2hp to 5hp tender outboard upgrade.

KompetentKrew said:
To be fair this is no more expensive than any other brand new 10HP outboard, is it?

It's certainly insignificantly more expensive than the four-stroke 9.8 that's replaced it in Tohatsu's European range (I can find that listed at £1600 and £1650).

I know that one is spoilt for choice on the secondhand market when it comes to any other model of petrol outboard, but this seems a fair price for a brand new engine.
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Oh yes there's absolutely no question of what engine I would be buying if I was in the market for a brand new one! But, a bit like the new list prices of cars or indeed yachts, to a lot of people these numbers are entirely academic as we are decidedly stuck in the secondhand market.
I have given some consideration to the Parsun version, which is substantially cheaper but gets so-so reviews... and Silva do a 4t single cylinder 9.9 which weighs only 30kg, but the few reports of it online are not at all encouraging.
(incidentally, I think you have your weight figure a bit out- lightest version is 26kg, not 22kg).

What I haven't been able to find out is whether there is are any genuine alternatives on the secondhand market- is anyone aware of something else in the sub 30kg, 8hp or above, category?
 
Kelpie said:
What I haven't been able to find out is whether there is are any genuine alternatives on the secondhand market- is anyone aware of something else in the sub 30kg, 8hp or above, category?
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We have a 6hp Mercury, also sold as a Mariner, which also came as an 8hp, but this is 31kg. It's a larger engine at 210cc than the lighter ones already mentioned here.

When I checked what was available new in 2005, the following fitted your criteria

Tohatsu 8 and 9.8 27kg 169cc
Yamaha 8 27kg 165cc
Johnson 8 26kg 164cc

There were also downrated 6hp versions of these.

All 2 cylinder, 2 stroke.
 
KompetentKrew said:
The Tohatsu 9.8 two-stroke is no longer sold in the EU due to emissions regulations, and I don't think our government has gotten around to scrapping those yet (write to your MP!), so it's quite sought after on the secondhand market.
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They are available in EU for commercial use or, racing craft if main propulsion. It's not illegal to use or own one but it is illegal to sell new ones for recreational use. Dealers and Tohatsu UK need proof that that purchaser is a commercial user and declarations have to be signed on business letter head.
 
So all one needs to do is race for a season to legally buy a 2-stoke in the UK? That seems a bit too good to be true. Maybe I should start a championship for rubberboats under 3m.
 
scruff said:
OK, that is a bit lighter than I thought it would be. Do you lift by hand or have a outboard derek?
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I lift by hand, I stand on the sugar scoop, it's not easy but is doable, I would certainly not want any heavier. 6hp is not powerful enough and not many are much lighter.
 
KompetentKrew said:
So all one needs to do is race for a season to legally buy a 2-stoke in the UK? That seems a bit too good to be true. Maybe I should start a championship for rubberboats under 3m.
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Not so simple, a mate tried that one. It has to be a racing boat, designed and used only for racing, as opposed to a boat sometimes used for racing. Evidently there are various classes all with registration numbers but I'm not sure of the details.

The commercial route is simpler, we have various posters here who qualify. Anyone running a business, even part time, which requires them for instance to have a boat to carry out work on a customer's boat on anchor or mooring , would qualify. Declarations have to be signed that the engine will not be sold on to a recreational user and details of subsequent sales have to be submitted to the importer,who has to cover their backside.
 
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Why not have two outboards on the back ?

Easily lift able, and always have a backup if one packs up.

To get on the plane, the weight might be a problem. But if you, the wife, dog , and a week's shopping near the bow, should be ok.

You would look super cool .

Here's a like for like test on youtube.

 
Rum Run said:
" it fell off the pulpit when I woz sailing guv"
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If you want to play slippery with the rules, I believe that a certain non-UK seller will put one on a pallet and ship it to you.

When I spoke to them they implied that VAT would be payable, but presumably there's no mechanism for customs to assess outboard engines for emissions requirements.
 
LONG_KEELER said:
Why not have two outboards on the back ?

Easily lift able, and always have a backup if one packs up.

To get on the plane, the weight might be a problem. But if you, the wife, dog , and a week's shopping near the bow, should be ok.

You would look super cool .

Here's a like for like test on youtube.

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But 2 outboards would be twice as noisy as one wouldn't they?

Couldn't tell from the video, totally drowned out by the soundtrack!
 
The amount of time you actually save by planing with something like 6HP and a small tender doesn't usually add up to much.
Easily lost faffing with a heavier motor on and off the yacht, or being unable to carry the tender with motor up beaches etc.
Until I can afford a yacht with a proper little RIB on davits, with 20HP all weather capability, I'll stick with 2HP which is so easy to handle, easy for SWMBO to start etc etc

If you have a long trip in harbour regularly then the right hard tender will plane one-up with 4HP, provided the prop is right.
A 4HP engine only produces 4HP at certain revs. If you have the wrong prop and can't get enough revs to get into the power band, you won't get on the plane unless you get a lucky wave.
A 4 horse motor bogged down at low RPM is likely giving less than 2 HP.
 
Graham376 said:
It's not just the time, planing is a much drier ride than crawling along into wind and chop with a 2hp.
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That's true with a bigger tender and enough power to keep the bow up a bit.
Planing a marginally powered tender in choppy conditions sometimes just means the cold spray is going faster when it hits you.
 
There is of course a speed limit in many harbours and anchorages .

A rib that planes is nice for those far away anchorages, but still in range for exploring and provisioning .
 
I knocked up in a few hours a simple outboard crane. Made from S/S tube offcuts from a discarded pulpit and a few bits of other S/S scrap the only cost was a tenners worth of welding and twenty five quids worth of double blocks and rope, plus my time with the tools. I had shackles, an eye bolt, nuts and bolts and a length of S/S studding in stock.

It took two goes to install correctly but now First Mate can lift and lower our heavy Suzuki four stroke 5HP four stroke while I position it on the dink.

Would not be without it, or the US made Kato one on on the previous boat.

I have a very light and powerful Johnson 4HP two stroke twin - 16 KGS. The Suzuki is twice that.

Trouble is, compared to the four stroke Suzuki the two stroke uses more than twice the fuel.

I use 15 litres most years, double that with the Johnson.

The less petrol I have to store on my boat, the better!

Think about a crane, transformed our cruising.
 
Thats useful info rotrax, thank you. Its not just the tender to rail I need to consider though. Our boat spends her summer on a swinging mooring. Therefore the outboard lives in the garage at home, I need to get into / out of car, Carry 100m down steps and across to rockyish beach, launch the tender then motor out to boat...

I can't image lugging a 30+ kg engine through that will make Friday evenings more enjoyable
 
TernVI said:
That's true with a bigger tender and enough power to keep the bow up a bit.
Planing a marginally powered tender in choppy conditions sometimes just means the cold spray is going faster when it hits you.
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Been there, done that :( When we arrived here, we had a Yam Malta which was brilliant engine and fine on a small slatted floor dinghy, which used to be rolled up and stowed.

We then bought a 55kg 2.9 dinghy which is permanently inflated and it's about 1km to our mooring. Made the mistake of trading in for a new Suzuki DF6, would never have another it was absolute rubbish and still too under powered to plane if 2 up + shopping or water.

Got rid of that and bought a used T9.8 which was a game changer and at 27 kgs the same weight as Suzuki DF4/5/6 and similar 4 strokes. Bought a new 9.8 2 stroke last year, expensive but worth it - in my opinion:cool:
 
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