Bigger inflatable = bigger outboard

[Sailfree]

If I go this route I suspect I will have to replace my hardly used Honda 2HP with a 4HP outboard. Only been used in St Peter Port & Bray a few times!!

Are there any outboard suppliers that PX new ones for old + £ in Southampton area.

As weight will be a consideration I believe the next Honda is 5HP and heavy at 28kg. Of the rest what would you recommend?

 

[Birdseye]

depends how strong you feel and how much you mechanise the handling of your outboard. I have a 2.3 m dinghy from excel and to get it on board I have to use the spinny halyard and a winch. I am beginning to find hefting the 3.3hp 2 stroke o/b a strain, yet I do the gym twice or three times a week and am reasonably fit.

to my mind its a bit like the question of yacht size. ego might say "big", common sense says as small as practical.

P.S. The maker says my dinghy is 28kg - must admit I thought I remembered it being more like 37 when bought. But if it is 28 then I definitely would not want to lift an o/b of that weight.

 

[Daydream believer]

If I go this route I suspect I will have to replace my hardly used Honda 2HP with a 4HP outboard. Only been used in St Peter Port & Bray a few times!!

Why not try the existing outboard on the new dinghy first

 

[duncan99210]

Don't forget that the plated maximum power of engine for a tender is just that, a maximum, rather than a requirement. I think you'll find that a larger tender will work just fine with your current engine.

 

[Sailfree]

Don't forget that the plated maximum power of engine for a tender is just that, a maximum, rather than a requirement. I think you'll find that a larger tender will work just fine with your current engine.

Thanks will try it but will probably only happen once we have left for this summer cruise with usual last minute jobs to complete before we leave.

 

[rwoofer]

Such a shame that 2 strokes have been banned. I used to have a 2.7m Rib with the 26kg Tohatsu 9.8. Planed easily with two and luggage and could get you quite some distance. However even that I would not consider lifting off by hand on any kind of regular basis, so I got a crane on the back of the boat.

My current Jeanneau Sun 2000 has the 5hp Honda and it really is a twice a season exercise and no more.

 

[dylanwinter]

I use my 2.3 to drive katie L along - she weighs over a tonne and gets four knots

and I also used it a lot of the slug - also well over a tonne - and 4.5 knots

just how heavy is your new inflatable?

 

[Trop Cher]

I got a bigger tender last year, a 3 metre rib, and like you I'd thought I'd need a bigger outboard, but my 2.5 Suzuki pushes it along no problem.

 

[doug748]

Just to jump on the bandwagon,

I have done a lot of miles in a huge, old, heavy Avon + 2.5hp Tohatsu. It works very well lightly loaded but does begin to struggle with a bigger load.

I think these people (Portsmouth based) might consider px:

http://www.ronhalemarine.co.uk/superbasket/category/1/New_Outboards

 

[TQA]

Well if a Tohatsu 2.5hp can push a 21ft liveaboard from Switzerland the Med then across the Atlantic to New York then 2hp should manage your new dink just fine.

http://www.tohatsu.com/news/seiko.html

 

[Daydream believer]

Well if a Tohatsu 2.5hp can push a 21ft liveaboard from Switzerland the Med then across the Atlantic to New York then 2hp should manage your new dink just fine.

http://www.tohatsu.com/news/seiko.html

I do not understand the mechanics but that statement is not necessarily totally correct
My seagull 40+ would drive my 17 ft 3inch Silhouette faster than it would my Avon Redstart
I suspect waterline length prop type revs etc etc come into play. My less powerful small outboard ( type escapes me) drives the Avon faster than the Seagull

 

[Talmine]

Our old Honda 2.3 pushed an Avon 2.6 metre airdeck fine but although it would push our 2.8 metre Avon ok it would not lift the bow so in a bit of a chop we all got wet. Up graded to a 3.5 hp. Although speed is only marginally greater the ride is much drier

 

[TQA]

I do not understand the mechanics but that statement is not necessarily totally correct
My seagull 40+ would drive my 17 ft 3inch Silhouette faster than it would my Avon Redstart
I suspect waterline length prop type revs etc etc come into play. My less powerful small outboard ( type escapes me) drives the Avon faster than the Seagull

If you read the story on the link I gave then you can see that a bog standard Tohatsu 2.5 was used by Mr Seiko as his sole motive power. Here is the story.

On April 30, 1995, Seiko Nakajima, his 21ft boat and a 2.5hp Tohatsu outboard motor arrived at the historic South Street Seaport in New York City, concluding an eight-month voyage.

On September 10, 1994 powered solely by his 2.5hpTohatsu, he began his trip in Basel, Switzerland, and headed out to the Mediterranean Sea via French rivers and canals. On October 30, he reached Gibraltar; on November 16, the Canary Islands. On December 31, he completed his journey across the Atlantic to reach Barbados. On February 11, he reached Miami, his first stop in the United States. On April 30, he arrived in New York, completing his record-breaking adventure. During his eight-month journey, the Tohatsu 2.5 powered his boat approximately 21 hours a day.

During the 27 day open-ocean portion of his journey across the Atlantic, Seiko survived in an extraordinary manner. He ate only crushed nuts and seeds and drank one liter of water per day. The enclosed portion of his boat, in which he spent most of his journey, is barely high enough for Seiko to kneel in and just long enough for him to lie down. He slept only one hour at a time so that he could gauge his position and progress frequently. He did not bring any reading materials with him so that he could keep his mind focused on the trip.

The boat, which Seiko built, is 21’ 4” long with a 5 ft beam and a 2 ft foot draft. It is made out of mahogany wood with epoxy and fiberglass and is completely enclosed. Building model boats has been a longtime hobby of Seiko’s. His boat, the “Seiko da Gindelwald,” is a full-size replica of a model that Seiko made. The bright yellow boat is the first full-size boat that Seiko has ever built.

Seiko, his boat, and his Tohatsu have proved to be a powerful team.

Coincidentally I am currently using a Tohatsu on my 9 ft RIB as my Tohatsu 18 hp has failed catastrophically and I have had a right royal runaround from Budget Marine in Antigua.so needed a stopgap as I have to head south as

I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep,

I keep my promises unlike Budget Marine and the 5 year Tohatsu warranty.

Yes the 2.5 hp pushes my 9ft AB RIB at displacement speed at 3/4 throttle.

 

[Daydream believer]

If you read the story on the link I gave then you can see that a bog standard Tohatsu 2.5 was used by Mr Seiko as his sole motive power. Here is the story.

I was not disputing that Mr Seiko undertook the passage . I was pointing out that because one engine powered his boat OK the 2Hp engine may not drive the dinghy as well as his 2.3 HP drove his "solid hulled" boat even though Mr Seiko's boat is much bigger

 

[Sailfree]

I will buy new inflatable and try it at sailing club before departure but if i do decide to upgrade any recommendations or are all outboards about the same now.

Thinking 4-5HP and lightest weight possible. Would get a new one.

 

[bedouin]

I think Ron Hale Marine (in Portsmouth) used to do a good range of 2nd hand outboards and were happy to p/x