Best outboard under $1200

[Mougly]

Hello all

I am glad to say that I've sold my old Honda 7.5 which was giving me some troubles last season and am now shopping for a more reliable motor for my 23'Sonic (3400lbs).
I've been looking at a Tohatsu 5 or 6 HP motor but by the time I get them in Canada they are a above my budget, I've also looked at some Chinese made motors which are a little less...Can anyone here recommend a good motor for under $1200 and also would a 5 HP be enough to get the my boat moving?

Please note that I was never able to use the Honda at more than 2/3rds throttle as it caused the bow of the boat to lift up and in turn cause more resistance with out increasing speed.

 

[MrUnix]

For reliability and simplicity, you can't beat a British Seagull.. a 5Hp Seagull will push a barge.. (not very fast though!). They are hard to find though, since they stopped making them in 1996 and most people who have one (myself included) don't want to give them up. Great for getting into and out of harbors and pretty much impossible to kill.. however, if you are looking for something to motor-sail with, then look elsewhere.

Cheers,
Brad

 

[jibes138]

The new four strokes are expensive and very sensitive to fuel and in particular any water in the fuel. They are amazingly quiet however and that is great. I know you can get a 3.5 around 900.00 so I'd guess you can get a 5 for the price you want. Look in Defender in the boat and motor section. I have recently shopped around and there are still some leftover two strokes around you might get for less money. I saw a 25 two stroke the other day and Defender was advertising an 8 HP two stroke. I suggest you think about service though. You want something that a local guy can repair and you can get parts fo like impellers and spark plugs, gaskets for the head. so it might be better to buy from a local dealer. Otherwise check e-bay.
Once you get a sailboat up to hull speed your will not get much more with more HP so what you experienced was a simple fact of displacement hulls speed limitations. In order to go faster you need to lift the boat up onto the wave created by the bow and then plane. For a boat that is not designed to plane this takes a huge amount of energy, kind of like the amount of energey in a 15 foot wave that makes you start surfing down it on a run. So the 7.5 was just a little over powered, a 5 for your size boat should push it around fine but you might want to consider a little extra power to power through chop on a rough day.

 

[LANCE ON CLOUD NINE]

You can currently get a 5 Horse Tohatsu for 1220.00 with free shipping. I use one on an O'Day 23 and love it! Yes, they demand fresh fuel. But they are so quiet and easy to start that I smile every time I use it. http://internetoutboards.com

 

[RECESS]

Lance FTW. I had to bookmark that page just in case. Damn nice prices.

 

[Mougly]

Thank you all for the information, I am leaning towards the 5HP Tohatsu since the 6HP will be another $150.

I am wondering though about the difference between a 5 and a 6 HP..it the extra 1HP really make a difference?

also does anyone know much about the Briggs & Stratton 5hp air cooled motor.

 

[LANCE ON CLOUD NINE]

I am no expert- just chatting here. But if it were me, I would get the 5. The 5 and 6 are the exact same displacement. So really the 6 would be just like a 5 with the throttle open a little more. If someone were to have a 23' sailboat that they did a TON of motoring, I could see using an 8 or 10 horse- because they are two cylinder and are smoother when run hard. But for someone who is more a sailor, the 5 is a perfect solution- the boat is happier with less weight hanging out, easier on the transom,. far easier for one person to mount, sips fuel.
As far as the BS engine- not really designed for salt water, much louder- more like buying a cheap import tool- will get the job done, but you will never enjoy pride of ownership. Just my thoughts. Good luck. Out.

 

[sailingdog]

I'd point out that the 4, 5 and 6 HP models of Tohatsu, Nissan, Mercury are actually all the same engine block with different carbs or carb jets IIRC.... I would recommend getting the four and trying it... if it doesn't work , you can always upgrade the carb and get the 5/6 HP out of it... but the four has the lowest cost of entry and may do the job.

Thank you all for the information, I am leaning towards the 5HP Tohatsu since the 6HP will be another $150.

I am wondering though about the difference between a 5 and a 6 HP..it the extra 1HP really make a difference?

also does anyone know much about the Briggs & Stratton 5hp air cooled motor.

 

[tommays]

The 5Hp with the HT prop will blow the doors off the 6hp

http://www.internetoutboards.com/partdetail.asp?id=719

BEST 100 bucks you can spend

 

[LANCE ON CLOUD NINE]

Yes, the 4 costs less initially, but comes with only an internal tank that only holds about a third gallon of fuel- perfect for a short range dingy- but causes many inconvienient fill ups for a cruiser. The 3.5 gallon tank that comes with the 5 horse will run for 6-8 hours. Ok no more hair splittin', let's all go sailing! Thanks for the tip tommays!

 

[RECESS]

One consideration when splitting hairs between one hp higher is where do you sail from or put in from? Do you have a strong tide or current that you must initially motor through? That one extra hp may not matter when you are up to speed, but it may matter when going through a current with a cross wind.

 

[Mougly]

One consideration when splitting hairs between one hp higher is where do you sail from or put in from? Do you have a strong tide or current that you must initially motor through? That one extra hp may not matter when you are up to speed, but it may matter when going through a current with a cross wind.

Currently I sail on lake Simcoe which is about 30x40 miles and occasionally head out on Georgian Bay on Lake Heron in Canada.

There is no tide to worry about although from time to time we my experience a storm that makes the lake very choppy with waves up to 6', but most of the time it's not bad.

I think I will go with the 5HP Which is also lighter than the 4. now I have to find a US dealer who will ship to Canada since most of them do not and the price Canadian dealers is about 30% higher, not sure why since the Canadian dollar is on par with the US.

Can anyone recommend a dealer in Detroit who may have these motors?

 

[Sumner]

We bought a used 5 HP Nissan 4 stroke (same as the Tohatsu) for about $600 for the dinghy and as a backup for the MacGregor 26 and got it in the long shaft for that reason.

The first time we ever sailed the Honda on the Mac wouldn't start and we put the Nissan on and used it for 5 days. It worked great. Pushed the boat into a 20+ mph wind one night back to where we had been anchored at 4+ knots at 1/2 throttle no problem. I feel that it will be plenty of outboard for you.

We are in the process of ordering a new 9.8 HP Tohatsu next month with electric start as Ruth can't start either outboard now with the pull start and we feel that having her be able to start the outboard is a crucial safety factor for us that we don't want to be without.

c ya,

Sum

Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID
Our Mac Pages
Mac Links

 

[larryw]

Mine; had a 7.5 Honda for my C-22, great engine, plenty of torque, sipped fuel, had 2hp Honda for the small dink, again, great engine. Next dink had a 8hp Nissan 2-stroke. Best combo of weight, power, reliability, ease of use, remote fuel tank, etc. Put a Dole-Fin on it, it would plane the dink with two adults and a full ice chest. Kind of sorry I sold that dink/engine.

 

[Brian M H23]

I've got a 60 lb trolling motor on my 3000 lb Hunter 23 - It's surely not the most powerful thing in the world (~~ 1.5 hp ) but it easily will push me at 3 knots, which is plent for getting in and out of the river. It and a 220 Amp-Hour wet cell cost me all of $240. Goes 2.5 knots at 26 amp draw (3 knots needs 45 amps) , giving me a range of more than 10 miles with a big safety factor. I would glady buy extra batteries and larger electric instead of a gas engine for a daysailor. The convenience of just "twist and go" , moving weight from the transom to the bilge and the silence are well worth it. In very light wind, the motor on low provides just enough boat speed to pretend i am still sailing As for extended motoring (more than a few miles), give me a gas engine.

Or maybe a generator?

 

[Mougly]

Unfortunately I have to stick with a gas motor, from time to time when I need to get across the lake but there is no wind to even move the sails or during a storm when I need to get back to shelter a small trolling motor will not be enough.
As much as I hate to spend the money on a motor instead of a new sail, when it comes to safety having a good reliable motor is very important to me.

As I mentioned in my last post now I am just searching for a dealer in Detroit or others who will ship to Canada.

 

[Mougly]

Thank you all for the advice, I ended up purchasing a 5HP Tohatsu from a US dealer and had a friend pick it up for me.
It was a good price 1219 and even included shipping.

 

[Indysailor]

Let us know how it goes

I'm also in the market for a new motor and would like to know how it goes with the 5hp. For my purposes, I'm thinking that's plenty of motor to get my O23 in and out of the marina, but I'm wondering about those lazy summer days when the wind dies on our inland lake.

 

[Sumner]

I'm also in the market for a new motor and would like to know how it goes with the 5hp. For my purposes, I'm thinking that's plenty of motor to get my O23 in and out of the marina, but I'm wondering about those lazy summer days when the wind dies on our inland lake.

Like was mentioned above re-prop it with a lower pitch prop and keep the one that comes with it for a spare. We did that also and it did make a big difference.

Sum

Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID

Our Mac Pages

MacGregor/Venture Links

 

[peptobysmol]

THE worst day I had sailing (I actually never got to sail that day!) was when I used my 54 lb trolling motor. My inexperience paved the way for my bad day but a gas motor would have avoided it all together.
The wind was blowing at 20 knts down the channel to the marina bay - made that leg quite easily. Turned in the marina bay to check upwind performance and did fine. Got outside of the marina turned upwind and as I was trying to raise the main, the drag from the wind was too much for my poor trolling motor. The boat quickly fell off to a run. A couple other factors, like a topping lift attached to the backstay and a subsequent hooking of the backstay block by a S hook on the end of the boom sealed my bad day. After finally getting my main down the hard way, I turned back into the marina, I was unable to even get the boat turned to windward due to the lack of power. My rudder was ineffective and I was at the mercy of the wind. FORTUNATELY, I was able to pump just enough to get to a fishing dock. Otherwise I'm sure I would have grounded or put it on the concrete pier. (I wasn't savey enough to think about running to the front and dropping anchor, but don't think I could have in time anyway).

On a mild to moderate wind day the trolling motor was Great! Whisper quiet, no smell, green energy (ok, so its charged by a Coal fired power plant...) and moved the boat along fine. What happens when your mild/moderate wind day startes blowing and you have a trolling motor when you are out? Gives me the shakes reliving that "bad" day of "sailing"

I've got a 60 lb trolling motor on my 3000 lb Hunter 23 - It's surely not the most powerful thing in the world (~~ 1.5 hp ) but it easily will push me at 3 knots, which is plent for getting in and out of the river. It and a 220 Amp-Hour wet cell cost me all of $240. Goes 2.5 knots at 26 amp draw (3 knots needs 45 amps) , giving me a range of more than 10 miles with a big safety factor. I would glady buy extra batteries and larger electric instead of a gas engine for a daysailor. The convenience of just "twist and go" , moving weight from the transom to the bilge and the silence are well worth it. In very light wind, the motor on low provides just enough boat speed to pretend i am still sailing As for extended motoring (more than a few miles), give me a gas engine.

Or maybe a generator?