transom or cutout?
Somewhere in there, Catalina went from mounting OB's in the cutout in the stern to using a bracket on the transom. Don't know which is used in the 1980 model, but it makes a difference in your choice of replacement. Most owners of the models with cutouts in the stern report that the larger housings used in four strokes won't fit without some structural modifictions, and even then they report having trouble tilting them. So if you have that model, HP is not the only consideration. The size of the housing is probably the limiting factor. Mine's an '86 with a transom bracket. A 2001 Honda 4 stroke was added by the PO, and drives her quite nicely, to directly answer your question. It's environmentally friendly, quiet, reliable, fuel efficient, etc. BUT ... the original factory bracket assumed the weight and torque of the 2-strokes used in 1986 ... maybe 80 pounds. I need to replace it because the much heavier weight and torque of the replacement OB is bending it. In addition, the spring won't even begin to lift it so I had to rig an old small boat vang to help. A 9.9 hp 4 stroke weighs in the neighborhood of 150 pounds, maybe more. Think about all that weight swinging around back there in a quartering sea, or pounding on a choppy beat. Tremendous stress on the bracket, so it really needs to be beefed up. So ... if you have a transom mount, 9.9 hp is fine but replace the bracket at the same time. If you have the stern cutout, maybe some others on this list will chime in. If no one does in a couple days, I'll jump over to another list and get you some recommendations. Tom Monroe Carlyle Lake
