A MAN AND HIS ENGINE TRIUMPH
ON THE YUKON

Here at Bombardier, we frequently receive news about boaters and their use of Evinrude® and Johnson® engines in interesting locations and unique applications.

More often than not, however, the locations are set in warm, tropical or, at worst, temperate climates.

This time, however, we heard a story about a boater that was so unique and so different from anything we've ever come across, we just had to share with you.  And we hope you'll share this story with your readers as well, because it's not only a great story about our engine, but also a great anecdote about a boater and a man who's an integral part of his community.  

Just recently, a Bombardier dealer located in Fairbanks, Alaska, worked with a local resident to carry out what ended up being an incredible test on the new Evinrude
E-TECT outboard engine.

Tommy Kriska, who lives in the small Alaskan village of Koyukuk, runs the Yukon River almost every day from break-up to freeze-up.  The nearest sizeable town is
400 miles upstream from his home.  Tommy's a busy man transporting tools and supplies - everything from groceries to drywall to moose - and generally doing on the water what most of us in the lower 48 accomplish on highways. 

It seems that what Tommy wanted to test was whether he could find an engine that meets his requirements-an outboard engine that doesn't break down, can pull the loads and gives him peace of mind when he puts on 350+ miles a day.  Basically he was looking for the critical DQR - durability, quality and reliability - required for his geographic location.  Good gas mileage doesn't hurt, either. 

Now, Tommy's not some corporate "plant" that we identified for some sort of media-ready story.  In fact, in a way, Tommy found us.  Upon learning about Evinrude E-TEC from the local dealer, Tommy apparently turned his nose up at what he thought was an outboard engine designed for "wimps." He challenged our dealer to get him a prototype and he'd tell us if this was an engine for real-life use.  So they rigged a 50 hp Evinrude E-TEC on his 20' extra wide flat bottom boat. 
 
The result?  The engine got his boat up on step quicker, and seemed to carry his loads easier than the 75 hp he had previously been running. 

The Yukon terrain is rugged and the weather uncompromising.  Right up until the river froze over in mid-October, Tommy was the lone wolf on the river, able to start his Evinrude E-TEC at temperatures as low as 8° F (-13° C). 

"Everybody in my village here is amazed by how this E-TEC starts.  In the morning, as soon as my glove hit the key, the engine started and didn't cough or spit once," Tommy told us.  "Everybody else had carb-icing, or had to sit with their 4-strokes for a long time before they could go anywhere.  I was long gone by the time they finally pulled away from the riverbank."  Now that's durability!

The fuel efficiency is also important to Tommy-especially when the nearest town is a day's drive away.  He can't believe how far he can travel on his small fuel tank. 
"This Evinrude E-TEC uses just a little over two gallons in an hour when I'm cruising, and gas out here is $3.39 a gallon," he said.  "My wife says we're going to get a new stove with the money we're saving on fuel."

Tommy's in an environment where boats are used every day, so if an engine breaks down when the fish are running or during moose hunting, it's not a small difficulty-it's a major problem.  "These are not toys to us.  They're tools for our way of life.  It looks like somebody finally understands that," added Tommy.

If you'd like more information on Tommy's experience with his Evinrude E-TEC, or would like to speak with him, we'd be happy to set up an interview.  We also have photographs available of Tommy running the Evinrude E-TEC on the Yukon, that we're sure will help tell the story.

Dave Thompson
Director, Communications