It's a matter of taste, I guess, and there is a great deal of information in the
archives.
Both types have various pros and cons, but personally I just love two strokes for this application. They are indeed more responsive than four strokes and to my hand just feel better. I like they way they sound and even the way they smell. Perhaps it is a Pavlov's Dog type psychological association between two stroke smoke and freedom and happiness -- I was first taken on
boats as an infant, boats with two stroke outboards.
Two strokes are lighter and they are simpler, which makes them simpler and cheaper to maintain and
repair. These are very good things for this application. Their main downside is greater fuel
consumption, which means less range and more fuel expense.
The bigger the
engine, the greater the advantages of a four stroke. But it is hard for me to see anything good about small four strokes. From about 10 horsepower and smaller, four stroke outboards may be splash lubricated and really cheaply made, and so may be actually less durable than comparable size four stroke.
I have a 25 horsepower two-stroke Mariner on my
dinghy, the latest in a long line of two stroke
dinghy engines. I love it to bits. It is ten years old, but runs like a top, starts perfectly all the time, and I've never had a bit of trouble with it. It's powerful and smooth and just feels good -- it feels like it is happy at its
work. It does drink fuel, however, but that is a small
price to pay for the motor's other virtues, in my opinion.
I have a 40 horsepower
Mercury four stroke on my lake boat. This is also a good engine, and is particularly good for low speed puttering, which is what we mostly do with that boat. It is very economical and quiet. It is heavy, but that is not a problem in that application. But for a dinghy, I would never have anything but a two stroke.