Recomendations for Small Outboard?

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richardm47

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Hmm my 4hp 2-stroke Mercury is 20kg and too heavy to lug back home in the car boot every weekend, not to mention too large to go on the pushpit onboard. Goes on a 2.6m Zodiac with slatted floor.

Looking to buy new. I don't need much HP - 2hp is ok, my main concerns are small weight and size, portability. Reverse gear not required, although Fwd & Neutral would be nice.

My current list is:
Tohatsu 3.5hp 2-stroke 13kg £??
Suzuki 2.5hp 4-stroke 13kg £399
Honda 2hp 4-stroke 13kg £420

I know 2-strokes aren't available in uk now, but I could wait until July when I'll be in Guernsey.

Any recommendations?
 
I loved my 1995 2 hp, 4 stroke Honda, it was light and not noisy in my opinion and had enough oomph for a tender two teenagers me and kit, but I wrecked it. I didn't want to replace it with the later 2.3hp engine as many folk warn against the centrifugal clutch on the later models (mine was constant mesh). Both types weigh about 13kg.

To avoid sump oil draining into the power head, 4 strokes if stored horizontally,must be laid on a specific side(differs with make), not a problem really although some folk try to make much of it, the 2 strokes can be positioned as you like.

So I bought a Tohatsu 3.5 2 stroke at £389 last summer and you can still get them here. It is the same weight, it is quiet, and much more powerful- too much really but it's controllable so no problem. I can recommend it and fuel consumption is much the same.

One thing though- if your 4hp engine uses a remote tank, then be aware that both of the above engines have the type of carburettor that will not accommodate a remote tank, so you are dependent on your 1.4 litre(ish) integral tank, which is good for about 45-1 hour duration.
 
2.5hp Mercury, no neautral (but you get used to it) light as your ever gonna get and small as well. My one has been no trouble for the last 4 yrs and starts first time even after a winter lay up. I am sure you can still get em from stock.
 
Agreed I had a malta 15yrs or so ago very good little outboard, didnt know you could still get em /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
my Tohatsu 3.5 is great,i have had it for 2 years and is no trouble,it sips fuel and is so light SWMBO can carry it without to much moaning.
 
I love my Mariner (tohatsu) 3.3hp 2 stroke engine
Lighter, quieter and more powerful than my previous Honda 2hp four stroke
 
Well I keep my ..
P5030002.jpg


4 hp on the pushpit and my boat's a few feet shorter than yours /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
my Tohatsu 3.5 is great,i have had it for 2 years and is no trouble,it sips fuel and is so light SWMBO can carry it without to much moaning.

[/ QUOTE ]

Totally agree 3.5 Tomo-San the Tohatsu(5yrs), for same reasons. All o/bs have to pass the SWMBO lifting test( hence my Seagull 3.5 Silver Century, with clutch had to go, /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif).

In addition, Tomo-San survived neglect(forward locker on our old boat for whole year, out and fired first time on old fuel), good torque/size ratio- worked our old 6m( circa 1 ton) at about 3kts for three weeks around Solent, when 6 hp packed up second day of a cruise.
Lack of reverse encouraged good judgement, iron nerve then, mind /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

More than adequate for most tender work, with that bit in reserve you never need but.......
 
Get a classic British Seagull. My 40 minus is a real eyecatcher. People for miles around turn to see what's causing that noise & as soon as they see the cloud of blue smoke, they know!

Seriously tho' if an outboard is already 40-50 years old, there's a fair chance it will do another 40-50 years!
 
Lots of opinions here. I think the best is to consider what's important to you. If you want neutral and reverse, that rules out the 2.5hp two strokes. If you want a twist grip throttle, then that would suggest the Suzuki 2.5hp four stroke, or even the centrifugal Honda. if you want no more than 13kilos as your post suggests, then only the suzuki and Honda four strokes match. And do you mind mixing the fuel, or would you rather just out in unleaded as in the four strokes?

I have recently bought a suzuki 2.5hp, and I have an older 3.5hp two stroke. I even have a seagull featherweight. Of the three, the quietest and nicest to use (because of the throttle) is the Suzuki. And I got it brand new including delivery for £339! The seagull has a certain charm, but the oil is horrendous!

The one shortcoming with the Suzuki is that there is no proper tell tale - you rely on seeing the spit/spray coming out of the leg.
 
[ QUOTE ]
The seagull has a certain charm, but the oil is horrendous

[/ QUOTE ] It makes a big difference if they are converted to run on a 25:1 mix. Possible with most from 1968 onwards, but after 1978 they were 25:1 anyway. Conversion depends on the type of carb. A different needle in the Villiers carbs fitted to the smaller engines.
 
Interesting - they give the weight as 17kg, that's a fair bit heavier than the Honda and Suzuki.
I've got the Mariner 3.5hp version of the same engine, and think the brochure quoted 15kg at the time. I've also got a Honda 2.3 and agree that the centrifugal clutch takes some getting used to.
Re. the noise of the Honda. I don't think it's much/any louder than the others but it is at a higher, more annoying, pitch.
If it's for putting on and taking off your dinghy and storing on a rail on the mother ship I'd search for a 3.5hp 2 stroke for it's chuckable character.
 
Suzuki DF2.5 2.5hp

I have recently bought the Suzuki 2.5hp 4-stroke 13kg £399. I bought it on offer at mailspeed, I think it was closer to 299 at the time (might have been a SBS special), look around, they currently have them at 349.

So far I am very happy, but have had to learn to use it. Cold starting is simple, but it takes a little practise not to stall it for the 5 minutes or so it takes to warm up. Unlike my old 2ST which you started and then pushed the choke home, with the suzzy I am having to gently ease it in as the motor gets warm.

I am used to it now and it is not so much a problem as a difference between 4ST and 2ST. I don't know if other engines do this. Another slight moan is the lack of steering when in neutral. The old mercury I had had a large fin above the gearbox, this was just the shape of the leg, but it was big enough to allow some steerage when the engine was stopped. The suzzy is narrow, presumably to save weight.

I am thinking of fashioning a mini rudder somehow. There was a PBO project a month ago or so, but it was a bit too heath Robinson, I have some stainless plate and will add this to my tuit list..

Good points.

My car no longer stinks of petrol. I can sit back and not worry when SWMBO goes ashore as this engine is reliable and easy to start. Now I just have to teach her to drop it out of gear before smashing the dinghy into the dinghy pontoon to stop /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

The engine regularly wins best buy in all the magazine tests. (though ST made an error in saying it does not lock the engine from twisting when tilted up, this stops the engine falling to the wrong side and filling the cylinder with oil, it does have a lock).

The engine is so quiet compared to a 2 stroke and that horrid wet fart sound the honda makes.. Though the honda does allow you to run it dry to get warm as it is air-cooled, I can see that as an advantage, shame about the clutch the honda has, everyone complains about it.

The gear box is clunky, but it works, it feels solid and takes no effort at all to drop in and out of gear.

I know there is this big thing about laying them down correctly (on the handle for the suzzy), and at first I was really anal about it, but now it is just habit, it does not cause any problems and we don't have to think about it.

The carry handle on the back is well balanced and carrying the motor for SWMBO (I watch!) is not a problem, it is also well placed to put a safety line when lifting aboard. Though she is currently building us a webbing lifting harness to help this process.

Economy, well it is just great. The mercury was pouring more fuel into the water than it burned. It sips petrol and although I keep checking the level, still in the 2ST mindset, it hardly uses any at all.

Fully recommended.

I am all for banning 2ST whiny oily motors, they ruin quiet estuary moorings and do pollute the water. Sorry, but that is my opinion.
 
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