Fed up with rebuilding British Seagulls...

When I bought mine about 5 yrs ago, the choice was really between Honda and Suzuki. There were arguments in favour of each but I decided on the Suzuki. My chief reasons were that it is quieter and doesn't have the centrifugal clutch of the Honda. At the time, Hondas were reputed to have troubles starting, though this may no longer be fair comment.

The Suzuki is very handy both to move around and in operation, but I would suggest handling one or two before deciding. My impression is that the better carrying handle and smooth profile of the average 4-stroke more than compensates for the slightly greater weight that the 2, and the smooth power and lack of need to bother with adding oil are other reasons to stick with a 4. As you probably know, 4-strokes can't be inverted, but the laying down position differs between makes; the Suzuki needs to placed on the handle and I believe the Honda the opposite.
 
FWIW I'd try to pick up a 2 stroke. Whilst there's not much of a weight advantage these days, the problem I found is that SWMBO cannot reliably start a four stroke but she manages just fine with a two stroke. So guess what we have..... In fact we've got two. A Suzuki 2 hp (mid 90s vintage) on the big boat for the tender and a Mercury 2.5 (vintage 2000) for the project boat. Yes, there's a bit of hassle mixing oil but that's balanced by the fact that the 2 strokes are much more bomb proof in terms of maintenance. The carbs on modern four strokes seem to be very prone to collecting little bits of stuff and gunk which stops them working, whereas the two strokes just carry on regardless of the abuse handed to them.

All that said, if you do opt for a new four stroke, then I'd suggest the little Suzuki. It's the lightest of the bunch, you can pick them up at reasonable prices and ours was reasonably reliable albeit SWMBO couldn't start it five time out of ten.
 
I've had a Suzuki 2.5 for two seasons now. It's been fine. It stops unaccountably occasionally, but has always restarted straight away. I give it fairly light use, though. I find it heavy but doable.
 
The Honda 2.3 is very popular, my friend has one and it always starts first time even after a winter with no maintenance.
Both the Honda and Suzuki weigh the same so try whichever is more comfortable for you when carrying. Personally I prefer a two stroke, I have a Suzuki 2.2 which is about 3kg lighter and more important(for me) is easier to carry as the powerhead is much slimmer. Good 2 strokes are still available secondhand at much less than a new 4 stroke.
 
New 2-strokes are still available in the CIs (they're outside Europe). For how long? I know they're still made for the Pacific Rim.
 
I have a Tohatsu 3.5hp 2 stroke for sale but its long shaft. If interested its in the for sale section.
 
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PetiteFleur said:
The Honda 2.3 is very popular, my friend has one and it always starts first time even after a winter with no maintenance.
Both the Honda and Suzuki weigh the same so try whichever is more comfortable for you when carrying. Personally I prefer a two stroke, I have a Suzuki 2.2 which is about 3kg lighter and more important(for me) is easier to carry as the powerhead is much slimmer. Good 2 strokes are still available secondhand at much less than a new 4 stroke.
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I had the Suzuki 2.2 before my current 2.5 4-stroke. The only convenient way to pick up the 2.2 is by the movable handle, which is sort of ok for a short time but the 2.5 has a comfortable fixed handle. The 2.5 has much more poke, is more economic on fuel and no bother with mixing oil, so, unless you have a particular need for a smaller engine or one that you can throw around, the 4-stroke definitely wins for me.
 
davidpbo said:
Tohatsu 3.5 2 Stroke if you can get hold of one.
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Fabulous engine. I had one from new as the price was good but it was too powerful for my inflatable and I could only use about half throttle or the dinghy squatted. Less of a problem with my hard dinghy but still OTT in power terms. My pal has a 2.2 suzuki 2 stroke, which starts first time and is light and very quiet. I would snap up one of those if I could
 
the little air cooled Hondas have been very good starters

They are like lawnmowers and run on a minimum maintenance regime

Fresh fuel, plug change once a year, oil change when you feel like it.

Air cooled is good because no gubbins getting sucked through the cooling areas, no impeller to worry about and should they come out of the water then no worries for a minute or two

I like the centrifugal clutch and has never given me any problems

Sadly rather too many mild steel components inside so there are lots of bits that go rusty over the years - which is a bit annoying.

As said above - they are powerful little blighters

but noisier at high revs - at low revs they are fine

here is mine shifting 3.5 tonnes of Centaur



D
 
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I have the four stroke Suzuki which has been nothing but trouble, often stalling. A Google search will show that this is well known. Anyone who thinks that these are great motors is welcome to buy mine. FWIW I bought a used two stroke Mariner off eBay and use that while the Suzuki sits in the shed.
 
I have to say that that is quite impressive. We have a Virgo Voyager 23 with considerably less displacement than a Centaur. Also we have an outboard bracket on the transom, so I reckon the little Honda would be a good belt and braces job should the Bukh inboard go kaput.

dylanwinter said:
the little air cooled Hondas have been very good starters

They are like lawnmowers and run on a minimum maintenance regime

Fresh fuel, plug change once a year, oil change when you feel like it.

Air cooled is good because no gubbins getting sucked through the cooling areas, no impeller to worry about and should they come out of the water then no worries for a minute or two

I like the centrifugal clutch and has never given me any problems

Sadly rather too many mild steel components inside so there are lots of bits that go rusty over the years - which is a bit annoying.

As said above - they are powerful little blighters

but noisier at high revs - at low revs they are fine

here is mine shifting 3.5 tonnes of Centaur



D
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Tam Lin said:
I have the four stroke Suzuki which has been nothing but trouble, often stalling. A Google search will show that this is well known. Anyone who thinks that these are great motors is welcome to buy mine. FWIW I bought a used two stroke Mariner off eBay and use that while the Suzuki sits in the shed.
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Did it cause problems right from new or did they develop later?
 
Just serviced my three outboards this week, I have a Yamaha 2hp for 9ft dingy and a Suziki for dingy both two stroke, plus an other Yamaha 2hp that I've stripped and rebuilding, I find the Yamaha is under powered when river medway is rough. The Suziki isn't to heavy at all, I have a cart I load everything into and haul this down to the end of our club pontoon, the Suziki is difficult to start on the pull cord so I tie a cord around the fly wheel on the top, starts first pull every time. I use a Honda 5hp on my one ton Pandora 700, I can lift that out and store in cabin, the Suziki does as a auxiliary if needed. When I brought my boat in 2014 it had a Yamaha 9.9hp ultra long shaft, with high thrust prop, which I considered over the top for a light craft. This is going to be sold very soon, serviced last year by power products, comes with large tank, fuel lines and the morse controls, for £850, am going to ask power products to sale for me, as I need a spare 12v battery at home to start it. It took 3 off us to get it off my boat for a service and that's the reason for sale, just a heavy lump.
 
I had one of the little Hondas, they are a miracle of minimal engineering but they are shockingly loud, foul angry beasts to start and have mild steel components. The starting issue clinched it for me, they snatch back at you, it may start on the first pull but nearly break your wrist doing it, SWMBO literally couldn't start it. There's talk of pulling the cord out until just after the compression cycle or something - sounds like a nightmare, my little 2 stroke can be started by all but my five year old. Oh and did I say the Honda was loud? Really loud.
 
YOur title sounds a bit dising to British Seagulls ...whats wrong with it ?
And how old is it? 30/40 years?....No Jap outboard will last as long as a Seagull!
they are easy to fix and all spares are available.
I could find one in a shed unused for 30 years probably in 30 mins it would be running!
 
dylanwinter said:
the little air cooled Hondas have been... <usual love affair with this rubbish engine removed>
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Honda 2.3
1) Cheap nasty awkward rubbery flap thing for securing the cowl
2) Penny pinched mild steel bolts and other bits that rust instantly
3) Plastic prop that gets all ragged by touching sand
4) Crap fuel cap with a leaky air vent that lets water into the fuel
5) ...held in place by cheapest possible plastic whiskers
6) Mild steel carb float bowl that rusts when water gets in fuel (see 4)
7) Nasty cheap carb drain point that turns into a furball of rust so you can't get the water out (see 4)
8) Horrible centrifugal clutch
9) The most penny-pinched not-fit-for-purpose POS that has come out of Japan in the last 30 years
10) It's a bit cheaper and lighter

Yamaha 2.5
1) Proper cowl clips
2) Stainless steel bolts
3) Metal prop
4) Decent fit-for-purpose cap
5) ... held in place by a chain
6) Decent die cast carb
7) Decent carb drain that has a handle on it that can be accessed easily
8) Proper gearbox
9) Seemingly as good quality and well built as the bigger engines
10) It's worth the extra £ and weight
 
StormNorm said:
Did it cause problems right from new or did they develop later?
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I think it was from new. I only used it a couple of times before Tam Lin came out of the water and it was a while before I used it again. I thought it was me getting used to a new motor at first. It has been to a marine engineer who also thinks it is a POS. As I said, Google it.
 
Had my 40+ for 56 years & never had to " rebuild it. Just change filters clean carb, change plugs , change gearbox oil , clean tank, change prop spring. Perhaps you have been messing about with it too much & that has caused the problem. Best to leave these well alone & they just keep running
 
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