Advice on Outboard motor

[bikermedic58]

Hello to all. I am VERY new to sailing but I have purchased an O' Day 16 ft Daysailer.

I can't seem to find what the shaft length is that I need for the motor. Specs say max HP is around seven. The transom height looks as if it will take a short shaft motor and this would give me alot more options on the used out board market. I want to keep motor weight down but have enough power to manage most tide and channel situations so I am wondering about minimum horsepower to do that. I am thinking 3-5 hp. Two stroke doesn't bother me as I am dealing with a chainsaw and logs for home heating.

I am good with tools and repairs for an older motor as long as I can still buy the parts as new motors around 5 hp are more then I bought the boat for. Are there any brands that do not have a good support network for repair parts?

The ideal motor would have a DC charging system as I Intend to trailer to launch sites and spend long weekends on it. ( yes that will be roughing it but I am a retired Army Combat Medic and am use to a sleeping bag and armor plate for a mattress.

I also am thinking of using just a gel 12 volt battery and rigging the boat with LED running lights similar to what Kayakers use.

Primarily I will be sailing alone as my wife has health issues that make buying a larger boat with sleeping berths not an option, at least for now. This is also the reason to add the kicker motor as it can be alot to sail off the ramp single handed and there are places I must use a motor to clear a harbor and moorings.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated, I have a great sense of humour and already know I should ' run away screaming'. I can't even fill a tea cup with terminology but my enthusiasm is where it should be and then there's the song...'fools rush in where angels fear to tread'. Thanks for reading this. Larry

 

[Jonrod222]

I have a 77' daysailer II with a 78' Evinrude 4 horse. It still runs and looks brand new although parts are getting hard to find. 4 horse power is plenty, and the two strokes are light and easy to handle. I haven't looked in a few years, but the small motors that had a charging system also had electric start, and 8 horse was the smallest to offer that. They also weighed around 100 pounds. One of the manufactuers might have had a 6 horse that had electric start.

 

[emergpa1]

i have a 9 hp nissan two stroke. it supplies plenty of punch for my oday 26. as for needeing a charging system, i don't have one on my boat. You will be just using your battery for lights anyway. you will cook with a gas stove and radios can come with their own batteries.
don't forget about candles and you can look up a neat gimballed oil lamp from plath and weems on http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|65136|65391|320391&id=196055 if you want to get fancy. So if you forget the charging system, you can save alot of money on your used motor.
Keith

 

[emergpa1]

P.S. Here's some reading material you will need.
1. Sailing for Dummies
2. This Old Boat, Don Casey
3. Good old boat (magazine subscription). With this basic library, you should be good to go.
A great website for how to tie knots: http://www.animatedknots.com/indexboating.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

 

[LordNelson]

i have a honda 5 hp on my oday 20 and it pushes it right along. i would probably not go over 5 hp on a day sailor and a two stroke would be lighter. if you go with a 4 stroke and use a bracket make sure it's designed and installed for torque and weight of a 4 stroke.

why don't you look into one of the small solar panels to recharge your battery.

 

[Shoaldrafter]

oil lamps

i have a 9 hp nissan two stroke. it supplies plenty of punch for my oday 26. as for needeing a charging system, i don't have one on my boat. You will be just using your battery for lights anyway. you will cook with a gas stove and radios can come with their own batteries.
don't forget about candles and you can look up a neat gimballed oil lamp from plath and weems on http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|65136|65391|320391&id=196055 if you want to get fancy. So if you forget the charging system, you can save alot of money on your used motor.
Keith

It was said, "you can look up a neat gimballed oil lamp from plath and weems on http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?...0391&id=196055 if you want to get fancy"

Very fancy and nautical. Expense? Some people do not pay attention to that detail. See:

http://forums.oday.sailboatowners.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=27302&d=1258379000

Imagine spending like that. Consider that some Saudi princes have gold plated bathroom fixtures too.

Ed K
26

 

[Sunbird22358]

I started out with a short-shaft (standard 15") Johnson 2.3 HP (1992) on my DS II. The short-shaft will work, but long-shaft (20") is better, that said... I used the short-shaft for almost 4 seasons before replacing it with a 2001 Johnson 4hp long-shaft. It is very hard to find any outboards under 4hp with a battery-charging coil, and even those 4hp models are in the 45-55# range. I'd skip the charging coil and use one of those portable powerpack/jump-start units as your battery to power lights and such, then just bring it ashore to charge. If you are keeping the boat on a trailer in your yard, then a small (I have a DC-1 size) deep-cycle battery will be plenty of capacity for your needs, and can be recharged easily at home. I don't have a charge coil on my motor, I bring the battery ashore when needed to charge (1-2 times each season).

As far as horsepower, I would say if you are not looking to power long distances or fighting strong wind/currents, you might be able to use a 2hp outboard. The old Johnson/Evinrude 2hp (1972-90) models are great and only weigh 24#, the old Mariner, Yamaha, Suzuki 2hp was also a good motor (22#) the newer Johnson/Evinrude/Mercury/Nissan/Tohatsu/Mariner (all were basically same motor, different labels!) 2.0/2.2/2.3/2.5 and 3.0/3.3/3.5 models (1991-2005) were pretty good and very stingy on gas, they do vibrate more than the older J/E 2hp and I'd test run them on the boat first..... my 2.3 hp Johnson would bog down a bit when running over 3/4 throttle due (I assume) to having an too high pitch to the prop and they didn't make a lower pitch prop (well, 2 different pitches were available, but neither really worked best). The 3.3 (or any of it's cousins) might work better i nthat respect and some of those models were available with a neutral clutch (GREAT FEATURE!) and long-shaft.

Those J/E 2hp motors appear regularly on eBay in various levels of condition, prices are usually in the $100-400 range. With care very little goes wrong with any of the above mentioned outboards, a new waterpump impeller every few years, maybe a new fuel filter, change the lower gear oil periodically. I'd carry a spare sparkplug (and Wrench!) and a few basic tools. The newer motors mentioned do have tricky carburators, and may not like any dirt in the fuel (not hard to add a filter to the line).

 

[Tracy23758]

In looking at old Mariner ads I've seen online, they all seemed to have a 2 or 4hp motor mounted on them. The two horse is probably OK if tides aren't a problem, but for high tidal force areas I would go with 4 or even 6hp for a small daysailer. I have overkill on my Mariner with an 8hp fourstroke. Power to spare, which I know is there when the tide starts to run 10knots which is not unusual around here. The fourstroke is very quiet and runs on about a beercan of fuel an hour if I'm just dinking around at 3 or 4 knots. Go for the longshaft and forget charging capability,there are so many great alternatives now.

 

[Tracy23758]

Alot of the used J/E 4 - 6hp two strokes I've seen were suffering overheating problems. The owners saw signs of lack of cooling water flow, so assuming a bad waterpump they replaced the impeller. The problem was still there so the owner was fed up and afraid of a bad,expensive top end problem. So they were dumping the outboard on the market for cheap. The outboard would start fine for showing, and idle real nice long enough to sell the unit. But put it under load or let it idle a little longer and it would overheat. The problem was the raw water delivery pipe from the pump to the top end. They would rot out and interrupt the flow to the head. It is a pain to repair so it is often easier to get a new leg or one only used in fresh water. I've made homemade repairs on them that lasted a few years but it was such a pain in the butt to do. So be careful buying a used unit! Try to see it used under real time conditions if you can!

 

[Sunbird22358]

On a Day Sailer II a 2 hp wil lbe plenty of power most of the time, 3 is better, but a suitably propped 2 will usually be all you will need. I have a 4hp mostly for the neutral clutch, remote fuel tank, and the long-shaft. Some owners prefer a built-in fuel tank on the motor and I wouldn't disagree for most short duration powering (integral tank on my motor would probably run for over 1 hour, maybe close to 2?), but on my boat I have a nice fitted cover (Sunbrella) and found that the sun beating down on the covered motor (the fact that mine is a 2001 Johnson that came in white or black, and mine is black, might have an effect as well!) caused the fuel in the tank to expand and it eventually blew out the o-ring in the tank vent causing fuel to leak out and collect inside the canvas cover. I also like the "big-boat" delusions of having that remote tank! If I stowed the outboard in the cuddy (with vents) or brought it ashore during the week, I might have continued to use the built-in tank (my motor has both) and carried a small 1-gallon fuel can with spare gas.
4 Hp is enough to get my DS II up over 6 knots, although I rarely run full blast, prefering to run at about 2/3 throttle which pushes the boat around 4 knots +/-. Besides..... at full blast I kick up one heck of a wake! I might have prefered a 3hp, but Johnson wasn't making one at that time and even when they were it only came in short-shaft model with only the built-in tank (shaft extension and possibly the external tank might have been available dealer-installed).