I now use a Merc 6 hp (2 stroke) long shaft on my O'Day 25 shoal draft centerboard boat. At times in previous years I have used a Honda 7.5 (4-stroke: probably 20 lbs. heavier than the Merc) long shaft and an aircooled Tomos 5 hp (2-stroke: probably 20 lbs. lighter than the Merc) long shaft. All have been used with the Garelick (sp?) OB motor bracket that, as I recall from memory, takes up to 8 hp motors. The springs have long since lost their oomph, and they never had enough to lift the motors anyway. Only the Tomos was light enough to lift easily "by hand". (I gave up on that one because it vibrated like crazy; it's a single-cylinder motor. The others are twin-cylinder and vibrate much less.) I came up with a nice scheme to lift a heavy motor. Directly above the bracket I attached a spare bronze pulley/block to the horizontal stainless steel tubing that makes up the top of the stern railing. I lashed it in place with stout nylon cord. Through this block I run a 3/8 (maybe 1/2) inch line; at the motor end of the line is a loop that I put around the aluminum "tang" that needs to be moved back and forth to let the bracket "come up". I put a couple of turns of the other (lazy) end of the line around the jib winch and pull it tight, holding it with my hand. I then stand up on the cockpit seat on that side and, while holding the line tight, stand on the taught run of line between the winch and the brass block on the stern railing. (It greatly helps to be wearing deck shoes.) In one fell swoop the "tang" moves a bit and up comes the motor. It's basically my body weight, as I stand on the line, that lifts the motor. No back strain or arm strain needed! Depending on the precise angle the line makes with the OB bracket, you may have to hold coax the "tang" into a "locked" position to keep the motor up when you take your weight off the line. With a little practice it works every time in just a few seconds. It even did this with the Honda, which must have weight close to 100 lbs. Just make sure that pulley/block you use is strong enough, well enough lashed to the stern railing, and the "lifting line" you use is stout enough. By the way, the 6 hp Merc provides enough power for my needs (bay sailing and Long Island Sound sailing, mostly).