best small tender outboard

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seaesta

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My experience with these was with small 2 strokes - which seemed to be smelly , noisy and fragile. Mine got nicked 2 years and now I need a new one as I am going on a mooring.
Are the 4 strokes any better and can anyone recommend a good one
Thanks
Martin
 
For a small i.e. 2 to 3.5 hp outboard, the simplicity of a 2 stroke makes sense to me. Yamaha 2hp is really light, easy to start, doesn't care if you drop it upside down into the rubber dinghy. You know what its like, putting the motor on the dinghy on a rolly exposed mooring! You don't want a four stroke falling over and dropping its sump oil. I'm sure you can plan your way out of this, but simple is good.
Yamaha quality is worth paying for imho, I am pleased to have got a very good used 2hp Yam.
The 4 stroke yamahas are good but get stolen a lot too.
 
Must agree with Stemar. I have never heard a bad word said against these excellent little engines. Tohatsu, Mercury, Mariner... etc: 3 1/2 - 2hp, two stroke, is a good choice.
 
I had a mercury/mariner 3.3, of the made in Belgium strain, and it suffered a lot of corrosion from new, was noisier than others, had realy poor cowl clips that broke, a nasty design of fuel tap that broke and a few other niggles. Generally seemed inferior to my previous 'ancient mariner' which was a Yamaha in drag. I would only buy a Yam or a Yamaha-Mariner. We use our outboards a lot to cross Portsmouth Harbour, and everything else seems to be more trouble.
No doubt there are 'unhappy' Yamahas too, but I've heard a few very bad words said against Tohatsus and Mercurys!
Of course proper care and understanding goes a long way. If people saved their beer money for a new plug and learned to clean the water out of the carb, life would be a little smoother!
 
I got myself a nice quiet economical environmental friendly 4HP fourstroke Yamaha, (B -LL- X). More expensive than the equivalent 2 stroke but as I was had over on the sales patter the price was no suprise.It looks good but I can't think of anything else good to say about it. Best thing you could do is buy a tidy 4HP 2 stroke and swap me. Yep I will lose out in the pocket yet again but it'll soon assume the roll of an expensive anchor.
 
same here cost £60 2nd hand and does what its supposed to
Thanks again to VicS for the manual /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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My Mariner 2HP goes on and on. Minimal maintenance, light, easy to carry. Bought secondhand about 6 years ago.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, fab little engines. Mine lasted 17 years before I sold it (still running) and bought it's mirror image - a Yamaha 2 hp before going off full time cruising.

Both superb little engines and if they are still available when (and if) this one one dies, I'd buy exactly the same again. I MUCH prefer two-strokes at this size.
 
The thread seems to have drifted a bit......... About the only 4stroke small outboards are the Honda 2.3hp and the Suzuki 2.5hp. The Honda weighs 12.7kg and the Suzuki 13kg, both dry weights, so add a bit on for oil and fuel. The Suzuki is watercooled and has a N/F gear whereas the Honda is aircooled and has a centrifugal clutch - twist & go. Similar price. I'm pleased with my old Honda 2hp(even though I've just found a hole in the leg from the exhaust gas....) Another advantage of the Honda is you won't need to flush with fresh water after use and no water impellor, but it's bulkier than the Suzuki. At Seamark Nunn nr Ipswich they are both £475, the Honda has a 6yr warranty and the Suzuki 5yrs. Try both and see which you prefer. Good Luck!
 
You've forgotten the Tohatsu/Mariner/Mercury 2.5/3.5 4 strokes.
About 1.5kg heavier than the Honda.
I've got the Honda and a 3.5 Mariner. Honda is noticeably lighter to carry but has a loud and ghastly exhaust note plus poor clutch. Mariner a simpler tool to use.
HOWEVER for knock about, store any which way, simplicity, I'd buy a Tohatsu/Mariner/Mercury 3.3/3.5hp 2 STROKE.
 
The Mercury catalogue puts the 2.5/3.5HP four strokes at 19kg.

I've used the Honda 2.3. It's different from everything else and I guess you'll like it or hate it. I found the centrifugal clutch quite handy, although its a disadvantage that you can't potter along at tick-over. Air cooling means no worry about impellers or internal corrosion, but makes it noisier.
 
My experience of the Tohatsu 3.5 has been good although the wee lever which engages the drive can be fussy to work. The only problem we have had is having to replace the shear pin twice, but that may have been a result of my incompetence with the gear lever. It starts after every winter after a couple of pulls and although it is used sparingly, it runs well.
 
I bought mine partially because of the centrifugal clutch. It's fine in theory but if you need to use any choke for starting up, you shoot forwards. That's what I find stupid about it.
Interesting weight info. re the Tohatsu 2.5/3.5. I feel sure that the first brochure put them at about 14.5kg - no wonder mine feels noticeably heavier than the Honda /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
I never noticed that with the Honda, but it was on a fairly heavy boat - maybe it would be more noticeable on a light-weight inflatable. As regards the Tohatsu, I just happened to have Mercury data sheets because I was looking at engines for our new runabout, I've no idea which is correct.

How do you find the two outboards? I gather you're a two-stroke fan, but you seem to have two four-stroke motors - do you find any advantages from the four-stroke?
 
Johnson 4 stroke 2.5hp - same as the Suzuki, just different colour and cheaper. 3rd season and no problems, reliable starter.
 
There are two advantages that I can think of with regards to the small 4 strokes.
1) They don't need fuel to be mixed - would be an advantage if you are already running a petrol inboard main engine or even a big 4 stroke outboard one.
2) They are not smelly/oily and are therefore "greener". Though the polution caused by small outboards hardly registers, as it's minimal in comparison with other causes.

Can't think of anything else.
 
Cheers. Fuel consumption is also better as reported in various tests. I was wondering about your first-hand thoughts since you run both two and four strokes. How about noise levels (excluding the known noisy Honda)? Ease of starting?

I also wondered whether the four strokes are better at slow speed running? (my Merc 2.2 doesn't like slow running, and I think the club rescue boats were the same with their bigger engines - the four stroke was quieter and happier at slow speeds)
 
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