Buy dingy motor in bahamas

[onavegador]

If you carry your OB aboard a 30ft sailing vessel I would recommend a 5 HP Tohatsu or Yamaha 2stroke. These motors weith about 42lbs and are easy to handle. With one or two not too heave PX aboard your dinghy will plane if flat sea. Otherwise you are little slower but the ease of handling is a important safety aspect.
My recommendation is based on 15 years use during two circum navigations. I agree tha sometimes I would have a stronger motor to be faster, but when I had to stow the motor on my sailing boat I was happy that i was not heavier.
SailfastTri has mentioned all the pros and cons, only 1-3 does not arise on 5HP Tohatsu or Yamaha as these are provided with fwd-neutra- reverse and also shallow water position.
I would try to buy in US first over CF and other Forums, Craigslist, E-bay and if in the Bahamas in Nassau oder other important Cruiser Ports (previous google search).

[blueazimuth]

You say your dinghy is rated up to 10hp - even if you use a 15hp, you will mostly be using about 10hp. Check manufacture's specs for weight - many 10hp (9.5s) are only down rated 15s and weigh the same. Two strokes are much lighter, less expensive and generally easier to maintain than 4 strokes.

Where to stow?
On mosts boats under 35ft, the weight of an outboard is much better at the mast, than on the stern. We saw a cruiser with a crane running off a pair of split Delrin bearings inside a stainless tube and swinginging around his upper shroud. The turnbuckle passed through the vertical 18"-20" tube. The lower bearing had a hand operated T clamp so no tools needed to raise or lower the crane. Skipper said the clamp was liable to slip so now uses a halyard. Simplifies design.
At night, they raise dinghy and motor out of the water, always taking the strain off the shroud with a second halyard at the outboard end of the crane. The most expensive part was the 6:1 tackle. Admiral said she would have preferred an 8:1, otherwise they were very happy with it. Design, sketches and fabrication are probably within scope of most handy cruisers. Get a machine shop to do the welding and make up the Delrin bearings.
Good luck on your choices.

What HP?
Diesels like to be run hard, gas engines don't. An 8hp on a 10 ft dinghy is likely to be running pretty hard, most of the time. Tough on the engine, and likely to burn more fuel than a 15hp running at 10hp

As for brands?
The best? Almost everybody down island - locals, fishermen & cruisers and throughout the smallest to largest hp range - have Yamaha, or wish they did.
The worst?? Honda makes wonderfully reliable cars. IMHO Honda 4 stroke outboards are expensive to buy and prohibitively expensive to repair, past 5 years, especially the 15hp.

Suzuki 2.5hp? A wonderful little outboard, when used as a back up. If it gets you "there" after a few frustrating hours, think how long it will take you to get back - before that squall hits ... You won't be happy if it's your main outboard.

[beetlejuice30]

nice I like the idea of stowing the outboard by the mast I don't like a lot of weight on my stearn. I got a spinnaker halyard I don't use so I can just use the mast as my crane. now just gotta fabricate a bracket for the mast and outboard. the weight limitations on the dingy is a 100 lb outboard might be able to get away with a 15 horse 2 stoke yamaha!
How much would that set me back in the Bahamas?

Sent from my SM-J200M using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Zigzagn]

Love and use both a 2 hp Suzuki and 15 hp Yamaha, both 2 stroke. No issues getting parts for either. The yams is used very seldom at full open unless want to plane with 4 people, a dog and groceries in a 10.3 ft dinghy. 15 at mast, 2 at stern. Easy lift using a reaching strut and spin halyard.

[redsky49]

Defender Marine frequently has good deals on past years models of outboard motors. Certainly worth a call. They sell a lot of outboards!

[Caliber40]

Originally Posted by beetlejuice30

nice I like the idea of stowing the outboard by the mast I don't like a lot of weight on my stearn. I got a spinnaker halyard I don't use so I can just use the mast as my crane. now just gotta fabricate a bracket for the mast and outboard. the weight limitations on the dingy is a 100 lb outboard might be able to get away with a 15 horse 2 stoke yamaha!
How much would that set me back in the Bahamas?

Sent from my SM-J200M using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

As previously stated I paid $2,400 last year for a 15 HP Yamaha.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

The 8hp 2 stroke weighs in at about 60# and the 9.9 at about 80#. I priced a 15 at Minns Water Sports in Georgetown two years ago and it was $2300 which was about as much as a 4 stroke in the US. I was having a problem with my 2002 Yamaha 4 stroke at the time and found that you couldn't get parts for 4 strokes less than 60 HP in the Bahamas but had to have them shipped in from the states, conversely getting parts for two strokes in the US is pretty much impossible, just something to consider.

I've never had a problem getting parts for my 25hp Yamaha 2 stroke. My neighbor buys old Johnsons & Evinrudes, repairs them & flips them & doesn't have a problem getting parts.

Here's my favorite source: Boats.net: Outboard Motors, OEM Marine Parts, Boats for Sale

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by blueazimuth

You say your dinghy is rated up to 10hp - even if you use a 15hp, you will mostly be using about 10hp. .....

I would not use a bigger engine than dinghy manufacturer recommendation.....if you do, it's sure to be listed on any accident report. Not something you want to deal with!

[wannacat]

I would try calling Abaco Outboard Engines [242 367-2452] in Marsh Harbour for a quote on an Enduro. They had the best prices in the Bahamas a couple years ago when a buddy of mine was shopping around. Get the highest HP you can handle for the weight! You can always ease off the throttle when you want , but when you want to get up on plane, you got the HP for it and will be thankful! Good luck!

[Bluebeard]

If I am understanding you correctly, what you have is a basic 10ft inflatable, not a RIB or anything fancier. I and other sailors use such an animal here in UK as tenders, I my case in an estuary with an 8 knot speed limit. So a 10 or 15 hp motor is not much use. I would question whether if you did bolt a 10hp motor onto your dinghy it would be safe to use all it's power.
I have found that almost anything is big enough, I think our current engine is a 3.3 Tohatsu, but they are all remarkably similar and probably all made in the same factory. I don't use all the power in that.
You already know the bonus, at that size they are easy to lift off and stow on the taff rail.

[donradcliffe]

Your dink weighs 100 lbs. If you put 125 lbs of 10 hp motor and fuel on it, you are going to really work to drag it up the beach. If you put 35 lbs of a 2 stroke 3.5 hp on it, two people can carry the dinghy.

We had an 18 hp and a 3.5 hp outboard for our aluminum RIB. We used the 3.5 hp over 95% of the time.

[zboss]

There is a lot to be said for a small 2 hp honda air cooled. It would be light enough for my wife to mount on the dinghy by herself and if she had issues with her arm (like she does now) it would be much less painful for her to start. They also sip fuel.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by zboss

There is a lot to be said for a small 2 hp honda air cooled. It would be light enough for my wife to mount on the dinghy by herself and if she had issues with her arm (like she does now) it would be much less painful for her to start. They also sip fuel.

The light weight is also why we went with the 2hp Honda. Getting a kicker on & off a dinghy in the water can be pretty awkward if you don't have some kind of mechanical help. To go with a bigger outboard you either need to be able to lift the dinghy with the outboard attached or lift the outboard with a crane.

[SVTwilight]

Originally Posted by Caliber40

Get a crane and the 15 Yamaha....you won't regret.....it's a once in a lifetime purchase you'll have to live with for years....purchased my 15 last year in Nassau for $2400. Weighs 75 lbs....doubt the 8. Weighs much less.



If u have long trips to explore or buy groceries, and you will, you will not regret your choice.



Greg

Sv Ti Amo

Another vote for the Yamaha 15 and we are divers as well.

Reliable, light and powerful enough to plane with 4 people and gear in a 100 kilo fiberglass Caribe or AB RIB.

[a64pilot]

I believe both the Suzuki 2.5 and the Honda weigh 29 lbs, but the Suzuki has thru the prop exhaust, is water cooled and has a neutral and fwd gear, not a centrifugal clutch?