What 6hp outboard for my yacht tender

[markhomer]

I’m planning on running to and from my yacht in a honwave 3.2 air , I’ve a tohatsu 3.5 hp 4 stroke at the moment but thinking of a 6hp 4 stroke to do this now , previously we used a 5m rib but pricey tobservice and keep in marina . Will be taking the tender with us and lifting aboard , looking for lightweight reliable powerfull engine , any thoughts ,experience ? .

 

[Graham376]

4 stroke and light weight don't go together, far better to look for a good 2 stroke, lighter, easier to service and usually more reliable. I had a Suzuki DF6, 4 stroke (not for long) it was heavy for its hp, unreliable, hard to start and poor quality.

 

[RumPunch]

My 6hp Honda twin is 36kg...….

 

[Zagato]

What you already have would be my first choice for weight and power... why the change?

 

[Homer J]

I had a Yamaha 6hp on my 3.2 honwave. It was a great reliable engine and made the boat fly but struggled to plane with more than one person. on few occasions the pull start would come back viciously and punch you on the face as it started but other than that a very good engine.
I got fed up with the weight of it, taking it on and off was precarious and a real p in the a. I sold it on eBay recently and bought a torqeedo. I’m slower but much, much happier and I use the tender a lot more.
i would say unless you have Davits - don’t do it.

 

[Catalina36]

IMHO small outboard motors and possibly some small tools like strimmers are the one area where two stroke has a real advantage over four stroke. In most other IC engine uses you don't actually have to pick them up and carry them. I had a 2.5 Yamaha four stroke and 3.3 Mariner two stroke. The Yamaha was appreciably heavier despite being nominally only 2/3 of the power and in practice less than that. I sold it and kept the Mariner.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

I have had a Mercury 4 stroke 6hp since 2011 ... has been reliable and so far and pushes my Wetline 265 AD up onto the plane with 2 adults aboard fine (dependent on well-inflated V floor) ....



The dinghy was bought at the same time as the engine and will be replaced this season with a lightweight RIB of similar dimensions - I'm keeping the engine.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

I’m planning on running to and from my yacht in a honwave 3.2 air , I’ve a tohatsu 3.5 hp 4 stroke at the moment but thinking of a 6hp 4 stroke to do this now , previously we used a 5m rib but pricey tobservice and keep in marina . Will be taking the tender with us and lifting aboard , looking for lightweight reliable powerfull engine , any thoughts ,experience ? .

I have a Mariner 6hp 4 stroke that weighs around 26 kg . I would class that as heavy . For me personally, I would never use it as a tender unless I had a dinghy in davits set up.

I gave up the idea of having a planing dinghy.

 

[Goldie]

The 2 stroke Yamaha 6 and 8 are the same weight (effectively the same engine with a couple of mods) at 27kg so in terms of weight, the extra power‘s free. I think the most powerful engine at that weight would be a 2 stroke Tohatsu 9.8 Which always comes highly recommended. I’ve had several 4 strokes But tbh, at this sort of size I was glad to be rid of them. My current outboards are all 2 strokes, including a Yamaha 8. Superb engine.

 

[KompetentKrew]

I’m planning on running to and from my yacht in a honwave 3.2 air , I’ve a tohatsu 3.5 hp 4 stroke at the moment but thinking of a 6hp 4 stroke to do this now , previously we used a 5m rib but pricey tobservice and keep in marina . Will be taking the tender with us and lifting aboard , looking for lightweight reliable powerfull engine , any thoughts ,experience ? .

?

I have 10HP on my Honwave 2.7IE. Is that excessive? To my mind it seems perfect - it planes quickly and trots along lovely.

The 2 stroke Yamaha 6 and 8 are the same weight (effectively the same engine with a couple of mods) at 27kg so in terms of weight, the extra power‘s free. I think the most powerful engine at that weight would be a 2 stroke Tohatsu 9.8 Which always comes highly recommended.

I have the Tohatsu 9.8 and love it, although mine is 20 years old and challenging my maintenance abilities. I spoke to the dealer in Alderney this week and it's still the exact same model he sells. He seems very knowledgable, friendly and helpful. I see their site lists them as 26kg

 

[Graham376]

I have the Tohatsu 9.8 and love it, although mine is 20 years old and challenging my maintenance abilities. I spoke to the dealer in Alderney this week and it's still the exact same model he sells. He seems very knowledgable, friendly and helpful. I see their site lists them as 26kg

If you phone Tohatsu UK, they may be persuaded to mail you the service manual. Brilliant engines, I sold my 1994 one last year after a rebuild and bought a new one, it seems identical in every way and all parts are readily available.

 

[KompetentKrew]

If you phone Tohatsu UK, they may be persuaded to mail you the service manual. Brilliant engines, I sold my 1994 one last year after a rebuild and bought a new one, it seems identical in every way and all parts are readily available.

I have a couple of PDF editions of the manual:

• 003-21035-0
• 003-21035-1

The second seems to be the later, 2007, edition of the same manual. I've only spotted one addition so far.

I too have found Will, the parts manager at Tohatsu UK quite helpful - he has been known to post on one of the UK RIBs and SIBs Facebook groups.