2019 Yamaha 40 HP F40JEA Outboard Motor

The 2019 Yamaha F40JEA swaps the usual propeller for a jet pump on this 40 hp midrange four-stroke, with remote mechanical steering and electric start on a 20-inch shaft. At 219 pounds, it's built for shallow or weedy water a prop-driven motor would struggle with.

Jet versus propeller

Drawing water through an impeller rather than spinning a propeller lets this motor operate over sandbars, grass flats and rocky shallows without fouling or striking bottom, at some cost to outright efficiency compared with a propeller-driven 40 hp motor of the same family. Decide based on where you run the boat, not just the horsepower number.

Fitment

Line the 20-inch shaft up with your transom, and check that your console already carries mechanical steering cables to the stern, since there's no tiller handle to fall back on. Wire in a battery as well, since the starter is electric only.

Clearing the intake grate

Weeds and sand collect on a jet unit's intake screen faster than most owners expect; get in the habit of checking it after every outing in grassy or silty water, since a partly blocked grate starves the pump and can overheat the engine before you notice anything is wrong.

Engine

Three cylinders, 747cc, electronic fuel injection, sold new.

Common questions

Why choose jet over prop? It lets the motor run in shallow or weedy water a propeller couldn't handle.