I love old two strokes too. Had a lot of great memories, jon boating as a little kid with my trusty Merc 7.5, waterskiing all summer during high school behind my beloved Glastron with Merc 65, fishing and diving in the 80s off of my Mako 21 with 200 Yammy... Heck, even the Great Harbour charter chase boat was a 15' Mirage with 50hp Yamaha two-stroke. There are a lot of benefits to the light weight, simplicity and ruggedness of a vintage two-stroke. In fact, about a year ago, I GAVE my 1985 Suzuki 8hp to some young friends here at the marina to push their little RIB dink along. I had not started the engine since 1997. It started on the second pull and still runs perfectly.
However. That outboard - and a Mariner 15 on another couple's RIB are the only two-strokes in our liveaboard dinghy fleet. Guess what? Nobody else wants to ride in those boats or even be downwind of them. Your clothes always end up stinking of two-stroke exhaust! I know some of you are going to get all indignant and say, "MY properly tuned two-stroke outboard doesn't stink!" Yeah, well, it's kind of like smoking; if you smoke, you don't notice the smell on your clothes. We tend to forget the way things were having been spared of them for awhile. Have you been behind a beautiful, perfectly tuned vintage car lately? The exhaust smell will choke you.
Look, I'm not a rabid environmentalist, but I believe 4-stroke outboards (or Etec two-strokes) are a better option for the planet than a two-stroke that pumps unburned gas and oil into the exhaust, into the water, into the air, and onto your clothes. The little 4-strokes are getting better and better. Obviously, using ethanol-free gas is a great way to avoid a lot of problems with the carbureted models - but, from what I understand, the fuel injected outboards have been a huge improvement. So, either buy an old stinky two-smoker, or embrace the new technology. That's just my two cents.
ERIC