need advice about new dinghy outboard

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richk

.
Jan 24, 2007
495
Marlow-Hunter 37 Deep Creek off the Magothy River off ChesBay
am in process of buying new o/b for my dink. Advice?
 
Nov 6, 2006
10,095
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
How big is dink and how fast do you want to go? Inflatable or hard dink?
An 8-9 foot inflatable will need 8-9 hp to plane with two folks.. I use a 4 which pushes the boat much better than rowing, but it cannot plane.. On a similar sized hard hull dink, a 6 would do the job of planing.. In the US, Mercury, Nissan, and Evinrude small engines are all re-badged Tohatsu engines.. The Coleman brand engines are (were?) Parsun engines made in China .. The propane fueled Lehr engines are Parsun made as well.. Honda and Yamaha are made by the parent companies, I think.. and are both well regarded for their small engines.
 
Jun 28, 2005
440
Hunter H33 2004 Mumford Cove,CT & Block Island
am in process of buying new o/b for my dink. Advice?
Our Walker Bay RIB, came with our boat and had a 9.9hp 4 stroke, around 100 lbs of engine, we replaced it with a 35 lb 2hp honda, we don't plane but it gets us to shore and back, sips fuel, easy to store, recommend it highly. Noticed that a lot of dinks on the dinghy dock have same engine, new ones are now 2.2 hp, woo, woo!
 
Jun 4, 2004
834
Hunter 340 Forked River, NJ
Items to consider

The most valuable thing for a dinghy outboard (IMHO) is one that has a F-N-R shift. The small engines don't always have a shift and that makes it much more difficult to start the engine before you depart the boat. Without a shifter, you have to hope that the engine starts after everyone is aboard and you are untied from the boat or dock.

Secondly, I prefer to have a separate remote gas tank. You can take it off the dinghy to store or fill it and you always know how much gas you have. Don't, however, leave a remote tank in the dinghy when away from the boat. If the dinghy fill with rain water, the tank rolls and you have boat full of gas/oil and water.
 
Feb 26, 2004
23,049
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
1. How big is dink and how fast do you want to go? Inflatable or hard dink?

2. In the US, Mercury, Nissan, and Evinrude small engines are all re-badged Tohatsu engines.
1. Yes, no way to answer unless we know this.

2. While pretty much the same engine, since they are made by the same company, the features added by the different vendors DO make a difference. There was a thread just last week on cruisersforum that completely lambasted the Mercury engines because of plastic shifters that broke and were very costly to replace and other undesireable features, while other skippers found a Tohatsu that was an identical size and had none of those issues. http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f54/mercury-3-5-hp-outboard-junk-110247.html

3. Honda four strokes, and most other four strokes, have very small jets in the carbs. Careful attention should be paid to the fuel, fuel additives, filtering and running the carb dry. You might also be aware that 4 strokes are much heavier than 2 strokes. Where you live may determine if you can still purchase a 2 stroke (newer versions are still available with better environmental technology than the 1900's 2 strokes).
 

Rick

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Oct 5, 2004
1,098
Hunter 420 Passage San Diego
To me its all about the weight. Most of the motors are reputable. When I am in your situation I would think about....

I have a 3.5 Tohatsu 2 stroke that my wife can hand me on the swim bridge. It weighs 23 pounds. Its not for long distance, but it has a short shaft for my 9 foot inflatable keel. Ideal for what we use it for. We are not getting any younger and when you are hopping around anchorages. Getting the motor on and off the dingie is critical to me.

Do I have davits or am I going to tow the dingie? Davits... well then the sky or your checkbook is the limit. Something that would plane the dingie is always envious.

Am I going to tow? Well motors that wont tilt out of the water create a tremendous amount of drag and even stowed can create some interesting problems in rough seas.

So back too... if it is for putting into shore get something that wont hurt anyone trying to mount. Alot of people have a mini boom mounted but that is added expense.

As far as durability, the above comments should be heeded well. Get some customer reviews on your choices.

Good luck

Edit: The electric motors are getting way better but I have no words because I havent seen one up close. Course putting a car battery in and out of the dingie brings me right back to the weight problem.
 
Jun 1, 2009
1,839
Hunter 49 toronto
Get a 2 stroke

To me its all about the weight. Most of the motors are reputable. When I am in your situation I would think about....

I have a 3.5 Tohatsu 2 stroke that my wife can hand me on the swim bridge. It weighs 23 pounds. Its not for long distance, but it has a short shaft for my 9 foot inflatable keel. Ideal for what we use it for. We are not getting any younger and when you are hopping around anchorages. Getting the motor on and off the dingie is critical to me.

Do I have davits or am I going to tow the dingie? Davits... well then the sky or your checkbook is the limit. Something that would plane the dingie is always envious.

Am I going to tow? Well motors that wont tilt out of the water create a tremendous amount of drag and even stowed can create some interesting problems in rough seas.

So back too... if it is for putting into shore get something that wont hurt anyone trying to mount. Alot of people have a mini boom mounted but that is added expense.

As far as durability, the above comments should be heeded well. Get some customer reviews on your choices.

Good luck

Edit: The electric motors are getting way better but I have no words because I havent seen one up close. Course putting a car battery in and out of the dingie brings me right back to the weight problem.
Go on ebay and get a 2 stroke engine
1/2 the weight
 

richk

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Jan 24, 2007
495
Marlow-Hunter 37 Deep Creek off the Magothy River off ChesBay
Thanks to everyone who's responded so far. A couple of pieces of info missing from my posting...
1. current o/b is 3.5 hp Nissan 2 stroke. I been sweating 5 summers with this engine. Every year it won't start. When it finally does work I make sure to turn off fuel valve, run it til it stops before getting out of the boat. Last weekend was the last straw. Bought a carb rebuild kit 3 wks ago, installed it, used avgas (no ethanol), worked fine. Then last weekend it refused to start.
2. Current dink is WM RU260. Small. We may upgrade to bigger. Problems that I didn't have w/previous hypalon bigger inflatable include PVC had two slits in it...repaired them and the 260 is too small. Considering everything including rib, hypalon, rigid.

More advice now that you know that?

Rich
 
Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
Oars have several advantages and only a few disadvantage
light weight
don't require gas storage tank
can propel the boat faster than you can walk
can be used a an anti boarding device in a pinch
can be stored on a wall
unlimited range
don't get stolen much at the dingy dock
start instantly no maintenance hassles even if they need a coat of varnish
you can build and repair your own set

The disadvantages are:
they can't drive the dingy at skiing speeds
they take a while to get the hang of
they don't work on inflatables
 

Rick

.
Oct 5, 2004
1,098
Hunter 420 Passage San Diego
Thanks to everyone who's responded so far. A couple of pieces of info missing from my posting...
1. current o/b is 3.5 hp Nissan 2 stroke. I been sweating 5 summers with this engine. Every year it won't start. When it finally does work I make sure to turn off fuel valve, run it til it stops before getting out of the boat. Last weekend was the last straw. Bought a carb rebuild kit 3 wks ago, installed it, used avgas (no ethanol), worked fine. Then last weekend it refused to start.
2. Current dink is WM RU260. Small. We may upgrade to bigger. Problems that I didn't have w/previous hypalon bigger inflatable include PVC had two slits in it...repaired them and the 260 is too small. Considering everything including rib, hypalon, rigid.

More advice now that you know that?

Rich
Remove the side covers on your motor. Unscrew the carburetor bowl. In the middle of it you will find one jet that will unscrew. Do it. Now clean it thuroughly. Replace it. Now see if your problem, no starting, is fixed.

The rest is up to your checkbook.
 
Jun 1, 2009
1,839
Hunter 49 toronto
I believe I know the problem

Remove the side covers on your motor. Unscrew the carburetor bowl. In the middle of it you will find one jet that will unscrew. Do it. Now clean it thuroughly. Replace it. Now see if your problem, no starting, is fixed.

The rest is up to your checkbook.
Change the spark plug.
This is your likely culprit.
Having said that, 3.5 is a little small.
There are 3 things you should consider when buying an outboard for your dinghy
Weight
Weight
Weight

There is nothing cheaper than a second hand 20 HP outboard.
People think they're getting a great deal, cause its so cheap
Then they try & lift it.
Then they find out why it was so cheap.
The day you sell a 20hp dinghy outboard is life the day your visiting in laws pack their suitcases. Sense of relief
If you can pick up a 9.9hp 2 Stroke on ebay, that will be a wise choice.
Surprisingly, they aren't cheap. The 4 stroke equivalent are about 40% heavier.
 

richk

.
Jan 24, 2007
495
Marlow-Hunter 37 Deep Creek off the Magothy River off ChesBay
You are correct, Bill, but

Oars have several advantages and only a few disadvantage
light weight
don't require gas storage tank
can propel the boat faster than you can walk
can be used a an anti boarding device in a pinch
can be stored on a wall
unlimited range
don't get stolen much at the dingy dock
start instantly no maintenance hassles even if they need a coat of varnish
you can build and repair your own set

The disadvantages are:
they can't drive the dingy at skiing speeds
they take a while to get the hang of
they don't work on inflatables
If you've got a 65 lb golden retriever with a full bladder, no patience and a distant shore, you really needa get there fast :dance:
 

richk

.
Jan 24, 2007
495
Marlow-Hunter 37 Deep Creek off the Magothy River off ChesBay
understood....we're gonna get bigger (more hp) ...

Change the spark plug.
This is your likely culprit.
Having said that, 3.5 is a little small.
There are 3 things you should consider when buying an outboard for your dinghy
Weight
Weight
Weight

There is nothing cheaper than a second hand 20 HP outboard.
People think they're getting a great deal, cause its so cheap
Then they try & lift it.
Then they find out why it was so cheap.
The day you sell a 20hp dinghy outboard is life the day your visiting in laws pack their suitcases. Sense of relief
If you can pick up a 9.9hp 2 Stroke on ebay, that will be a wise choice.
Surprisingly, they aren't cheap. The 4 stroke equivalent are about 40% heavier.
the question is how much bigger....considerations
1. weight (as you said) getting it on the dink
2. referring to 1. above, this means adding a davit, probably

Ain't boating fun :D
 
Feb 26, 2004
23,049
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Our 9.9 hp 1990 2 stroke Evinrude (starts just fine now that we had the electric kill switch wiring fixed) weighs 74 pounds. We bought a Garhauer motor lift.

BTW, we discussed this on our C34 Forum and someone had the idea that two Garhauer motor lifts could make a darned good davit setup! :)

Our old Johnson 1.2 hp "egg beater" weighed around 25 pounds, I could lift it with one hand.
 
May 24, 2004
7,174
CC 30 South Florida
Advice? I echo Artboas, try to find a two stroke engine in good condition. We currently have a Mercury (Tohatsu) 3.3HP with a built in fuel tank that weighs in at 28 lbs. I can lift it with one arm and set it on the transom of the inflatable or take it off and lift it back into the big boat as I step into it. The air cooled 2HP Honda's are pretty popular. You cannot get the inflatable up on plane with such little horsepower but it is definitely faster than rowing.
 
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