need a new outboard

[mdsdurango]

The little Nissan 3.5 two stroke that came with my Montgomery 15 was, as I expected, the weak link to a pleasurable experiance of sailing last week. The motor got me out into the middle of the lake and helped raise sails but once sails were down and I was heading into the dock the boat lost all forward momentum. I checked the gear and I was in forward but the prop would not turn. It's old and oily and I'm honestly not in the mood to repair it. Living in small town Colorado my local replacement option is a Mercury 2.5 four stroke. I don't mind spending the money but I have one pressing question that I can not find an answer to on line and they don't seem to know at the store; Is there a throttle lock? Can I set a speed, lock the motor in place and in RPM, face into the wind and raise sail? I need to keep the boat moving forward and into the wind.
Do any of you own a Mercury 2.5? Can I lock the throttle?
Are there other motors that I should consider even though there is no local service connection?

Thanks,
Mike
Durango CO

 

[Benny17441]

You probably busted the sacrificial pin that engages the prop. The pin is designed to break in order to protect the shafts and gears in case of grounding. Shifting hard between reverse and forward can sometimes do it. They are easy and inexpensive to replace. Do not be so hasty to get rid of a small 2 stroke engine. They are no longer being sold in the US and a lot of sailors seek them because of their light weight to power their dinks. Where can you get a 3HP outboard that weighs under 30 lbs and can be picked up with one hand. Mercury (Tohatsu) makes a good outboard and if you want to go to a 4 stroke I would suggest you stick with a brand that has representation and service in your area. I'm sure the motor will have friction locks for both the leg and the throtle but let the retailer demonstrate it to you so you may gauge their expertise.

 

[Merlin Clark]

Have you seen online outboards? Good prices and free shipping.

 

[Douglast]

I often find that the prop torque makes it sometimes difficult to keep into the wind even with outboard in position...my outboard has enough resistance to stay straight and I love using my tiller handle adjustable lock which they sell in the store on this site for a low price..


http://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?2944

 

[walt]

This doesnt regard the outboard.. but I will second what Douglast said about the tiller lock. I single hand a 15 foot real tippy sailboat often and to raise the main sail, Ill leave the trolling motor on at a low speed but most important is to have the tiller not flopping around. There is another product called I believe a tiller clutch that looks like it works well and is well made.

Another thought... is that if you have a roller furling on the jib or if the jib is easier to get up than the main, you could possibly set the jib up first and then get the boat into "hove to" (search on this forum or google) which basically stalls the boat in the wind and mostly works with the jib, keel and rudder. Outboard is not involved. I have not tried this for putting up the main but I use this all the time on a larger sailboat for reefing the main. You can be in fairly high wind, have the boat in hove to and have a fairly relaxed time going through all process of reefing the main sail.

I have a kludge experiment tiller setup at the moment but it works well enough that I haven’t changed it. It is simply a rope with a short piece of bungee sown in at one end that wraps once around the tiller handle and has a cam cleat at the other end. The cleat and bungee allows me to set the tension on the rope. When I’m sailing, Ill set it loose, don’t even know its there. If I have to leave the tiller, tighten it up at the cleat. I can still move the tiller when it’s tight but there is a lot of friction which keeps the tiller in place. I’ve seen lots of ways to solve this particular problem.

 

[Stu Jackson]

One of the things I found that worked on our outboards, to counteract the prop walk, was to simply slightly adjust the outboard to balance the tiller first before doing any maneuvers. Just start motoring at the speed you want, release the tiller and adjust the motor to keep the boat going straight. While we had a tiller extender I could use to hold the tiller, doing it the way i just described was a lot easier.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

Hook a long bungee between tiller and boom. Point boat into wind and go hoist main(with mainsheet free). As the main swings back and forth, the tiller will move, and automatically apply correct helm to keep the boat head to wind.

Works while motoring slowly ahead, or just drifting with no motor.


Sorry no one answered your question though- unfamiliar with the merc 4 stroke 2.5

 

[mdsdurango]

Hook a long bungee between tiller and boom. Point boat into wind and go hoist main(with mainsheet free). As the main swings back and forth, the tiller will move, and automatically apply correct helm to keep the boat head to wind.

Works while motoring slowly ahead, or just drifting with no motor.


Sorry no one answered your question though- unfamiliar with the merc 4 stroke 2.5

Apparently no one here has much experiance with the merc 2.5.
I will try this bungee chord trick.
I do have a tiller clutch, I just don't have an outboard I can trust.
I am also taking the advice of the poster who recommended I don't give up on the two stroke. I'm not much of a mechanic but I am preparing right now to pretend to be one and see what I can find.
Thanks to all,
Mike

 

[topcat0399]

Hook a long bungee between tiller and boom. Point boat into wind and go hoist main(with mainsheet free). As the main swings back and forth, the tiller will move, and automatically apply correct helm to keep the boat head to wind.

Works while motoring slowly ahead, or just drifting with no motor.



I find this post to be......interesting


Sorry no one answered your question though- unfamiliar with the merc 4 stroke 2.5

I've only owned 1 outboard so far and it has a screw to apply drag on how easily the motor turns. From no drag to locked down anywhere in its arc. I take it that's not a common feature.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

Both of my motors have locks for turning- but the poster was asking about a THROTTLE lock, not a turning lock

 

[topcat0399]

Both of my motors have locks for turning- but the poster was asking about a THROTTLE lock, not a turning lock

:bang:

 

[Ward H]

i've had two OBs. Yamaha and Tohatsu. Both had throttle tensioners on them. I kinda thought that was a standard.
The 2013 2.5hp Tohatsu is listed as having a throttle tensioner.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

:bang:

 

[dscribner]

Mike,

You're a lake sailor, correct? I'd save your money and get a nice trolling motor and good sized battery. It would probably weight a little more but at a fraction of the price, quiet as a mouse and no emissions. Plus, no spark plugs, no oil, no gas, no tune-ups . . . I use a small trolling motor on my dinghy and it does more than I need. There is also a product out there called a Torqu-edo (sp) which is an electric outboard. Costs about the same as comparable gas outboard but without the maintenance. Food for thought.

 

[SchwarckT]

Maybe you could go motorless? I just use a set of oars on my 15' daysailer.