Best small petrol 4 stroke 3 or 4 h.p dingy outboard motors

[sailhand]

Another option which we use is a minn kota electric trolling motor and a 60 amp lithium battery. I bought a spare one last week for a 100 dollars. Much cheaper than a torqeedo and From my experience much more reliable. Fishing enthusiasts have been using these for decades and like outboards they have been refined during that period to be extremely reliable. If they weren't reliable fishermen would buy something else. We are yet to experience any problem at all with our original minn kota for which we paid around 140 us dollars. The admiralty adores it. No noise no pull cord no petrol just twist and go. With a small solar panel of only 80 watts we have never needed to charge the battery. In saying that we dont do any runs over about a mile with this setup and not that frequently either. For long distance its still internal combustion. I feel we are on the cusp of all electric just not quite yet. The other thing that mystifies me is the ubiquitous deflatables that every one uses. The least hydrodynamic shape known to man other than a tractor tyre tube. I understand the necessity on a smaller yacht with limited capacity to carry a suitable tender however I see so many big yachts with deflatables in various states of delapidation and inflation slung permanantly from davits. I feally fail to see the attraction at all. Obviously l am missing something lm just not sure what. Electrics are far better/faster on hard dinghys with efficient hull shapes as they provide propulsion levels for displacement speeds on your average tender. If you cant get your blowjob out of the water and skimming across the top then you are unlikely to enjoy high levels of efficiency with electrics. Just try rowing one, they are quite possibly actually slower than a tractor tube.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by sailhand

Another option which we use is a minn kota electric trolling motor and a 60 amp lithium battery. I bought a spare one last week for a 100 dollars. Much cheaper than a torqeedo and From my experience much more reliable. Fishing enthusiasts have been using these for decades and like outboards they have been refined during that period to be extremely reliable. If they weren't reliable fishermen would buy something else. We are yet to experience any problem at all with our original minn kota for which we paid around 140 us dollars. The admiralty adores it. No noise no pull cord no petrol just twist and go. With a small solar panel of only 80 watts we have never needed to charge the battery. In saying that we dont do any runs over about a mile with this setup and not that frequently either. For long distance its still internal combustion. I feel we are on the cusp of all electric just not quite yet. The other thing that mystifies me is the ubiquitous deflatables that every one uses. The least hydrodynamic shape known to man other than a tractor tyre tube. I understand the necessity on a smaller yacht with limited capacity to carry a suitable tender however I see so many big yachts with deflatables in various states of delapidation and inflation slung permanantly from davits. I feally fail to see the attraction at all. Obviously l am missing something lm just not sure what. Electrics are far better/faster on hard dinghys with efficient hull shapes as they provide propulsion levels for displacement speeds on your average tender. If you cant get your blowjob out of the water and skimming across the top then you are unlikely to enjoy high levels of efficiency with electrics. Just try rowing one, they are quite possibly actually slower than a tractor tube.

Thread drift, but rigid floor "deflatables" -- RIBs -- are the choice of most sailors, and not by accident. Best compromise of all the different qualities. Don't row as well as hard dinks, but hard dinks are REALLY hard to store even on fairly large yachts. I have a light weight folding RIB which I keep on davits for short sails, and deflate and fold up and store on the foredeck, for ocean passages. I wouldn't know what to do with a hard one.

[rslifkin]

Inflatables (rigid bottom or otherwise) also tend to carry much more weight for a given size. So if you can't carry a huge dinghy they may be a better compromise for that reason alone.

That said, not everyone uses an inflatable. We carry a 12 foot aluminum skiff, for example. Although it's a big beast and still doesn't have the weight capacity of many 10 foot inflatables. Plus we're a powerboat with a wide enough beam to lift the thing in davits across the transom. I can't imagine carrying it on any monohull sailboat.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by WaldPinkler

My cheap 2.5m air deck inflatable planes with 6hp yamaha. Not with 2 though.

How many people can plane with the 6hp?

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by sailhand

Another option which we use is a minn kota electric trolling motor and a 60 amp lithium battery. I bought a spare one last week for a 100 dollars. Much cheaper than a torqeedo and From my experience much more reliable. Fishing enthusiasts have been using these for decades and like outboards they have been refined during that period to be extremely reliable. If they weren't reliable fishermen would buy something else. We are yet to experience any problem at all with our original minn kota for which we paid around 140 us dollars. The admiralty adores it. No noise no pull cord no petrol just twist and go. With a small solar panel of only 80 watts we have never needed to charge the battery. In saying that we dont do any runs over about a mile with this setup and not that frequently either. For long distance its still internal combustion. I feel we are on the cusp of all electric just not quite yet. The other thing that mystifies me is the ubiquitous deflatables that every one uses. The least hydrodynamic shape known to man other than a tractor tyre tube. I understand the necessity on a smaller yacht with limited capacity to carry a suitable tender however I see so many big yachts with deflatables in various states of delapidation and inflation slung permanantly from davits. I feally fail to see the attraction at all. Obviously l am missing something lm just not sure what. Electrics are far better/faster on hard dinghys with efficient hull shapes as they provide propulsion levels for displacement speeds on your average tender. If you cant get your blowjob out of the water and skimming across the top then you are unlikely to enjoy high levels of efficiency with electrics. Just try rowing one, they are quite possibly actually slower than a tractor tube.

What kind of dinghy do you have, do you ever plane on it? If so what HP motor and what’s the most people it will plane with?

[sailhand]

I was really trying to make the point that gains can be made in efficient electric propulsion by using an efficient hullshape which translates to increases in both speed and range for a given electric propulsion system. I completely understand the necessity to own one for storage reasons. However I dont understand why you would own one in preference to a good hard dinghy if storage were not an issue. The thread was originally about the best small outboard which then morphed to possibly electric outboard if you werent planing. I designed and built my own hard dinghy which suits me as well as I can imagine. If I could imagine something better that was possible for me to build then I would. One of the main points about my dinghy was that it needed to plane with two people with a motor 4hp or under to suit local laws in Queensland Australia. This efficiency means it is very fast with a small electric trolling motor compared to an inflatable or rib. I have had seven people on board for a short trip in waist deep water in an anchorage returning from a beach bash. Usually I have two people on board and it planes with a 3hp with the pair of us. It is a 3.5mt long self draining cat. The only one I knew of in existence at that length at the time I designed it. I am not saying people should run out and design their own dinghy however there are gains to be made in electric propulsion with more efficient hullshapes and inflatables are many things but definitely not efficient hullshapes. Actually with advances in dropstitch technology I dont understand why someone hasnt designed an inflatable with a more efficient shape than the ubiquitous round tube design. Its only a matter of time I guess. Your tender is a system the same as your yacht, the hullshape will contribute a great deal to your performance as will your means of propulsion. I wanted a lightweight system that I could lift easily by myself and carry on my 44 ft cat. I wanted it to row really fast as well. I wanted the ultimate in stability and safety. It needed to be easier to get in and out of in deepwater than an inflatable, no seal flop required. I wanted it to be easy to clean and stay clean, and be self drainin, no more bailing or sunken dinghys to contend with and it needed to be somewhat amphibious. Anyway the point is a small outboard is much more likely to achieve better results if it is on an efficient hull. This thread is about small outboards not dinghys and my apologies for wandering off topic.

[Jammer]

I have a 3 HP Johnson JW series from the 1960s (two stroke). A family member has a brand new Suzuki DF2.5 (four stroke) that he bought this year. I've used them both.


I believe that the Suzuki DF2.5 is the best of the small four-stroke outboards presently available. As others have posted upthread there is no significant benefit to more horsepower until you reach the point where your dinghy will plane. The Suzuki is a well thought-out motor, water cooled, quiet, twist throttle on the tiller, safety kill cord, neutral-forward shift lever. It's light, 29 pounds. There's a long-shaft version available now too if you need that.



The 50+ year old Johnson 3 hp also weighs 29 pounds. It has much less vibration due to the 2 stroke design and also the fact that it is a twin cylinder the the Suzuki's single. The throttle isn't on the tiller and there's no gear shift. It uses twice as much fuel and produces ten times the emissions.


They both work. Time will tell which one is more picky about fuel.


Around here there are repair shops that always have 1960s-era Johnson 3hps for sale. They were extremely popular for duck hunting and canoeing and most were lightly used for these highly seasonal activities, so they are well preserved. Service parts are still available. I even saw one of the suitcase models for sale and passed it up a few weeks ago, with the folding drive leg.

[sailhand]

The older two strokes have another redeeming trait and that is corrosion resistance. Nearly all the modern, read current century, outboards that I have stripped down have corrosion in the water jackets. The older omc engines seem to have none at all in my experience. Different alloys I assume.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Thread drift, but rigid floor "deflatables" -- RIBs -- are the choice of most sailors, and not by accident. Best compromise of all the different qualities. Don't row as well as hard dinks, but hard dinks are REALLY hard to store even on fairly large yachts. I have a light weight folding RIB which I keep on davits for short sails, and deflate and fold up and store on the foredeck, for ocean passages. I wouldn't know what to do with a hard one.

I've posted elsewhere about the Chameleon dinghy I recently built. Nesting design, stores in just over 5' and will fit on any foredeck, sails well, rows well, motors along fine with a 3hp. It isn't designed to plane. I like it. It can also be towed behind another boat in conditions that are at all reasonable.



People like RIBs because they go fast and are readily available for purchase anywhere. They are relatively inexpensive as they can be made in China and shipped worldwide by the container load. There aren't any hard nesting boats that you can just go out and buy, and there are no hard nesting designs available that are designed for planing. I think it really depends on your cruising grounds and what matters to you. If you regularly use a dinghy for crossing distances over a mile or two then speed matters. In areas like the Great Lakes and the U.S. Northeast where dinghy rides are short, hard dinghies are more popular.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by sailhand

Another option which we use is a minn kota electric trolling motor and a 60 amp lithium battery.

These work well too but your range is limited by the battery. Most of the minn kota motors sold are 40 pounds thrust and draw about 40 amps. I have one. A good lithium battery will cost more than the motor.

[mlydon]

I had a tohatsu 3.5 4 stroke. Okay motor, as others have commented, the carbs are finicky. I ended up selling it, and later bought an 80’ s era Yamaha 4hp 2 stroke. They weigh about the the same. The yami is louder, more vibration, and much less efficient. However, the reverse gear is golden (it’s a royal pain to maneuver a dink backwards with a ‘turn it to reverse’ motor - as you swing it around to forward, you always seem o end up 20’ to the side). I also love that if I run it dry I can toss is any which way in the locker, without worrying about where the oil ends up. And the carb’s never given me trouble.

Matt

[Celestialsailor]

I'm not sure why there is never a mention of a Porta-Bote when I hear the two main gripes...
1) I want my dinghy to plane but cannot lift a heavy outboard that would make it plane, or
2) I wish I could have a hard dinghy but it is a hassle to store.
A Porta-Bote 10' will plane with one person with a 3.5hp (light engine). I had a 6hp on mine and it would plane with 2 and gear. I just bought an 8" and am looking for a 2.5-3.5hp. They stow about 7"s wide and weigh less than an inflatable.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I'm not sure why there is never a mention of a Porta-Bote when I hear the two main gripes...
1) I want my dinghy to plane but cannot lift a heavy outboard that would make it plane, or
2) I wish I could have a hard dinghy but it is a hassle to store.
A Porta-Bote 10' will plane with one person with a 3.5hp (light engine). I had a 6hp on mine and it would plane with 2 and gear. I just bought an 8" and am looking for a 2.5-3.5hp. They stow about 7"s wide and weigh less than an inflatable.

And for those that can carry them and don't need the folding of a Porta-Bote, aluminum hard dinghies also become a viable option (they're one of the few other hard dinghy options that are actually meant to plane).

We've only recently put an outboard on ours, but so far in testing with just me in it I've gotten close to 14 kts out of it with a 6hp Nissan/Tohatsu (and it popped right up on plane even with me sitting all the way in back). And it's underpropped for one person as well, I had to back off to keep it off the rev limiter. More prop pitch and maybe a little other work to optimize the setup would probably get me at least 15 kts 1-up. So hopefully I got it propped right for 2 people + dog. I'm expecting it should at least plane 2 adults, if not a bit more weight and still make 12 kts or so.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I've posted elsewhere about the Chameleon dinghy I recently built. Nesting design, stores in just over 5' and will fit on any foredeck, sails well, rows well, motors along fine with a 3hp. It isn't designed to plane. I like it. It can also be towed behind another boat in conditions that are at all reasonable.



People like RIBs because they go fast and are readily available for purchase anywhere. They are relatively inexpensive as they can be made in China and shipped worldwide by the container load. There aren't any hard nesting boats that you can just go out and buy, and there are no hard nesting designs available that are designed for planing. I think it really depends on your cruising grounds and what matters to you. If you regularly use a dinghy for crossing distances over a mile or two then speed matters. In areas like the Great Lakes and the U.S. Northeast where dinghy rides are short, hard dinghies are more popular.

People like RIBs also because;

1. They don't mar the hull of the mother ship when you knock up against in a rolly anchorage.

2. Huge stability

3. Huge capacity for a given size

4. Storage.

5. Safety in case of swamping.

6. Can climb into it from the water after swimming or diving.

For 99.9% of cruisers, that's worth lower efficiency a hundred times over.

I do like to row, and would love to have a rowable dinghy, but it would require far too many compromises in other qualities.

[Celestialsailor]

I certainly do not want to steer this thread away from the point of the topic of 4 stroke 3 or 4 h.p dingy outboard motors but...
people like a Porta boat because...


-they have most of the inflatable advantages

-plus lighter, plus plane with less hp,

-plus does not have the problems associated with leaks that inflatables inevitably get.

-They are cheaper to buy new and if you're not able to just throw money around, they can be had on the used market for 1/2 their new price and have seen very little use from land based people who used them as fishing platforms a few times a year.