I just bought a Honda 2.3 outboard for the dinghy. A bit late, but any advice?

[steve66]

No plastic bits apart from a small sleeve Inside a rubber doughnut that was only fitted to some models. These disintegrate with normal use anyway. You can run these out of water without damage

 

[maby]

No plastic bits apart from a small sleeve Inside a rubber doughnut that was only fitted to some models. These disintegrate with normal use anyway. You can run these out of water without damage

My experience is certainly that they can be run for short periods at low speeds out of the water without suffering damage. I wonder if the lower bearing and transmission might overheat running at higher speeds for any length of time.

 

[Bouba]

No plastic bits apart from a small sleeve Inside a rubber doughnut that was only fitted to some models. These disintegrate with normal use anyway. You can run these out of water without damage

Good. An outboard that can run on land and sea is got to be better than one that can only run in the sea

 

[steve66]

I don't think they would even for sustained periods, after all an automotive gearbox doesn't overheat and they are full of the same oil

 

[Kukri]

Just to note that I bought five litres of Aspen four stroke from Elmers this morning; I didn't have a lot of change from twenty quid, but if it lasts for years it's a good deal. I doubt if I will use that much in a season, certainly not if I switch to "ordinary" when cruising.

 

[dartmoor]

Always been a fan of air cooled for v small outboards - I can't understand why Honda is the only one in the market. Raw sea water (more often than not having extra rubbish in it from estuaries) requires an impellor - which needs changing, and is usually quite a pain to change - and regular flushing, which no matter how well done will not remove every residue of salt. At tick over and low revs the Honda is as quiet as any outboard. Yes, it sounds noisier at high revs - but so do the 2.5hp water cooled ones. Just sounds a bit harsher perhaps. The only other recent air cooled one was the Selva 2.5hp which was simply terrible when compared to the Honda (and appears now to have been withdrawn).

 

[gordmac]

Have a friend with a Honda and a Malta, latter is preferred as it seems to cope better with the total neglect they both get. The Honda has a mild steel fuel bowl which rusts, carb jets clog up. I would think draining the fuel bowl regularly would prevent any problems, bowls were available from Honda so replacing is possible.

 

[steve66]

Have a friend with a Honda and a Malta, latter is preferred as it seems to cope better with the total neglect they both get. The Honda has a mild steel fuel bowl which rusts, carb jets clog up. I would think draining the fuel bowl regularly would prevent any problems, bowls were available from Honda so replacing is possible.

Its imperative to drain the fuel bowls on these engines if being stored for more than a couple of weeks, fuel left in the carb for more than a couple of weeks will affect the starting performance, If you leave fuel in for longer you may find blocked jets and corrosion to the inside of the bowl. The design of the drain on these carbs is an absolute joke, and sign of salt and the fine soft brass drain screw seizes and any attempt to remove usually breaks the slotted head. At approx £50 to replace the original bowl does see a lot of engines abandoned
Aftermarket bowls with a far better drain design are available off my shelf at a fraction of the cost of original! (apologies for plugging!)
Steve

 

[Kukri]

Having started this thread, I ought to report on how we have got on with the little Honda.

We like it. It is light, easy to carry around and clamp on to the transom or indeed the outboard bracket. It is rather quiet at low revs; at higher speeds the noise is about the same as the Seagull. The centrifugal clutch is nice, so is the ability to turn the engine right round and point it in any direction. Like the Seagull, if it doesn’t start on the first pull, you give it a Hard Look and an extra firm pull second time, and off it goes. It is certainly nice not to have to run it in a barrel of “fresh” (?) water after each use. The “Owner’s Manual” is easy to understand (ICOM please note!)

We bought some Aspen fuel and it seems to like it, but it only sips it.

And Steve66 supplies better bits!

 

[steve66]

Great to hear!

 

[Stavros]

The only outboard i remember that was aircooled was the old Seabee, you can forget Selva (spit) we went on an Ionian flotilla years ago, we all had the little Honda outboard, some were used on the old roundtail Avons, a fortnight of debauchery (read pissed) and abuse of the Hondas, produced no problems at all, they ran faultless, I bought one shortly after, i was so impressed with the little engine.