Any Experience with the 2hp Honda Outboard ?

We are the proud new owners of a Portland Pudgy dinghy http://www.portlandpudgy.com/ which we love!

It is a great execution of a great design. We are now shopping for a longshaft motor for it. It is obviously not a planing hull, and is "officially" rated for a 2HP engine. I would certainly be willing to use a 3.5 HP on it if needed.

The only 2HP longshaft I know of is the Honda 4 cycle. Anybody have personnel experience with this Honda engine? I have heard that parts are tough to come by in Mexico, but my past experience with Honda engines would lead me to believe that repairs will be few and far between.

[Pblais]

I have a Honda 2hp 4 cycle regular shaft that I use on a Montgomery 8ft hard dighy. My bow ias a tad more pointed. It delivers like a 4 hp engine and I don't use the Honda wide open. Honda measures the hp differently and this one has a whole lot more power than the hp rating would indicate. The Honda 2 hp is the only one I know of with a neutral. Most small engines start in gear. This feature is handy when starting the engine and not taking off. The air cooling is great as the maint. is minimal.

The only bad thing is they can sell for a high price. The Honda small engine 4 cycles I think are the best out there.

[Sandero]

Beware of using gas with ethanol. Ethanol pulls water into the gas and that screws your enginine.

A local Honda dealer told me that all the new big Honda installs must include a racor fuel water separator.

This of course applies to larger tanks which allow the fuel to remain unused for long periods... and of course the pick up is at the bottom of the tank where the water sludge is found.

I had this problem with a Honda 8hp 4 stroke and still suffer from a starting problem probably due to muck in the carburator.

Jef
sv Shiva
Contest 36s

[Pblais]

Ethanol is a huge problem with all marine engines burning gasoline. The bad news is that you won't escape the fact that most all fuel in the US will have ethanol included soon. That means you really need to watch the problem of old fuel in the tank. All small engines have a problem and in marine applications it is worse.

I have a Honda 2hp 4 cycle regular shaft on a Walker Bay 8 dinghy. Only used it for 3 years but I love it. Easy to start - no mixing fuel - no water pump - who could ask for more

[Talbot]

Honda 2 hp has not had an easy ride in UK. Most people consider it noisy and gutless. so much so that the 2 hp has been uprated to 2.3.

Tohatsu have just brought out a line of 4 stroke small engines. As expected, they are much heavier and less powerfull compared to the small 2 strokes.

Personally I have a Tohatsu 3.5 hp 2-stroke (with neutral gear) that I reckon (and tests confirm) is the best small engine for tenders.

[CSY Man]

I have used a 2001 year model Honda 2HP on a friends dink a couple of times and found it noisy with excessive vibration. Also it seemed to have some kind of centrifugal clutch..(?)

Also used friends 3.5HP 1 cyliner, 2 stroke Mercury, same single cylinder vibration...Guess a balance shaft would be too heavy....

(My own kicker is a 10 year old Evinrude 4HP, 2-stroke, 2 cylinder, love the power, light weight and smooth ride, dislike the oil/gas mix)

[SeaKing]

WE have had one for 3 years now. love the air cooled aspect. love the weight, my wife can hand it to me. I can one hand it with ease. uses very little gas, when turning the gas off to run it dry for storeage it will run for more than five minutes. My only dislike is I want the 15 HP to fly. But the Honda 2hp sure beats paddling and is easy to install /remove from the dingy.

We have one of the original Honda 2HPs (Model BF20) 4-strokes built in the 80's. The thing is bullet-proof IMHO. It pushes a 9 foot Walker Bay Rigid Inflateable with no problem (it doesnt plane of course).

The newer 2HPs are the same as the old ones except for features like reverse gear and throttle/shifter on the steering arm (the old ones dont have these).

[rsn48]

I'm curious as to why you need a long shaft for a dingy? The Merc 3.3 weighs the same as the Mer 2.2 at 27 lbs but as a neutral gear. I talked to a chap who owned the Merc 2.2 and he wishes his motor had a neutral. Merc is no longer producing the two stroke 2.2 and 3.3 which is too bad as I like the weight on the motor.

Originally Posted by rsn48

I'm curious as to why you need a long shaft for a dingy?

The Portland Pudgy dinghy is designed to do double duty as a liferaft. One of the many requirements is a higher than normal freeboard, hence the longshaft outboard. It is supplied with an alternative transome insert piece that allows use of a standard shaft motor, but the designer strongly recommends not going that route. One of the side effect of lowering the transome freeboard to find a 15" shaft motor is a significant reduction in rated carrying capacity.

Here in California we can no longer buy new 2-cycle outboards of any kind. If I could find one of those 3.3 longshafts used, I'd jump on it in a minute.

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by GreatKetch

Here in California we can no longer buy new 2-cycle outboards of any kind. If I could find one of those 3.3 longshafts used, I'd jump on it in a minute.

You can still buy them for a bit longer in UK. A recent test by mag Practical Boat Owner has shown that the replacement 4 stroke small engines are crap by comparison.

[Bruce in Canada]

Originally Posted by OzSkye

I have a Honda 2hp 4 cycle regular shaft on a Walker Bay 8 dinghy. Only used it for 3 years but I love it. Easy to start - no mixing fuel - no water pump - who could ask for more

I have a Walker Bay 8 and I am thinking of purchasing a Honda 2HP. I am worried that the honda will overpower the light WB8. Can you give me some idea what to expect?

Thanks

[Pblais]

I am worried that the honda will overpower the light WB8. Can you give me some idea what to expect?

It has a lot more power than a normal 2hp since Honda measures HP different. In that sense it is a more powerful 2 HP than most others out there. It can be had with a clutch and that is a nice feature. Most 2 hp engine start in gear. I don't know of any 2 HP engines that have reverse so you spin it around.

If it were lightly loaded you might not require all the power it has. The transom on the Walker Bay should not have a problem with the Honda 2HP. I wouldn't go to a 4HP though at least not for a Honda on a Walker Bay 8. On small boats you need to be mindful of the ability of the transom. I had a montegomery 8 and the Honda 2 HP was more than enough for flat water. You add a little current or a head wind and the extra can be handy for those times.

I guess from my experience with the Honda 2 HP it's a lot for a little engine. They do cost more but the 4 cycle, air cooled, clutch, with throttle control make it a nice engine to own and use.

[witzgall]

What is the price of the Portland Pudgy? I don't see it on their website.

Thanks,
Chris