Outboard Puzzles

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by ctl411

Second on the 9.8, weight of my 6hp two stroke but 10 hp. Or Nissan same engine.

And a third. Great little motors.

[Mr O]

We had a merc 9.9 hp 4 stroke on a 8.5’ rib and found it way too heavy to haul the thing up the beach and it was a hassle getting the motor on/off the rail. Traded it for a 3hp E Propulsion Spirit 3.0 electric. Now my not so strong woman can easily move the motor and battery as they can be separated. Charges in about the same time as my house bank via generator. Working on a solar PV system to do most of the charging, but that’s another story. The Spirit 3.0 is working great for us and costs a few hundred $$ less tha a torqueedo. No gps, but battery floats. No fuel, super quiet, no stinking exhaust, very low maintenance and can be stored inside the boat. I haven’t used the gas powered outboard in over a year.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

The Mercury 15hp 2 stroke in Italy had it’s starter motor poop the bed today. Second time in four years. Thankfully, it has a pull start. This motor is really ugly & beat up, but it just keeps going at 33 years old.

I wish I knew where to buy an almost new Mercury 25hp 2 stroke electric start short shaft somewhere near Massachusetts.

Try VAN’s in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Up to 600 reconditioned outboards of all sizes. Otherwise, troll the net. Look in fresh water places like the US Midwest and around the Great Lakes.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Mr O

We had a merc 9.9 hp 4 stroke on a 8.5’ rib and found it way too heavy to haul the thing up the beach and it was a hassle getting the motor on/off the rail. Traded it for a 3hp E Propulsion Spirit 3.0 electric. Now my not so strong woman can easily move the motor and battery as they can be separated. Charges in about the same time as my house bank via generator. Working on a solar PV system to do most of the charging, but that’s another story. The Spirit 3.0 is working great for us and costs a few hundred $$ less tha a torqueedo. No gps, but battery floats. No fuel, super quiet, no stinking exhaust, very low maintenance and can be stored inside the boat. I haven’t used the gas powered outboard in over a year.

HINT, get a long skinny bumper or two. Use these as rollers.

[Mr O]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

HINT, get a long skinny bumper or two. Use these as rollers.

That would certainly help get the dink up most beaches. Not so much on rocky or muddy landings.

[Suijin]

I would seriously consider keeping them both, at least for awhile to see if that works for you.

They serve different purposes, and if you have the room you’ll appreciate the flexibility and redundancy of having both.

The little four stroke as you’ve learned is easily manhandled, is more efficient, cleaner, and great when you don’t need to get up on plane. When you’re going longer distances it’s a slow noisy pain in the butt.

I run my smaller motor 85% of the time, but am really glad to have the bigger two stroke when I need/want it. It sits on the stern rail when not in use and the 2.5 lives in a cockpit locker when the dinghy is on deck.

The four stroke gets used consistently which is the best way to avoid problems with them. The two stroke may need a shot of seafoam and/or carb cleaner when it’s sat on the rail for a few months but it always comes back to life.

[StumpLifter]

Have you considered that a larger motor can be used in place of your iron genoa in a pinch? Could keep you off the reefs in the event of an engine failure.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by StumpLifter

Have you considered that a larger motor can be used in place of your iron genoa in a pinch? Could keep you off the reefs in the event of an engine failure.

That's been discussed extensively in this thread. Yes, of course, that is a very important advantage of a large outboard.


My previous large dinghy had a 25hp wheel steered outboard, and could hip-tow the mother ship very nicely -- yes, I tried it.


But as I wrote, I have no way of carrying a dinghy which is even capable of using a motor bigger than 10hp, other than in davits, and that just doesn't work for my kind of sailing. So I have had to sacrifice this function of the dinghy. Everything is a tradeoff!




I would love to have a 15' RIB with a 50hp motor, like my friend with the 200' expedition vessel has (he has two of them, actually). But that will remain a dream, I'm afraid . . .

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

The Mercury 15hp 2 stroke in Italy had it’s starter motor poop the bed today. Second time in four years. Thankfully, it has a pull start. This motor is really ugly & beat up, but it just keeps going at 33 years old.

I wish I knew where to buy an almost new Mercury 25hp 2 stroke electric start short shaft somewhere near Massachusetts.

The 15hp Mercury lives on.... I realized later the same day the problem was simply a weak starter battery. The battery is 7 years old, but it did get me through another season.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

The 15hp Mercury lives on.... I realized later the same day the problem was simply a weak starter battery. The battery is 7 years old, but it did get me through another season.

Congratulations! I had the same thing happen to me with my Mariner 25, which may be the same basic engine as yours. I didn't bother replacing the battery, because you could start it, warm or cold, with half a pull of the pull starter. The electric starter was completely superfluous; wasted weight and complexity.



I have a snowmobile with a 600cc (and 120hp -- yowza!) two cylinder, two stroke engine. Its predecessor had an electric start, but when I bought this one, I ordered it without an electric start, for the same reason. Half a pull, warm or cold. Two cylinder two strokes rule!

[Dockhead]

Update:


The little Merc 3.5 after being broken in and mellowing a little now starts mostly on the first pull, even after a couple of months of disuse. I've started to like it.


But the original question of this thread is still not answered. Should I get rid of the Selva? Get rid of both, buy a Torqueedo AND a 10hp for times when I need speed and range?


90%, or even more, of my dinghy use is put-putting around on short trips to shore from anchorage, or put-putting around a harbour. I'm just not sure how much money I'm willing to spend, and extra weight I'm willing to carry, to have more power on the very rare occasions when I need to plane. The 3.5 will drive the 310 RIB at hull speed even at a full load, and will even plane the RIB with one person on board. Yes, sometimes it's nice to be able to blast across the Solent or take a joy ride in some place without a speed limit, but my dinghy won't take more than 10hp anyway, so is it really worth carrying two motors?


"For backup", one might say, but backup propulsion for my dink is oars.