outboard motors for dingy

[hog]

Hi! I accept that I'm not a proper "boater" and perhaps you'll all laugh at me for being here. However, I need some help and this seems the best place to beg for some. I have recently acquired an inflatable dingy called Seahawk 500 and I need an outboard motor for it. I have the necessary bracket but don't quite understand the difference between petrol and electrical motors. Is it true that an electrical motor will only go very, very, very slowly, regardless of how light the boat is? The man in my local boat shop is insisting I need a petrol one, or I'll be bored to tears. The use I'm intending is very slight. I want to be able to take it along the coast for a few miles (East Sussex) on a calm sea and maybe go up the odd river. I don't need it to go fast but I don't want it to be so slow that I might just as well be rowing. I hope this makes sense to you and I pray you'll be willing to give me your opinions. I don't want to sepnd an awful amount of money since it's not even for a proper boat but just for a bit of fun.
Thanking You In Advance, /Hog aka Linda

 

[michaelh]

Hi.

I would be very wary of using this type of boat on the sea. The problem is that the plastic used in the construction is not very strong and can easily be damaged. Because it is not strong you can only put a very small motor on it. Neither of these things in themselves are dangerous, but on the sea there is always the possibilitiy that the wind can get up or that the tide /current is stronger than the power of the motor.

These boats are only really intended for use on lakes

 

[hog]

Thank you, Michael! I'm very grateful to you for taking an interest. My mum said exactly the same thing! She couldn't believe I'd even think of such a crazy thing as using this in the sea and didn't calm down one iota when I tried to reassure her we would use life-jackets. OK< so maybe it's not for the sea but what motor would you suggest if we were to take her on lakes? Am I better off with a petrol one, or will it be too noisy? I want it to be a pleasurable experience and since I know it can't, due to its very nature of being a dinghy, ever rock my casbah anyway, just opt for for a quiet one?
I really appreciate your help; thanks again for your concern!

/Hog

 

[whisper]

Hi,
Like Michael I don't think that this is suitable for coastal trips.
For rivers and lakes then you want the lightest petrol outboard you can get in the 2.5-3.5hp range. Look at Tohatsu, Mariner, Mercury, Yamaha, Suzuki websites.
These will be better, I think, than having the electric types which are indeed very slow.
I think you may find that you will need some sort of permit to boat on any lake or river and there may be restrictions with regard to engine types, on lakes.
Have fun.

 

[PeterI]

I have an electric outboard, a Yamaha M20, it's light, quiet, saves you having to take petrol on board - and it's useless for anything other than a couple of hundred yards from boat to shore. It has no strength at all against any sort of current. If you try and travel a few miles with it the battery starts to die and you end up rowing (got a second battery which just postpones rowing). I'll probably change to a small petrol engine - which is what I should have bought in the first place.

 

[aztec]

Hi hog.

i have a small achilles (it's a dinghy), i use a 2Hp yamaha.

it's still slow, but you won't go fast in this type of inflateable... it'll just bend.

i Used to have a mariner (they're the same) very handy,light and easy to use/start etc.

i wouldn't want to use anything more powerfull (be carefull with the throttle setting.. maybe even limit the travel), and even then i think i'd be considering beefing up the floor with ply.

steve.

 

[carlton]

You need a RIB - Rigid Inflatable Boat.

It's like an inflatable but has a solid hull, the bit that goes in the water and stops your feet getting wet (ish).

Much better for using on the sea, but much dearer than a flat-bottomed inflatable.

 

[emcm0025]

Having had one of the seahawk500s in the past i did try it with a 4stroke 4hp mercury on loch lomond, the engine weight bent the outboard bracket but the boat didnt bend in the middle think due to the inflatable deck, but with a lighter engine for lake use should go well wouldnt recomend anything above 2.5hp or 3 at a push stay to 2 stroke for lightness, i found it to be quite a comfortable ride for some water fun but always the lifejackets

 

[Nick_H]

You need a very light 2.5 hp petrol outboard, and if you buy new you have the choice between a 2 stroke by Mercury or Mariner (same engine), or a 4 stroke by Honda or Suzuki. If you plan to spend quite a while pottering around then the 4 stroke may be best 'cos it uses less fuel (relevant to fuel storage and range more than cost of fuel).

If you're really on a budget, then the cheapest option is an old 2 stroke like a Suzuki 2.2

Others are right, do not go out to sea in this boat, it would be reckless.