DINGHY HORSEPOWER

[Adaero]

A question directly linked to this thread is: -

What is more likely to get stolen a 4hp or a 15hp?

I have seen guys with brand new 20/25hp OB's removing all the covers and putting on beaten up hand painted ones to try and stop them being nicked. The insurance excess on dinks and OB's is now horrendous because of this problem so what is best, a light dink with small hp OB that will just about plane with 2 up or a standard weight rib with 15+ hp that will fly?

Regards
Adaero

[Ram]

I think any size Hp engine that you can walk away with is just as likly to get stolen as any if your not careful.
I lost a dingy in Spain ., lucky it was a cheape of junk cost $100 new but worked wile I was geting started over there.

Heres a shameless plug-I just bought a 15hp yesterday and want to sell my 1 1/2 year old 2.5 Yahama4 stroke in Greece for $400 Along with a small zodiac $500

[Kanani]

Originally Posted by Adaero

A question directly linked to this thread is: -

What is more likely to get stolen a 4hp or a 15hp?

Adaero

Maybe I can help with your question........

If I were to put myself in the shoes of a thief........ and I were driving past a dock and saw 2 dinghies. One dinghy had a 4hp engine the other with a 15hp engine, I think that I might be just smart enough to take the one that might sell for the most $ (as most theft is for resale). The time to remove either engine would be about the same and I doubt that weight would be a concern (unless the theif were as old as me ).....

Wayne

[anglooff]

Included when I purchased my new lady, with davits and 11ft dinghy were a 5hp and 8hp outboards. While on the hard undergoing her refit, I have taken the opportunity of using both, in little picnic/ fresh air/ lunch excursions as often as possible. Neither are new, but have been well serviced. The former starts first time, never a problem..off she goes reliable predictable and pragmatic... Light and more than adequate as a tender and reasonable distances of exploration. The 8 slightly more tempremental regards starting... but once warmed up.... performs very well and good for longer exploration. I call her Alice after a lady I knew...But that is for another thread.

I suppose that there are occassions when a heavy duty solution would be a good thing. However I wonder whether the cost and hernia would justify the expense. Aren't we meant to plan our anchorage and excursions in light of prevailing conditions.

Alan

[donradcliffe]

We have both a Tohatsu 3.5 and an 18 for our 3.1 RIB, because there are times when each engine is best, and we want a backup if one won't run. We use the 3.5 more than 90% of the time, due to its lighter weight--not only putting the engine on the dink, but pulling the dink up on the beach (not all cruising places have dinghy docks). Thats why we bought an aluminum RIB which weighs about 50 pounds less than the fiberglass ones.

The local fishing boats are too heavy to push around with 3hp engines, so the 3.5 is much less likely to be stolen. It also uses less than half the fuel that the bigger engine does.

OTOH, the bigger engine is great for exploring and diving and when the wind is over 25k...its probably also better for surf, as its much easier to land with a planing dinghy which can follow a breaking wave in, and you might be able to power out before the next breaker.

Neither engine gets pampered with fresh water rinses, and the Tohatsu's have been very reliable, with parts readily available in most places (except the east coast US).

We have found that outboards are considerably cheaper to buy outside the US, and the 2-strokes are still widely available in the rest of the world. You can probably buy a 15hp AND a 3.5 for what a 15 costs in the US.

[waterworldly]

THanks for the great advise. Never heard of the Tohatsu before, but was always a fan of the lesser HP due to the weight. Also, never considered the weight when pulling up on shore, great point, as the added weight must contribute to the wear on the inflatable's bottom.

[Samadhi V]

Originally Posted by waterworldly

never considered the weight when pulling up on shore, great point, as the added weight must contribute to the wear on the inflatable's bottom.

We use Dinghy Wheels, this makes landing ashore much easier and faster. Ours are quick launch from adventure marine. We had these same dinghy wheels on our old dinghy (novurania 320) and they worked so well we bought them again for the AB dinghy.

Also, if you have an aluminum RIB wear on the bottom isn't really an issue (at least not in my lifetime).

Here is a picture of our old dinghy with the wheels as an illustration.

[jayncee]

All Mercury outboards under 10 HP are made by Tohatsu, We just purchased a 9.9 HP Mercury. which was highly rated by Practical Sailor. We are replacing a 2 cylinder 18 year old 5HP Nissan which still works well but we would like more speed on our AB.

[Trim50]

9.9hp for exploring/fishing and I'm looking for a small 2-3.5hp 2-stroke as everyday motor before we leave.

[captainspicy]

We have a 6hp nissan 4 stroke. Our dink is an inflatable Sea Eagle 9.6 ft. Both the dinghy and the engine are manageable for just my wife and I. The boat won't plane with anything more than just us two (total weight of us = 285lbs.). More engine might be nicer, but would have been both more expensive and heavier for us to manage. Regarding the dinghy, the flat bottom inlfatable is not a very good performer. Tracking is tough, but overall, we can deflate it pull the riggid floorboards, and store the whole thing in our Quarter berth during passage. Safety is important ehr-go "must be able to manage" I couldn;t imagine trying wrangle the seemingly very popular 15hp engine.
Happy Sailing

[Alchemist]

first dinghy on alchemist was A. 3.6 ALU inflatable with 15 hp too heavy and too fast .I have changed to a 2.9m with 8hp It will just plane 2 up and light to lift, drag or carry IMHO planing creates less wake than when pushing at max displacement speed

[Hope Light]

I am just about to purchase a 9.9 or 15 4 stroke Yamaha or Merc for my Caribe 10 RIB. Any suggestions? I have davits and destination is Bahamas.
Thanks.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Hope Light

I am just about to purchase a 9.9 or 15 4 stroke Yamaha or Merc for my Caribe 10 RIB. Any suggestions? I have davits and destination is Bahamas.
Thanks.

I'd go with the larger 15HP YAMAHA (most 10' Caribe RIBs are rated to 20HP).
About 10 years ago, the Bahamians switched from favouring OMC-Johnsons to Yamahas - so Yammi parts should be showing up in the Island dumps.

[Minggat]

I have a 2.5 hp for the Walker Bay. And an 8 hp for the Avon.
The Walker Bay gets sailed a lot, but the engine is of course needed to do the chores. The Avon is my "go fast" toy. ... Well... fast enough.

[Stever407]

I have a little 2-stroke Nissan 3 1/2 hp on my 8.5 inflatable dinghy and it moves it along pretty good. Whats really great about it, It's very lightweight and you can left it and move it around with one hand, easy to put on and take off.