Best Small Outboard

Many of the current crop of small outboards are all made by the same company { Tohatsu } and sold with different paint jobs and badges. Honda is the exception.

Many long term cruisers love the old 2hp 2st that is most frequently seen as a Suzuki or Mariner.

I believe that the current 2.5hp Tohatsu is a direct descendent and at 12.5 kg does not strain your back. No clutch though and F/R is achieved by turning the engine through 360 degrees.
 
Twister_Ken said:
Another Susie Q 2.5 fan.
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Yet another vote for the little Suzy. Clearly built to save weight. It's a bit plasticky but ours has been reliable and works fine about 6kn steady on a 2.5m two up. The latest ones have bolt on prop not a split pin. Very easy to service and work on.
 
Another one for the Suzuki.

A few years old now. Sits in the sailing club shed over the winter and starts first time at the beginning of the season.
It is always flushed out in fresh water every time it is used.

I have used other members Honda's but did not like the centrifugal clutch.

Both are light enough to sit on the pushpit when sailing.
 
Strathglass said:
A few years old now. Sits in the sailing club shed over the winter and starts first time at the beginning of the season.
It is always flushed out in fresh water every time it is used.
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I used a Seagull 40D on my last bat until I was given a Yamaha 4. The Seagull then sat in my parents' cellar for nineteen years before I used it again. It started first pull and ran faultlessly on nineteen year old petroil.
 
JumbleDuck said:
I used a Seagull 40D on my last bat until I was given a Yamaha 4. The Seagull then sat in my parents' cellar for nineteen years before I used it again. It started first pull and ran faultlessly on nineteen year old petroil.
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stories of miraculous seagull starts after standing for amny years are letgion

of course there underlies another question

why were they left to stand for so long - the answer is usually that a more modern, cleaner, more fuel efficient engine was being used while the seagull doing what it does best - which is to sit in the garage waiting for it to be asked to start while another engine does the actual work.

they are the Corporal Jones of outboards - always ready - but seldom your first choice when it comes to getting the job done

D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHEQkKqMlZk



D

.
 
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Having used a Honda 2hp for 13 years, it's not bad reliability wise but problems with faults in the carb, tick over and starting. Clutch and reverse by turning around are a pain in the bottom! We got it with a boat we were buying so had no choice. If I was buying again I would get the Yamaha due to reliability, build quality and controls.
 
dylanwinter said:
why were they left to stand for so long - the answer is usually that a more modern, cleaner, more fuel efficient engine was being used while the seagull doing what it does best - which is to sit in the garage waiting for it to be asked to start while another engine does the actual work.
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I liked the Yamaha, but I also like the utter reliability of Seagulls. The big prop helps too - the 40D could push a 1 ton, 21' displacement boat along just as fast as the 4hp Yamaha.

Of course if we were all being sensible we wouldn't be pratting about with boats in the first place.
 
JumbleDuck said:
I liked the Yamaha, but I also like the utter reliability of Seagulls. The big prop helps too - the 40D could push a 1 ton, 21' displacement boat along just as fast as the 4hp Yamaha.

Of course if we were all being sensible we wouldn't be pratting about with boats in the first place.
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40D ?

D ??? Made in April (1963 to 1972) ?
 
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VicS said:
40D ?

D ??? Made in April (1963 to 1972) ?
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Yup, 40D. The "D" stands for "Direct" - it has no clutch. I think the model designation was fairly short lived. My father bought it new in the early seventies.

I used to have great fun with it in the Crinan Canal, making buzz-bomb approaches to locks, though it will tick over amazingly slowly if asked to do so.
 
The thing i like about British Seagulls is their longevity. Mine is a 1965 Featherlight (or is that a condom?) and i expect it will still be running in another 50yrs unlike a Honda or tohatsu. There's nothing to go wrong and the amount of pollution over it's lifetime must be much less than produced in the production of the 10 Honda needed to replace it
 
ghostlymoron said:
The thing i like about British Seagulls is their longevity. Mine is a 1965 Featherlight (or is that a condom?) and i expect it will still be running in another 50yrs unlike a Honda or tohatsu. There's nothing to go wrong and the amount of pollution over it's lifetime must be much less than produced in the production of the 10 Honda needed to replace it
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Doesn't half annoy the I-like-new-shiny-so-everybody-must-like-new-shiny brigade, though.
 
I have three Yamahas great engines had susuki in past would not touch one again, I think it is how a engine is looked after, that really counts when it comes to reliability.
 
Mine is a 1965 Featherlight (or is that a condom?)
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Yes I beleive it is. The outboard was a Featherweight. They hhave a shorter than standard shaft length so ideal for small dinghies with little freeboard but before 1967 were called Forty Minus.
 
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