Dingy motor

[jnvoss]

Thought I was comfortable buying a Torquedo for the dink, but the WM guys says no. He has had nearly all of them come back with some prob. So would like input from users who actually have electrics and also would like response from any who have the propane motor. Thanks.

 

[Nomad Willy]

My take is to get a used well cared for 2 stroke outboard engine because they are so light and you can put them down or rotate them in any position w/o concern. There's no "Opps there's oil all over the deck" experiences. Always run them dry when you're finished w them for the day or year.

If you get a 4 stroke engine they are all single cylinder shakers and are probably all good products so just get one that is represented by a good dealer near you. If the're not single cylinder shakers they are very heavy.

 

[HopCar]

First let me be up front and say that I sell Lehr propane outboards. That said I have personally purchased two of them. I have a lot of time on my 2.5 and I'm very pleased by how easy it is to start. So far, it has been very reliable. I recently purchased a 15. I only have about ten hours on it but so far so good. If you buy a Lehr, buy it from an independent dealer who will test run it and show you how to run it. The main thing is for them to show you how to bleed air out of the hose and adjust the idle for you. For some reason most of them seem to idle a little fast right out of the box.

I also use an electric trolling motor to push my canoe and it works very well. If you don't mind having to carry a separate battery, I'd go for a trolling motor before a small Torquedo.

I've also used the little thirty pound thrust trolling motor to push my 8' inflatable from anchor to shore and back. It works fine in that application.

 

[Ski in NC]

Second that above.

Need to go planing speed or need to go multiple miles: Two stroke over 8hp.

Ok going slow speed, but still need to cover serious distance: Two stroke 2-4hp.

Just need to dink it to shore and back over short distances? Hard to beat an electric trolling motor and a 12v small deep cycle batt, like a grp 24 or 27.

Got a big dink like over 25hp? Get an EFI four stroke.

I have no experience with the Torqueedo or Lehr, they may fit in here too.

 

[River Cruiser]

I used a Trolling motor for years on a 16' Jon boat for fishing on lakes, also used it on my 16' sailboat. A fully charged deep cycle battery would last several hours while fishing.

 

[Nomad Willy]

I forgot a bout the propane outboards. If I had to go 4 stroke I'd definitely look at them. Especially under 5 hp. The "canned fuel" is a plus IMO? Their quick starting and smooth running are good. But I've never seen a smooth running single cylinder OB and very few w only 2 cylinders. But two is clearly better than one.

My favorite dinghy engine is the old OMC 2 cyl 3 1/2 hp. Wonderful little engines but quite old now. Many have only been used on lakes and can be found on Craig's list or e-bay. I'm going to find one soon myself. Looked at one a coupl of months ago .. wasn't worth the drive. And the drive wasn't long.

 

[dwhatty]

We have a Yamaha 15hp 2 stroke. For an upcoming summer long cruise (now cancelled unfortunately) I thought I'd try to find a smaller used 2 stroke since the 15hp plus the Achilles is a bit heavy for the davits.

I looked high and low, dealers and Craigslist, for such an engine. In this area they just aren't out there. Every one seems to be hanging on to the 2 strokes as long as they can.

 

[Marin]

We used to use an Evinrude 6 hp 2-stroke as a trolling motor. It was two cylinders. It was light, smooth running, smoky, smelly, and polluting.

We replaced it the other year with a Yamaha 6 hp 4-stroke. The only downside with this motor is that we didn't make the switch years ago. Quiet, remarkably smooth for a single-cylinder engine, no smoke, no smell, no dumping half its fuel into the water with the exhaust.

2-strokes were fine in their day, but the sun has long since set on their day. I, for one, am glad to see the back of them. We have one more to change, the 90 hp Yamaha 2-stroke, 3-cylinder on our fishing boat. I'm looking forward to the day we can toss that one in the dumptster, too.

 

[windmill29130]

Honda 4-stroke is the best out there. I have a 2hp that cranks on the first pull every time. 2 stroke you gotta worry about mixing oil, are loud, and you will pull your brains out trying to get it started if it has sat a while. Ease of operation is important when using a dink. No experience with the propane and seen a lot of electrics on craiglist for sale.

 

[dwhatty]

Yes. For all sorts of reasons I see a four stroke in our near future. Just wish they weren't so dang heavy. Will have to downsize hp, not a big loss.

 

[CPseudonym]

Thought I was comfortable buying a Torquedo for the dink, but the WM guys says no. He has had nearly all of them come back with some prob. So would like input from users who actually have electrics and also would like response from any who have the propane motor. Thanks.

I have no experience with either the Toquedo or the Lehrer propane outboards but would love to hear from owners of them too. I will say though that your reporting of the West Marine guys statement is the first criticism I have heard for that particular brand. Deckofficer and RJTrane are thescreen names of fellows whom might be able to give insight on the Torquedo electric outboard. They seldom post here but are worth sending a pm to as most people's PM's at this forum get forwarded to their email account so should roust them from their slumber.

I know Hop Car above sells the propane one at his store but he has a reputation as a straight shooter, if he says they work well that's a strong endorsement in my book. What dink are you considering using it on?

 

[Spike]

I got the Lehr 9.9 last spring along with our first dink (10' Zodiac Zoom). We haven't put a bunch of hours on it yet but so far I love it. Started in 2 or 3 pulls every time although I haven't tried it this spring.

Two things I really like about it is the fact that when you're done for the day you just turn the tank off and let it die, no fuel in the carb to worry about. The other is not having to store gasoline in the boat. I also got 2 of the Lehr see through 20# tanks so there is no guessing on the amount of fuel you have left. We have run it pretty hard on a couple of weekends and used less than 1/2 a tank each time.

The 9.9 gets 2 of us up on plane pretty easy, 3 or more requires some weight shifting but still works. It weighs in at about 90# so it's pretty easy for me to put on and off the boat.

Hope this helps. Hop-Car needs to post a picture of the "dingy" he has the big motor on...pretty sweet!

 

[HopCar]

Here ya go Spike. It's stich and glue plywood I built from Glen-L plans. It tops out at about 20 mph with two big guys aboard. It jumps right on plane with two aboard but the bow climbs for the sky with just one onboard. I'm in the process of installing automatic trim tabs in hopes of fixing that.

My 15 is electric start and the battery is inside the engine cover.

If you have trouble starting your 9.9 after it sat all winter, you just need to bleed the air out of the fuel line. Did they show you how to do that? The plugs don't foul and the oil stays clean.

 

[drf6]

We have had and used our Torqeedo for a few years now with no issues. It propels our Bauer 10 dinghy at about 3.5 knots and at that speed the battery is good for about 10 miles on a charge.

The batteries are slow to charge so we keep a spare on the boat. We like not having gas aboard and the Torqeedo is light weight (once you take the battery off) and stows anywhere with no issues. Our second choice was the Lehr. The Torqeedo works best for non-planing boats

 

[Bob Cofer]

We are on our 3rd season with a Lehr 2.5. As most have said it is easy starting and smooth. We have used both canisters and a tank, no difference in performance. It is self draining on our Weaver Bracket and requires very little maintenance. It is just right on our Walker Bay and serviceable on our 10' RIB.

 

[FF]

I have seen cruises ruined when one party feels trapped on board.

The trolling motor option allows folks not comfortable with gas outboards to go and do as they please , with NO FEAR.


May not be fast , but they work quite well.

 

[jleonard]

I have a Yamaha 2 stroke. Very quiet, my 15 hp weighs 79 lb compared to 120 for a 4 stroke 15 Merc. I have never run the carb dry during the season, only when I put it away for the winter. It always starts on the first or second pull.
The only gas it has ever seen is the ethanol laced stuff. Haven't had anything other than that in Ct for many years. I learned how to deal with the stuff.

 

[TDunn]

I have had a torqeedo for 4 years

So far I have had zero problems with it. I initially used it on my 3.11 compact RIB and found that it pushed the dink at up to 5 knots wide open or at about 3-3.5 knots at about 35% power. Range at 35% output is about 10 miles. I now use it with my Great Harbor 10 hard dinghy and it pushes the boat at 3.5-4 knots with around 10 miles range.

I like being able to one hand the motor onto the mothership. As mentioned above, I have two batteries. I generally take both along when I go for a cruise. I like the instant on aspect of the Torqeedo and its relative quiet (it is not silent). The only down sides I have found are (1) the initial cost and (2), no way to secure it since it comes apart easily. Because of not being able to secure it, I always take it off the dinghy when it isn't in use.

The Torqeedo replaced a 4 hp 4 stroke outboard that ethanol-gas killed.

As I said ZERO problems over four seasons.

 

[eyschulman]

I have had 30 yrs. good experience with a 4hp two stroke which finally rotted out and the 4 stoke 6HP I replaced it with shakes and is heavy. I also have a 9.8 4 stroke which runs much better but is very heavy and needs a crane to move on and off boat. I looked into the propane option and found their was no supporting service available yet and I live in a major boating area. One of my friends who owns a active OB repair shop also pointed out the lack of repair support. I suspect this will be remedied in the near future if the motors keep selling well but there may still be a significant gap.

 

[HopCar]

eyshulman, If your friend already does outboard repair, he might want to get listed as a Lehr repair shop. There is nothing in 99% of the Lehr he hasn't seen before and anything propane related is just parts swap. Lehr is pretty generous on their payments for warranty work.


If he is interested, I'll be glad to put him in touch with the right people and send him the service manuals.

 

[eyschulman]

HopCar my friend is a large volume OB dealer in two Japanese brands and getting involved with a competitive motor may be an issue. He does repair most brands and he is aware of the propane situation. I suspect if he wants to get into that end of the business he will make the move and may be bidding time to see what happens including which of his competition becomes dealers. I suspect if I owned a propane motor and needed repairs he would do it but at this time he does not appear to be too interested in that end of the business of course that might change if more motors are out there. At present he has all the repair work he can handle and the sales of inflatable boats remains his prime business. All above is my personal take on the situation and I am not authorized or knowledgeable enough to talk for him. That dinghy you have the 15 on does not have much freeboard on the stern. You might have an interesting event if a wake comes up your butt.

 

[Monk36]

I've heard the Lehr is hard to wash out after use in salt water. Is this a problem for you?

I'm looking at a 2.5 horse from West Marine. Really all I need for a small dinghy for up to four passengers. I like the price.

 

[HopCar]

I just stick my 2.5 in a trash can full of water and start it.

The same process works for the 5 but there is a flush adapter that screws into it's lower unit as well. People complain about flushing the 5 because it won't accept an earmuff flusher.

The 9 will accept earmuff type flushers.

The 15 has a garden hose adapter on the side of the engine and is really easy to flush.

 

[Peter B]

My vote now would go for the 4 stroke 2.3 hp Honda as long as you don't have a large dink and want planing speeds for long distances. I wish we had gone over to it earlier.

Main virtues are…

As someone else said, goes first pull most times no matter how long since last used.

Light to lift on and off.

Uses plain fuel with no oil mixing.

Best feature in a way is being air-cooled. So you can start it before it goes in the water to be sure all is well, and no flushing necessary.

Honda reliability.

Love it..!

 

[Donsan]

My vote now would go for the 4 stroke 2.3 hp Honda as long as you don't have a large dink and want planing speeds for long distances. I wish we had gone over to it earlier.

We don't have a mast so weight was very important.

 

[Marlinmike]

Not sure if this is the case with yours, but the air cooled small Honda's I've seen, or should I say heard are extremely noisy.

My vote now would go for the 4 stroke 2.3 hp Honda as long as you don't have a large dink and want planing speeds for long distances. I wish we had gone over to it earlier.

Main virtues are…

As someone else said, goes first pull most times no matter how long since last used.

Light to lift on and off.

Uses plain fuel with no oil mixing.

Best feature in a way is being air-cooled. So you can start it before it goes in the water to be sure all is well, and no flushing necessary.

Honda reliability.

Love it..!