Outboard - smallest, lightest, best - petrol or electric?

Robert Wilson

Robert Wilson

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To replace a 2.4HP Honda 4stroke (heavy, petrol etc).

Ideally a Torquedo 1003CS but VERY expensive :disgust:

Anything reliable, sensible price, easy to mount in a chop, powerful enough to cope with a chop?

What is the smallest, lightest petrol/petroil motor?

Are there any electric ones which fora-folk can recommend?

What experiences have you had?


(Two applications - mine on inflatable tender / friend's on 13ft GRP runabout)

Thanks, in hope of a non-wallet-crunching solution :)
 
Robert Wilson said:
To replace a 2.4HP Honda 4stroke (heavy, petrol etc).

Ideally a Torquedo 1003CS but VERY expensive :disgust:

Anything reliable, sensible price, easy to mount in a chop, powerful enough to cope with a chop?

What is the smallest, lightest petrol/petroil motor?

Are there any electric ones which fora-folk can recommend?

What experiences have you had?


(Two applications - mine on inflatable tender / friend's on 13ft GRP runabout)

Thanks, in hope of a non-wallet-crunching solution :)
Click to expand...
A 2.3 honda is heavy???? An electric with the battery will be much heavier than a Honda
 
Does not have to be a Tohatsu, particularly if you're looking secondhand. My understanding is that many of the 3.3s that were on the market, such as the Mariner, were all basically the same engine.
 
LIghtest will be Torqueedo - battery is not lead acid and is formed with a carrying handle that slides onto the body. Easy and light to hold body and battery in each arm.

We swapped to a Torqueedo 3 years ago for heavy 3m rib and it's a very expensive way to get perfection but is the best boat gadget since my first GPS 25 years ago.

Advantages so far:
Light
No fuel tank or oil or smells so can lie anywhere even on cabin cushions once dry
No problem starting ever so I don't need to go ashore to help with shopping in case the engine won't start for inexperienced people
No range problems as we never go more than a mile each way to shore ( and usually less)
Refuel from ships battery so never need petrol station (or mains)
State of charge and estimated range at current throttle constantly available
A bizarre sense of glee at having a gadget that changes everything and just simply works

DIsadvantaages so far:
Just once had a 2 mile round trip in very choppy conditions and used 60 percent of charge and needed to do that again 3 hours later when going out for dinner - but it got back to 70 percent charged in 90 minutes
Doesn't get heavy 3m rib in the plane but our 5hp Honda didn't either
 
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If you discount the Torqueedo on the basis of cost, the choice is between 2 and 4 stroke. I'm surprised that 2 stroke is preferred because my experience is that 2 strokes are more temperamental, more difficult to start and less economical than 4 strokes. I've had and have both and the latest, little Honda, is by far the best if a little noisy. The noise doesn't bother me as 15 minutes is about the most I do in it.
 
You already have the motor that most closely fits your requirements unless you can find an old 2 stroke. If your Honda works, why change it? If you have the money for a Torqeedo then better to spend it on a folding propeller for your Javelin.

The pros and cons of the Torqeedo are well known and explained above. There is no other cheap electric solution.
 
I have had a Torqueedo for the last 2 years and it was the best option for me at the time. However, its very expensive compared to petrol as mentioned, a lot of beer tokens to sacrifice. I did quite a bit of research at the time and no other electric options came close although I think there are new manufacturers coming into the market. Personally if the Torqueedo is out of the price range I dont know of anything that would be a viable replacement for a small petrol outboard to be used for a tender currently. Although, I hope, some competition comes along soon to help bring the price down to more manageable levels.
On thing that is often overlooked is that the Torqueedo is virtually maintenance free. Given the agro that I've had over the years with outboards, some self inflicted(!), thats a big plus for me. That and the ability to dismantle into three component parts for fume free storage is perfect.
 
I prefer the two stroke option but if a rich uncle died and left me some dosh (no uncles left, rich or otherwise) I'd buy a Torqueedo. However, stuck with a petrol engine, two stroke is the only viable option for us as the Admiral finds she can't start a four stroke engine. End of story.

As for four stroke reliability, the newer ones are a pain in the arass as the tiny jets are forever getting clogged with stuff. A mate once got so brassed off with his that he deep sixed the wretched thing after numerous attempts by the dealers to get it working properly...
 
Definitely Torqeedo.
It splits into 3 parts so the total weight is not an issue when comparing it to other makes. You fit the drive first then the tiller then the battery.
Mine is brilliant. I have two batteries but have never needed the second one.
See Dylan’s website.
 
I have an evinrude 3.3hp 2 stroke for my tender.
Infrequent use but always starts easily and works well. its very lightweight and easy to handle. (It may be a tohatsu with a different badge? )
When finished a trip, i turn off the fuel and vent and let it burn up the fuel in the carby.
Following that it has been stored many times on a quarter berth with no leakages or petrol smells at all. Either way up!
On a charter yacht recently the tender had an air cooled 4 stroke Honda.
What a nasty, noisy, hateful little thing that was! Much noisier than the Evinrude. Should be banned on noise pollution grounds alone. (In general, i like Honda products having had 2 honda cars and 2 bikes but this was horrible.)

Here's a thought for the Brussels Bureaucrats: More pollution may occur from 4 stroke outboards being put down on the wrong side than from all the modern high efficiency 2 stroke engines. So why are they banned exactly?

In 10- 20 years, the cost /capacity equations of batteries will probably mean that we all have electric outboards at affordable prices. I look forward to that time, but right now i wouldn't go past a reasonably modern 2 stroke.
 
Thank you all.
I don't have the dosh but the Torqeedo does seem to tick ALL the boxes .
My Honda is fine for now but I am not happy with stowing it in the lazarette on its side.
I have a pushpit mount but I don't like to see the increased clutter (horse-shoe buoy, aerials, dan-buoy, solar panels, steering vane, back-stay etc).

Folding prop? Don't start that again ;)

As for friend's requirements, he definitely doesn't have the money and he has a 9.9HP 2stroke already - another Honda would be too much weight and there's not enough space to mount another bracket.
The second engine is for emergencies (he's a very novice boatman and his SWMBO is very worried about him getting stuck/blown out to sea if his 9.9HP fails)
The 9.9HP is really too big and heavy for his boat, but it's a beautiful engine - I've told him I'd swap it for my "failing" 2stroke.:rolleyes:
No joy there, sadly!

What a pity there isn't a less expensive Torqeedo or a small, light weight petrol 1.5HP
 
John the kiwi said:
I have an evinrude 3.3hp 2 stroke for my tender.
Infrequent use but always starts easily and works well. its very lightweight and easy to handle. (It may be a tohatsu with a different badge? )
When finished a trip, i turn off the fuel and vent and let it burn up the fuel in the carby.
Following that it has been stored many times on a quarter berth with no leakages or petrol smells at all. Either way up!
On a charter yacht recently the tender had an air cooled 4 stroke Honda.
What a nasty, noisy, hateful little thing that was! Much noisier than the Evinrude. Should be banned on noise pollution grounds alone. (In general, i like Honda products having had 2 honda cars and 2 bikes but this was horrible.)

Here's a thought for the Brussels Bureaucrats: More pollution may occur from 4 stroke outboards being put down on the wrong side than from all the modern high efficiency 2 stroke engines. So why are they banned exactly?

In 10- 20 years, the cost /capacity equations of batteries will probably mean that we all have electric outboards at affordable prices. I look forward to that time, but right now i wouldn't go past a reasonably modern 2 stroke.
Click to expand...

Polluting the back of your car by dribbling some oil out is not in any way the same as emitting a fine mist of unburnt carcinogenic particles into the air from a two stroke's exhaust.
Also, it is not two strokes which are banned, it is engines with emissions above a certain level.

What I don't get is why it's boat engines that are affected by this, and not strimmers, mowers, etc etc, of which there must be hundreds of times more in use.
 
Kelpie said:
Polluting the back of your car by dribbling some oil out is not in any way the same as emitting a fine mist of unburnt carcinogenic particles into the air from a two stroke's exhaust.
Also, it is not two strokes which are banned, it is engines with emissions above a certain level.

What I don't get is why it's boat engines that are affected by this, and not strimmers, mowers, etc etc, of which there must be hundreds of times more in use.
Click to expand...

No real argument with what you have said, particularly the last except that:
a)The exhaust from a two stroke outboard goes into the water, not the air.
While this is not ideal, it is hard to see how they are then breathable as carcinogenic particles.
b) In my 4 stroke OB experience, incorrect storage results in sump oil ending up in the combustion chamber and into the exhaust system. When you do get the motor restarted there is a large cloud of oil smoke and liquid oil discharged into the water. That is what i was referring to.
 
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