Need opinions on outboards for my dinghy...

Project_Mayhem · Jan 18, 2026

You're likely going to have to look away while flipping it around to reverse. I also imagine that unless you are fast and power down to neutral, you'd end up a bit off course

dlochner · Jan 18, 2026

Bewary of very low priced OBs, many of them don't exist but the "dealer" will take your money and disappear.

If you are lucky and actually get an OB, then you may have difficulty getting parts or service.

Timm R Oday25 · Jan 18, 2026

There a a number of You Tubers that have bought these . There are a similar of common themes . Scarcity of parts and dealer support appear to be the biggest drawback . Experience has lead me to believe you get what you pay for .
I used to buy motors based on price alone . Now ,price alone isn't the determining factor .

Rich Stidger · Jan 18, 2026

I have used a Nissan 3.5hp with F-N shift since 2006 with no real problem. If you shift into neutral, then spin the engine, and then shift, you can easily control the direction.
Most times I can just put the dinghy off and then shift when the bow is pointed correctly.

Davidasailor26 · Jan 18, 2026

We used a 3.5hp Johnson with just forward and neutral for many years. I never minded it at all. Just plan ahead a little so you can coast to where you want. Having said that, I don’t know anything about the reliability or parts availability for off-brands.

colemj · Jan 18, 2026

I used to have an old Johnson Seahorse 2hp with no gears. Direct drive, prop always spinning. It wasn't difficult to learn how to constantly spin it around to maneuver fwd/rev and to shut it down to coast to a stop. However, I would NOT want to be doing this with a 6-9hp motor. I think you would find yourself in trouble with that - hitting things, falling out of the boat, etc.

Mark

jssailem · Jan 18, 2026

I had a Mariner 2cycle 3 hp outboard on a 15 ft trailer sailboat. It worked great. You throttle down spin the motor and increase the throttle. Suddenly you’re going in reverse in a 15ft boat. For a dingy it will work, assuming you’re not trying to get the dinghy on plane and zipping across the water.

A 2cycke need to have oil mixed into gas. And they are loud.

I’d be looking at electric as it is an interesting alternative.

Stu Jackson · Jan 18, 2026

colemj said:
I used to have an old Johnson Seahorse 2hp with no gears. Direct drive, prop always spinning. It wasn't difficult to learn how to constantly spin it around to maneuver fwd/rev and to shut it down to coast to a stop. However, I would NOT want to be doing this with a 6-9hp motor. I think you would find yourself in trouble with that - hitting things, falling out of the boat, etc.

Mark

Mine was a 1.2 hp Johnson, but O agree with Mark. Great engine, but anything bigger might be asking for trouble. Great fun when you learn how to use it.

Captain Larry-DH · Jan 18, 2026

@JavaMan I think you'll get better quality advice if you ask about a specific engine you're considering.

shemandr · Jan 19, 2026

I think for dinks you need neutral. You can start and warm up the motor without spinning the mothership around its anchor. You'll have time to load the dink without having to cast off right away. And with the motor running for a bit you can be more confident that it won't stall. All in all just a better ride and worth the extra cost. Reverse is pretty cool too if you're trying to leave a jammed up dingy dock.

Project_Mayhem · Jan 19, 2026

jssailem said:
I’d be looking at electric as it is an interesting alternative.

Near zero maintenance except for a new battery every few years.

If you do go with a two stroke, go with a quality oil. Penzoil that's available at Autozone and Walmart is garbage. So much smoke! I think I have Mercury's oil ATM because I got a really good deal on 8 gallons of it. It's decent.
Amsoil was by far the best I've used. It's like a concentrate. You use less and the bottles take up less space.

Once you get a two stroke running well, the biggest maintenance item is the impeller. I changed mine every 2-3 years with an OEM one

marcham · Jan 19, 2026

We had a Merc 2 stroke with only fwd / neutral. It could get the dinghy on plane with only one person onboard. Super simple, super reliable. Wish we still had it, because it was LIGHT.

Adding reverse adds almost 8-10 lbs to the outboard (compared to similar model without it). If you're shopping for outboards, you'll find that many manufacturers use the same block for 2 different HP ratings. In which case, always go for the higher HP rating option.

I've been very happy with Mercury as of late. I'd say their corrosion protection is superior to Yamaha. Yes, made by Tohatsu (using the same block / case). Tohatsu has the newest factory, with the latest/greatest machining equipment and thus the best tolerances / precision.

We took a hard look at electric a few years ago. It wasn't a good fit for us as we sometimes go exploring for 1 hr + or use the dinghy to get supplies / fuel (did a few 15-20NM jaunts last summer). Some electrics will get you on plane, most won't. 15 L of gas will go a long ways. With electric, you'll be charging daily. Do you have the solar to keep up with that demand?

If it were me, I'd get a used Yam / Merc over a new cheap chinese Amazon motor.

We never had any issues spinning the motor instead of using reverse. Our throttle was on the case, not on the tiller, also not an issue. It's a dinghy, how hard can it be to dock ?

Richard19068 · Jan 19, 2026

Since you asked for opinions:

When I got my Nisssan/Tohatsu 3.5HP 2 stroke about 15 years ago there was a choice between just forward or forward and neutral. For some reason I thought I would really need the neutral option.

It turns out I almost never shift into neutral except for running in a rinse tank. When approaching a dock or boat in forward at idle there is so little thrust it's not a big factor. You just turn off the engine at the appropriate time and drift in.

If you have to reverse to get out of a crowded dock spinning the engine around is very easy, the only problem being that the tell tale water is then flowing into the dinghy rather than overboard.

I can't imagine a scenario where you would need to "throw it into" reverse, in an emergency just press the kill button.

No need to start and warm up in neutral. Just start in forward when you are ready and head off at idle speed until warmed up.

For me the biggest difference, that I didn't realize at the time, is that the water pump impeller for the model without the shifter is accessible right in front of the propeller and very easy to change. The impeller on the model with the shifter is in an upper housing that for replacement requires you to remove and replace the lower unit and fiddle with and align the shift linkage and water supply tube which I find a big PITA which deters me from replacing the impeller as often as i should.

If I was to do it again I would get the model that doesn't have the shifter. The 3.5 is very easy to start in gear. A 6 or 9 might be a little different.

Project_Mayhem · Jan 19, 2026

JavaMan said:
I can find the 6-9 hp that I need/want in this sort of configuration for just over $500 (sometimes with additional for shipping). I also seem to find that the only people making them with F-N-R gears are the big makers, and they also come with way bigger prices.

Remember, Chinese specs aren't always accurate

Davidasailor26 · Jan 19, 2026

JavaMan said:
Anyone have any thoughts on the ones that are advertized as "Air cooled"... I am fairly skeptical on those myself.

They used to be *very* noisy by comparison. I don’t know if they’ve improved that at all.

Project_Mayhem · Jan 20, 2026

I'd buy a air cooled if it was made by a major manufacturer but not a Chinese one due to parts availability. On the other hand you could try ordering a carb kit before buying the motor to see if parts are available. I did that with a wireless relay module. It was a bit of a struggle with the language barrier but they are sending me a cover for free. I haven't even bought their product yet!

In your first post you mention you're looking at 6-9hp but now you said how much you miss your old 3hp. How much power are you looking for?

Project_Mayhem · Jan 20, 2026

JavaMan said:
That's an interesting strategy to gather some important info... I'll keep that in mind.

Well, TBH, it's not the 3hp so much as the days when I had it - I was about 12 - no real responsibility, other than riding my paper route daily (which is how I paid for it), school, and chores.

my last dinghy had an older (70's era) Johnson 6. Too much was going wrong with that for me to keep it. So here I am, looking for a new replacement - and saving up, since I'm now retired on a fixed income.

Are you still looking at 6-9hp? Is portability a factor or soon to be as you get older?

Electric might be less expensive in the long run. I would love to hear some opinions on this

Need opinions on outboards for my dinghy...

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SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

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