Cheap Outboards

[Dan]

My faithful old outboard, 4hp Mercury40 twin, is getting a little old and has been tempermental lately, either refusing to troll, or run flat out or both! Its nearly 25 years old so time to think about a new one, I'm looking for something about 4-6 hp to power my 15' plywood dingy, does any one know any good suppliers of cheap new outboards? pref in the SWest or south.

 

Anyone know much about electric ones? how long will they run on full charge of a reasonable battery?

 

dan

 

Dan

[chris parker]

Great engine you have, it is not worth doing up. If it is past that point is it 2 stroke or 4 stroke. cant give you any advice as to where but I am sure someone will from your area.

 

2 Stroke: Tohatsu do a good cheap engine which the other manufacturers used to base their engines on and then charge for their name. They are being, or have been phased out of a lot of manufacturers lineups due to current and proposed emission regs.

 

4 Stroke: All very similar, I have a Mercury 6hp which I find very easy to start very economical on juice and reliable but it is only 13 months old, time will tell.

 

Min Kota are te most weel known of electrics, perhaps Newt has experience of them, not widely used in my area of the country.

[Newt]

Minn Kota will run longer on a battery charge than MotorGuide and those are the only two I have direct experience of.

 

A 40lb thrust motor will easily give you 8-10 or more hours on a reasonable battery and should be plenty large to move your boat for you.

 

With a deep cycle battery (so one made for this use as opposed to a car battery that is made differently) I usually expect to get 2+ years of regular use before replacing the battery but that's assuming I am good about charging the battery soon after each trip (within a few hours).

 

If you are seriously considering an electric motor, be sure to get JT Bagwell's ideas though. The largemouth bass tourney anglers use and abuse their electric motors way more than I do and he should have some good things to say. He's using a much larger, heavier boat but anything that holds up for those guys is great for the rest of us. Also I'd like his take on specific batteries and chargers.

 

Honda is now making a 6hp gasoline outboard that looks interesting and is way less expensive than most but they say it's only for fresh water use.

 

[ 28. September 2003, 12:59 AM: Message edited by: Newt ]

[chesters1]

there is no such thing as a cheap outboard DO NOT buy one from the second hand market as the cost of a proper service (stripdown and rebuild) is very high so they generally dont get serviced (even if they do who can trust the seviceman) :mad: an outboard used in seawater at the weekend and left to be used till the next can get (unless flushed with freshwater properly) build-up of salts etc in the waterways in the engine this will eventually overheat the engine (usually ten miles out with bad weather approaching)with serious concequencies , saying this even buying a new one has its pitfalls we bought a 4stroke honda engined one that on paper looked very good ,this broke down three times in three trips ,whilst the engine was fine the (with later research) gearbox was rubbish and was withdrawn from service in the sixties ,some chap had bought a large amount of gearboxes and stems and fitted a honda instead of the puny tecumsa ones of the time ,the faulty gearboxes along with a more powerfull engine garaunteed break down (after 300yds in the first case) so if your offered an Ocean8 outboard run like hell :mad:

[Seahog]

We got a small 4 stroke Yamaha, bought new, think it cost £800 ..... been very reliable, when used!

 

Iv'e also heard that Tohatsu are good engines, never owned one, but heard there reliable motors.

 

Its each too their own really you pays your money you takes your chance, buying secondhand can be a problem at times, then you could buy a fantastic secondhand engine! ...... if you can hear it run or better still see it being used in action for a while all the better.

 

As Chrispy mentioned, would it be worth putting some cash into the motor you have now, if its basically ok, no major/terminal problem etc ... Obviously you know the history of the motor! ..... good luck either way mate.

[Salar]

I agree - better and cheaper to do a total overhaul of what you have than the expense of buying something that could be just as knackered. I have a baby Mercury o/b for my dinghy and it has been totally reliable for years despite abuse and neglect. The problem with newer and more sophisticated engines is that they are more difficult to maintain youself . When they are going they are great, when they are misbehaving you have to take them to a dealer.

[Dan]

Cheers guys, I agree with what you all say and could rebuild mine, but the compression is getting weak and it just aint worth the cost of gaskets pistons, reed valves etc etc. I have a trusty old seagull but its just so damn noisey! Agree about the complexity so will seek a simple one! I just want a motor that does waste fishing time being fiddled with, or as last trip would only troll at Mac 3! shame there were no marlin in Lyme bay!

dan

[Chris Goddard]

Fear not young man!! I may have the answer for you. A cheap motor yes!! But not without it's faults. It's a 15hp johnson, running but needs a new recoli spring on the pull start. You can see the motot if you follow the link on the "Boat Foar sale" under sale or swap page!!

 

Chris

[argyll]

I'm on my second Honda, great engines but expensive by comparison and spare parts are gob smackingly expensive. I'm also on my third Minnkota (two different boats). I dont know the hull shape of your ply boat but if its saltwater based I'll assume its V or semi V. I have a

14.5 ft semi V Crestliner which is freshwater based and has had two different Minkotas. A 36lb transom mounted engine under which it barely crept along at full power and the current engine which is a bow mounted 50lb job which gives acceptable trolling speed without being exactly fast. I would suggest you don't consider less than 50lb for a saltwater application particularly if its going to be needed to get you home one day. Batteries can a bit of a problem. A leisure battery is definitely the thing to have and if you are anywhere near Southampton then www.towsure.com are the people to contact for a good deal. Using a MinnKota Endura 50lb motor expect no more than 4/5 hours at mixed speeds from an 85 amp battery. A 120amp battery will give you near enough a full day. A Minnkota Maxuum although more expensive will give around twice the battery life at anything other than full speed. Dont use an electric motor as your only form of propulsion, your battery can let you down when you least want it to.

[Dan]

For those that sail its a 14'6 enterprise, bit like a gp14 but much better! mine is plywood and mahogany. I can sail it but mostly leave the mast at home and take the outboard. The transom is not that strong and as much as I would love to see it go I recon 15hp is a bit over powered and a bit dodgy. It will actually plane with a 5hp and following sea!!

 

Still not sure to go for 4 or 2 stroke.

 

Dan