Looking for a new motor

Jun 1, 2004
243
Hunter 26 Lake Pueblo Colorado
We have a hunter 26 with a Honda 9.9 Power thrust, 4stroke with the power tilt an charging option. Just to heavy at 125lbs+ to leave on the transom. We love the power tilt feature, both as a safety feature an a convenience, no leaning over etc. BUT we hav both recently retired And would like to take the boat to visit other lakes. I have reached the age where the Honda is just to much weight to carry from the truck and lift up an mount on the transom and I think to much weight to leave on the transom when towing long distance.
So we are in the market for a new outboand. We hav a Tohatsu 2stroke 6hp for our dingy, light an efficient an always a pleasure to start. I know I hav read about a Tohatsu being used on other 26/260s but not sure as to the HP etc. What would you recommend or what would you do different? Thanks Chris n Debz
 
Nov 26, 2012
1,653
Hunter 34 Berkeley
I suppose it depends on how much power you want. If you are wanting to pull in and out of the slip then 6hp will do it. Two stroke is lighter. You might consider an electric outboard. No fuss. No muss. A 5hp 4-stroke will weigh about 50 lbs
 
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LloydB

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Jan 15, 2006
806
Macgregor 22 Silverton
I've got the same problem with my Mac, actually I guess the Mac's got the same problem with me. I tried taking the motor off and carting it to the pickup with a handcart when transporting but it wasn't very convenient or easy. I've not thought it through yet but I I think that I can build a temporary gantry for the cockpit to lift the motor off the stern into the cockpit for transportation. My head wants to use the boom for that but I don't keep my mast up in storage at home and I could throw a separate gantry into the back of the pickup and not have to carry it with me in the boat. The other problem I have with the heavier motor is that it negatively effects the tongue weight on the trailer causing me to attempt baggage repositioning inside the boat when I leave the motor on. I have a separate 12 Volt battery for the power tilt and electric starter that I leave near the center of gravity making it unnecessary to move it during transportation although I have moved the fuel tank to the pick up. I favor electric but until Tesla comes up with a 18 hour capacitor that can power my electric motor upriver for eight hours I think I'll stick with gas.
 
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Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
Go find a good used two stroke 8 hp.

The key is to keep the motor from bouncing up and down so tie it off to prevent that.
 
Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
I have a 9.9 that's rather heavy. When trailering I put the mount in the highest position it will go to get the motor closer to the transom and then use a ratchet strap from the stern rail to the cavitation plate to prevent bouncing
 
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