Installing an elctric start????

scruffy95 · Aug 9, 2011

Andy, I have a Lancer 25 and up to last summer had a very reliable 9 hp SailMaster. It was an older model and showed it's age but reliably started and ran well. Well over the winter I made the mistake of not taking the motor home for winterizing and storage and came back in March to find that someone had stolen it. I purchased the exact outboard that you mention and debated electric start versus just manual. I have to say that I have been quite pleased with the decision to go electric start. Initially I had to use the ole pull start because my house battery would not start it and it actually pulled much easier than the old one. I just got the starting g battery all wired up this past weekend and I can't tell you how nice it is to reach back hit the start button with no physical exertion and a new level of confidence. Highly recommend the purchase!!!!!

peterbud · Aug 10, 2011

I have the honda 9.9 on oday 222. I love the motor when it gers rough out. The motor is a bit heavy and the stern does sit lowwer than it did. I had tghe 6 hp on the boat and it was fine when the water was relatively calm, but my feeling is that if I need to turn on the motor due tol weather I want it to push me through. I have the electric start and I love it. With regards to the bracket I went with the Garelick bracket and because of the torque it was more reassuring. The old bracket seemed to twist.

scruffy95 · Aug 10, 2011

Andy, I did not change my motor bracket. I believe that the bracket that is on there was overkill anyway and I was not going up significantly on hp (maybe on weight as the tohatsu 9.8 is probably 25 pounds heavier). I had not installed the motor bracket an addition of the PO so I don't know what it is rated for.

Joe11688 · Aug 12, 2011

AndyS22 said:
Well I just bit the bullet and ordered a new Tohatsu 9.8 with the 25" shaft

Andy,
You're going to love the Tohatsu 9.8. My friend Wayne bought one last year and installed it on his Seaward 22. It's a sweet little outboard and when it's running you can hardly hear it. It discharges a noticeable stream of water in an ark, right out the back of the skeg. He has a heavy duty Garelick bracket on his boat but it wasn't built for a four stroke engine, so he's looking into buying a four stroke type bracket for this engine. It's probably a good idea for you to go that same route too and make sure that you have a substantial backup plate inside the transom for this engine not only for the weight, but for the tremendous torque that these engines can develop. These engines are capable of stoving in a sailboat transom on a quick, full acceleration.