Viva the 4-Stroke!

The author drives a 4-stroke Suzuki on Table Rock Lake. Photo © Ken Schultz

By Ken Schultz
​
I’ve been using a personal computer since about 1980. But that doesn’t mean I know much about Ram and ROM, processors and display drivers, or can do any more “programming” than I could back in college when I took a course in the now-ancient Cobalt and Fortran computer languages. But I can get normal things done on a computer just fine.

I’ve been driving a car since I was 16. But I can’t repair one and I don’t know a piston from a manifold and I’m lucky if I can even point to the carburetor. But I’m a pretty good auto driver, even with those smaller rental cars I often have to use.

And, I’ve been boating even longer than I’ve been driving a car or using a computer. I had a little hydroplane as a youngster and raced around the lake where my family summered, probably annoying fishermen there much like today’s personal watercraft users do. But I couldn’t tell you a thing about outboard engines other than how to start them, fuel them, and clean them. I retract that last item; I rarely clean the outside of my outboards.

As with the computers and autos that I’ve owned, my boat must have an engine that runs flawlessly, and, in general, is a utilitarian device that I don’t have to spend time tinkering with. I just want to have it start whenever I turn the key, get me where I need to fish, and

---

Read More