Tohatsu 20HP | MFS20EL

Tiller steering and a pull-cord start define the Tohatsu MFS20EL, a 20 hp four-stroke carried on a 20-inch shaft and weighing 97 lbs, light enough for one person to lift on and off a small boat without help.

Matching shaft to transom

Before ordering, measure your transom height against this 20-inch shaft; get it wrong and the propeller runs either too shallow or too deep, which shows up as poor bite or excess spray once underway. Tiller control keeps the throttle, the shifter, and the steering all at the motor itself, so there's no console cable run to plan for when rigging a boat around it.

Ready to run once fueled

• Propeller
• External fuel tank, 3.1 gallons
• Fuel line hose
• Service tool kit and parts
• Stop-switch lanyard
• Owner's manual

Having the tank and hose already in the box means this one only needs fuel before it's ready to go, unlike the console-steered motors in the same 20 hp family that leave a tank as a separate purchase. Power comes from a two-cylinder, EFI block displacing 333cc, climbing as high as 6,100 rpm with the throttle wide open.

Q: Is there a key-start version of this configuration? Not this one; the MFS20EL is pull-cord start only, with no battery to keep charged.

Q: What does the Tohatsu coverage run? Five years on this engine.