Little Outboards

[whisper]

Currently the owner of one heavy rigid dinghy (8ft6) & one inflatable (7ft6) - latter restricted to 3.5hp max. My main criteria for chosing an engine for these is light weight and quietness.
Have any of you out there got any experience of the Honda 2hp , Yamaha 2.5hp, or any other small engines even if they are 2 strokes. I'm currently in the process of selling a Johnson 4 and 6hp models. The latter is a super little number - 2 cyl. - very quiet but too heavy and overpowered for new purpose.
Thanks.

<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by whisper on 19/05/2003 13:32 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[burgundyben]

I just bort a Tohatso 3.5, its 13 kg, same weight as the 2hp ones, its the same as the johnson and the mariner cept the mariner has a better steering stick, all three are made by tohatsu but marketed with different names, it starts straight away, has loads of power for my dinghy, runs nice and clean, came wiht a 2 year warranty, hass neutral and fwd, but no reverse although I can spin it right round, has got a dead man thingy, was 370 I think, and its a massive improvement on my seagull.

<hr width=100% size=1>Wanted - Austin Healey 110/6 or 3000 to rebuild, LHD considered.

 

[duncan]

have researched this myself recently and have it down to 2 - the Tohatsu 3.5/Mariner/Mercury and the Suzuki 2 'ish (2.2?) which everyone who expresses an opinion likes.
I have the Mercury 4/4 stroke long shaft but having handled the above 3.5 on an off the tender, including stowing it - it is so much easier that I am tempted to get one. OK it doesn't have the twist grip throttle or reverse but .........You can also get a Honda 2 - 4 stroke for around 350 currently but you have to be a little more carefull stowing it.

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[whisper]

Boat Mart did a "test" in last month's edition which concluded that the Honda just pipped the Yam though no comparisons were done on noise levels. Rather stupidly they also compared two of the same 3.5hp Tohatsu clones. Strangely enough they both came out with the same rating !!

'Twas very lumpy down in Devon for most of the last 10 days.

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[blueglass]

Also had the same Tohatsu referred to by Burgundy Ben. Had it for 2 years, running it on an inflatable and a rigid tender similar size to yours. 2 years fault free save the odd sheer pin failure (my fault anyway for running aground) Bought it at the Southampton show for I think £299 although I think they have gone up a bit now. Cheap but very cheerful. had it stolen while ashore in Holyhead N Wales a couple of seasons ago - I'm sure the tealeaf concerned is still getting good service.

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[DPH]

I just got hold of a new 2HP Honda on Saturday.

Call me a sad git but just had to try it out straight away. Hence cruised around Port Solent Marina for about an hour with the girlfriend.

It starts easily and doesn’t weigh too much but since I've never had an outboard I can’t really give much of an opinion but, I’m happy so far.

I bought the engine, as its 4 stroke so don't have to bother messing about adding oil.


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[duncan]

that's not sad at all - what's the point in buying it and putting it away somewhere!

I think for boatowners the oil bit is overegged - last time I counted I had 8 top up / additive bottles in a locker from hydraulic fluid to antifreeze, gear oil to rainex ; and having 2 stroke mix isn't going to make much difference.

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[Happy1]

I bought a Mercury 3.3hp, power to weight is very good, and as commented on here is identical to the Tohatsu and Mariner. Remember with a 4 stroke it can only lie down on one side to stop oil spilling. For interest when I was researching the engines I found that Honda are giving 5 years warranty on theirs, but probably a marketing gimmick as you would need to keep the service history up to date with proper dealer for it to stay in force!

I went for the 3.3 as I wanted that bit more power, i haven;t tried the 2hp as some may not have tried the 3,3hp so perhaps the only way is to do a test drive back to back with the ones you have on your short list. Weight was a big issue with me, but I am more than pleased with the performance of mine, it was used as duty tender at Yarmouth and I am sure others will be able to confirm it's performance. Mine cost £389 from Barnet marine in N.London, only £10 more than the Tohatsu. Also ensure you have a service centre around as Tohatsu are few and far between which was a problem for me, but seems a bit daft when it is identical to the one I have bought except for the name tag.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple> "You only see what you recognise, and you only recognise what you know" <font color=purple>

 

[duncan]

yep it's yours I was confirming the performance/handling weight of earlier in the thread........../forums/images/icons/smile.gif...and Alan's although you have his sheer pin don't you! No problem bills in my pocket for next week/forums/images/icons/cool.gif

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[Happy1]

Err No, he sheered it off himself when he had a go, I left sheerless. I stopped off the following day at the Chandlery in Poole as I was cruising past to Cobbs Quay and bought a few, lucky as CQ don't sell them in their Chandlery.

I looked at the BBC 5 day forecast, it is crap all round the UK and France. At the moment I am looking at the Far East as an option, although the long flights are a bit of a bugger for 1 week. Thought I may as well go over and get some more suits made while the weather is bad over here, it normally takes 3 days for 5 suits for me & some suits and dresses for SWMBO. I am still recovering from Brazil flights though, or was it the jet lag from the Yarmouth trip /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple> "You only see what you recognise, and you only recognise what you know" <font color=purple>

 

[Jerbro]

I bought the little honda 4 stroke a couple of years ago. Reasons were...

light
twist grip throttle
no messing with fuel mixtures
nice silvery case!

I've not worried about how i've stowed it (until now!) and it's been ok?

<hr width=100% size=1>Jerbro
====
Click here for <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.btinternet.com/~jerbro> My ex-boat pics</A>

 

[DPH]

It's pretty hard to stow the Honda the wrong way.

So long as the side with the throttle arm is uppermost your safe. This is the obvious way to store it to stop it from getting bent.

Oh and you can't store it upside down but that seem's pretty obvious!

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[duncan]

but of course on the Mercury/Mariner you have to store them resting on tiller arm underneath....such is life

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[Duncan_Hamble]

Back when I was a teenager (1980s) there was an "arms race" to see who had the fastest tender in our boat club on the Thames.

Mercury 3.3 (same as Tohatsu 3.5) was the engine to have. Small, light, quiet and powerful for its size. As an alternative, at that time the 2.2hp version was just as powerful if you took the restrictor plate out of the inlet manifold (10 minute job, take off the carb, pull out plate) - and less money for the parents to stump up! "May" have warranty implications but it could just as easily be put back in.

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