dingy engine

[chuckhrbek]

I have an 8 ft. fiberglass, 3 seat, round nose dingy. Anyone know the minimum/maximum h.p. engine to use? Thanks

 

[FastOlson]

My SWAG is about 1.5 to 2 hp. Try to keep the weight on the stern as low as possible. If you have good charging capability on the mother ship, go electric. I have friends that have done that for many years/decades and seem to really like it.

 

[Tim R.]

I would use a lightweight 4hp 2 stroke, 2 cylinder Johnson or Evinrude. They weigh about 35#. Late 90s and early 2000s models.

 

[RichH]

Minimum HP to make your dinghy 'plane' with two persons (340lb.) will be approx. 8 HP, ~6HP if only one person (170lb.)

2 HP will 'move' such a dink around 'nicely'.
The probable 'best' 2 Hp OB ever made was the 2HP, 2-stroke Evinrude or Johnson from the 1970-80s .... and you still see them on Ebay. And such still have active parts availability from Bombardier Industries and their parts distributors. Weight is about 15 lb. easy to maintain/fix.

 

[dscribner]

There should be a plate on it that gives the max no of people, weight and HP. My dinghy has a 3HP max and it is a lot like yours based on the brief description.

 

[Ross]

A man at oars is good for no more than 1/10 HP. The smallest outboard engine you can find will do very nicely unless you are in a hurry.