and engine combination makes a great trailer package and
in particular, a 40 hp engine is often perfect for inflatable boats.
Some owners trailer their inflatable
boat to go exploring new places. Many
realize an inflatable is a great dive boat
for SCUBA. Other owners value the
virtues of the inflatable as a tender for
large yachts. It is no wonder that the
inflatable market has been strong and
growing; and we expect that will contin-
ue. Considering the size and weight
of the popular inflatable models, the
F40A Yamaha is the right engine to
deliver excellent performance on
inflatable boats.
Jamie Small at CO2 Inflatable
Boats says that the Yamaha F40 is his
top-selling engine.
A 40 hp engine is no less important in markets like Muskoka and
Georgian Bay. Many families want a
40 as power for the family workhorse
boat for those people with islands
and remote cottages. And, they want
the whole family to be able to drive it.
Across Canada, especially in the
north, tiller-handle engines are the
way to go. They are really popular
with resorts and camps in places like
Lake of the Woods and the many
great fishing lakes in Manitoba,
Quebec and Alberta. For people at
sportsman’s lodges and fishing camps
who also need big weight carrying
capacity, or who are going fishing on
those huge but often remote northern
lakes, an engine like Yamaha’s new
F40A is really an excellent choice.
BC’s inland lakes and the coast as
well, also find the Yamaha F40 a versatile choice.
To begin with, the F40A is a new,
original design for marine use. It’s an
inline three cylinder, single overhead
camshaft engine designed to be both
compact and powerful. Yamaha has created it from the start to be available as
either a propeller or a jet drive. The jets
are hot-sellers in BC and Alberta.
Yamaha Canada fought hard to
ensure that the F40A was state-of-the-art
competitively and that it featured the
huge consumer benefit of electronic
multipoint fuel injection for easy
turnkey starting. The Yamaha designers
