After spending too much money on maintaining our Nissan 9.9 we are ready to dump it in the channel (only kidding). We sail in semi-protected waters, Raritan Bay NJ, and have a tight mooring area. We need the outboard to safely get in and out of the mooring area, and also for safety when far from port (storms, lack of wind, etc.). The Nissan we have has an electric start and when running charges the battery that powers all of our lights, etc. We would prefer a lighter, cheaper 6hp. The questions are: 1) Is there a 6hp 4 stroke that has an electric start? 2) If we buy a manual start how do we keep the battery charged? 3) Not sure how people use a manual with handle and also man the tiller - isn't that far to reach and complicated? Opinions and answers appreciated.
Need outboard advice for Hunter 26.5
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In response to question 2 - I have a solar panel that I keep hooked up to the battery to keep it charged. It works great.
IIRC, the smallest outboard w/ electric start is the Tohatsu/Nissan/Merc 8 hp and they are not terribly heavy - 85 lbs or so. I think one can get a manual start with alternator and remember that they deliver the rated output at near-max throttle. Lastly, I'd be concerned that a 6 wouldn't be big enough for a 26.5. Isn't the boat about 4500-5000 lbs? On a nice day with moderate winds, a 6 would do fine. It's when things get ugly that the value of 2-4 more hp is gold.
I trailer my 26.5 and was looking for a light weight outboard a couple of years ago to replace an aging and heavy Honda 10 hp. After playing with a friends Johnson 7.5, I quickly came to the conclusion it wasn't enough HP when the wind and current was against me. I purchased a Tohatsu 9.9 4 stoke, electric start it being the lightest weight I could find in a 4 stroke at 89 lbs, and installed a 4 bladed prop. So far it has performed great. As Clark said, more hp is worth it's weight in gold when you need it.
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