Best Dinghy Outboard for Children?

[Chotu]

I’m looking at setting up my dinghy so my girlfriend can use it.

She weighs about as much as a teenager and can easily plane with groceries and a 5hp Lehr outboard we had.

When the old tohatsu seized up and the Lehr went in the drink (tough year for outboards), I got a brand new Tohatsu 9.9 EFI to replace them. Great motor.

But also too heavy and way too much power for my girlfriend to handle. She’s scared of the thing as she sometimes gets a little out of control still near docks in tight spaces.

She’s improving but needs something small. 5hp or less.

I was thinking something electric but WOW... the prices!!

Any suggestions on an outboard (even electric would be good since I won’t always be around to fix carbs) that she can use? Max would be 6 miles per day. Typically around 2 miles per day.

[thinwater]

You have all your answers.
* She can learn to control 9.9 hp. That's not much, far less than her car. You said she ran the last motor on plane. EFI = no carb, just a throttle body.

* Keep the gas dry and the vent closed and the carb will never be a problem. Use Biobor EB or Stabil 360.

* Electric can be nice.


I don't think size is the issue here. But if it is, get small motor and keep the gas dry. Those are the compromises.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by thinwater

You have all your answers.
* She can learn to control 9.9 hp. That's not much, far less than her car. You said she ran the last motor on plane. EFI = no carb, just a throttle body.

* Keep the gas dry and the vent closed and the carb will never be a problem. Use Biobor EB or Stabil 360.

* Electric can be nice.


I don't think size is the issue here. But if it is, get small motor and keep the gas dry. Those are the compromises.

Sorry, I neglected one thing. She has trouble pull starting the 9.9. The compression resistance is too much. The old 5hp Lehr was an easy pull so she could do it.

[LoudMusic]

Have you tried making one out of epoxy?

I'd try an electric for sure.

[JBP]

If you can get by with an an electric fishing motor instead of a Torqeedo, used ones are dirt cheap. Range just depends on what size batteries you choose. They can easily go all day, very slow.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by JBP

If you can get by with an an electric fishing motor instead of a Torqeedo, used ones are dirt cheap. Range just depends on what size batteries you choose. They can easily go all day, very slow.

I was think of these. Would they move the dinghy at 5-6 knots or so? I have no experience other than remembering my grandfather had one when I was lake fishing with him at 6 hrs old.

[dreadpiratk]

We use a Mercury 3.3 on our dinghy. Slow but it gets us there. I have no problems letting my 13 yo daughter drive it around. It’ll plane with only her in the boat but with all of us it’s a slow sometimes wet trip. But it’s easy to start, easy to control and any one of us can lift it off the transom with one hand. Been thinking of getting something bigger but darn it this one just keeps running so well I can’t justify it.

[JBP]

I doubt you could get 5 knots. I use a 50 lb thrust on my 15 daysailor, and it might get up to 5, but a dinghy is not so efficient.

[rslifkin]

If she's ok with not being able to plane, go for the 2.3 Honda or 2.5 Suzuki. They're only about 30 lbs, so easy to move around and not much penalty for keeping both a small and larger outboard around.

[Luvboats]

Hola Chotu,

I probably don’t have much too offer in response to your question but I just wanted to say how impressed I am with your ability to recall experiences from when you were just 6 hours old!!! Nice work.

Sorry it made me chuckle and I couldn’t resist having a little fun with you. Typos and autocorrect often make for some funny and interesting prose.

I have been fairly happy with my Honda 2HP then later the 2.3HP version although I am not sure if planing is possible with one. Air cooled and no transmission, centrifugal clutch and turn motor 180 degrees for reverse, make for a little less maintenance I believe. Has fuel shutoff and I would run the carb dry if I was going to leave it for more than a week or so without using.

Good luck on your search,
~Jeb

Edit: I see rslifkin beat me to the suggestion of the Honda as I was typing.

Originally Posted by Chotu

I was think of these. Would they move the dinghy at 5-6 knots or so? I have no experience other than remembering my grandfather had one when I was lake fishing with him at 6 hrs old.

[Tayana42]

I’ve heard good things about the Tohatsu 5 hp propane outboard. This from the outboard mechanic that has repeatedly cleaned the low idle jet on my Tohatsu 3.5 four stroke gasoline outboard. When he is not at his shop he lives aboard a Morgan 50 in San Pedro, CA and uses the Tohatsu propane himself for his primary dinghy motor.

[ayates]

Give her a pair of oars?

[Stewie12]

Go back to a small Tohatsu as you know she can handle it.

[anotherT34C]

I put one of those Bullnose rudder attachments on my 12V Newport 62 trolling motor. I use it as a power assist 'rudder' for my Walker Bay 8 sailing dinghy. Works fine (pretty great, really) for that purpose, but when I tried to use it directly (no sail) against some light chop and 15mph winds, it was pitifully underpowered.

For myself, I want to stay with electric. Like you, my partner is small and the vibration of a gas motor throttle hurts her hand after a while. I've seen 48V trolling motors advertised for ~600USD (no battery) that run at 2kW (the Newport is about 700W max). I've looked at the Torqueedo, but the two "travel" models are rated for 600W and ~1kW respectively. That looks pretty weak to me, but I have no experience with them.

[j.g.evans]

Look for a used 2 HP, 2 cycle outboard. I think it is only 19 lbs. I think all of them were made by Tohatsu. I was able to hand it to my wife to put on the rail with 1 hand (quickly). 95% of the time I was going short distances and not needing to plane. I had a 15 HP, 2 cycle, to go distances.
On a second boat I had a 3.3 HP, 2 cycle, Mercury that worked out well too.