New Outboard

[mysticdreamer]

Hi..I'm buying a new 25hp for my dingy. Narrowed it down to a Suzuki or a Honda. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated

 

[Capt. Jon]

Suzuki is lighter.

 

[BandB]

Although neither of those would by my first choice of brands, I would suggest one thing to consider. 20 HP vs 25 HP. In both brands as well as others you aren't considering there is 40-50 lbs difference. 20's are typically designed to be portable and 25's are not.

 

[Rain Dog]

Hi..I'm buying a new 25hp for my dingy. Narrowed it down to a Suzuki or a Honda. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated

What is your cruising area? Different brands have very different support in different areas. This can be a big deal if you are stuck somewhere trying to get a spare part.

 

[markpierce]

Ugh. I found a five-horsepower, two-cycle outboard near my maximum ability to manhandle.

 

[devorenm]

Hi..I'm buying a new 25hp for my dingy. Narrowed it down to a Suzuki or a Honda. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated

How is the dealer network in your area? Suzuki is pretty widespread now because of their popularity in the repower market. I know Honda dealers are more geographically limited.

 

[Art]

Nissan - Good o/b's

 

[devorenm]

Nissan - Good o/b's

True. And just a rebadged tohatsu - same as Mercury in this hp range.

 

[Art]

True. And just a rebadged tohatsu - same as Mercury in this hp range.

Interesting!

http://www.nissanmarine.com/

NISSAN OUTBOARDS ARE NOW TOHATSU​

Nissan Marine has discontinued sales of their outboard motors manufactured by Tohatsu Outboards, a longtime partner and manufacturer for Nissan Marine. Tohatsu outboards are identical and their parts and accessories are fully compatible with all existing Nissan Marine engines. Tohatsu dealers are able to provide parts, service and warranty support for all existing Nissan Marine owners. Tohatsu continues to build the same high-quality engine you’ve come to rely on and offers a full line of outboards, from 2.5hp to 250hp, all backed by a 5 year limited warranty.

 

[Rustybarge]

Have a look at the Tohatsu 30hp; its the biggest hand start/electric start you can buy. It will start without any battery, very useful feature., and of course also has an alternator to charge batteries.

I have the Tohatsu 6hp extra long shaft ' sail drive' that's designed to push along big boats at displacement speed . very good little engine, lots of grip in the water and weighs only 25 kg.

Caveat: im nearly 60, reasonably fit, but I find that I'm only just capable of lifting an awkward 25kg outboard up onto the aft deck and out of the dingy.

if you're going bigger than 25kg you'll need help to lift it; so go as big as your dingy will allow on the transom or stick below the magic max liftable weight.

 

[Pgitug]

Make sure its an outboard she can start.

 

[kraftee]

We have a 2010 25hp Suzuki V-twin on our 11.5' West Marine RIB. The 2010 is a carbureted model as opposed to the new fuel injected versions. Never any issues - except it came new propped for a much heavier boat, which caused it to go into overrev/limp home mode every time I ran over half throttle for more than 30 seconds. Changed out the 10" pitch prop for a 13" and all was great. Absolutely wonderful little workhorse that sips fuel and will push four adults along at 27mph. About the only thing I don't like about it is that you cannot add a recoil starter to the electric start version as the starter is in the way. That being said, it generally only takes a bump of the starter to get it running!

 

[Max Simmons]

Honda 40 on my tender. 60 hrs over 3 seasons. So far so good.

 

[mysticdreamer]

Although neither of those would by my first choice of brands, I would suggest one thing to consider. 20 HP vs 25 HP. In both brands as well as others you aren't considering there is 40-50 lbs difference. 20's are typically designed to be portable and 25's are not.

what brand would you buy and why?

 

[BandB]

what brand would you buy and why?

I'd personally buy Yamaha, although I admittedly don't have a lot of experience with outboards, especially smaller ones. That's why I couldn't tell you Honda vs. Suzuki.

It's just those who I have been around who were knowledgeable in outboards have seemed to prefer Yamaha by a substantial amount. Perhaps it's where I was boating. The factor always given was fewer problems, but I do not have direct experience. The other factor was the availability of service, second to Mercury.

I'm sure you're more knowledgeable than I plus did the leg work. I would find it interesting and perhaps others would find it useful, to hear why you eliminated the big three.

 

[gaston]

What no Yamaha ???????

 

[Insequent]

My previous RIB had a Yamaha 50, two stroke. It had not done many hours, ran very well but rather than keep it I went with a new Honda 40 four stroke for the new RIB.

Sure, Yamaha have 'owned' the outboard market for a long time and are still at the top. But folks I sought opinions from at the time (yard folks who see a lot of boats and engines, without any ties) said Honda, at least in the smaller sizes, have pretty much caught up. Not sure they will have the dealer network in your neighborhood but like all Honda small engines, you very, very seldom need them. Probably some daylight to the rest though.

 

[FF]

"Make sure its an outboard she can start."

This is so critical , to keep the bride from feeling "trapped" on board .

I suggest folks consider an electric trolling motor and battery so "She Who Must Be Obeyed" can do as she pleases with out asking for help.

At the very least , make her the Launch Captain , for every ride to anywhere.

 

[No Mast]

I've had two Mercury outboards. Same model, one was always hard to start and the other always started easily.

When we bought Moana, the tender came with a 40hp Yamaha, worked flawlessly. Just bought a new tender and a new Yamaha to go with it.

 

[Dougcole]

I have a 20 HP Suzuki, fuel injected, 2014 model. I hate small four strokes, but aside from that it's been a pretty good motor. It generally starts on the first pull or two, but if it doesn't the starter cord binds and it will almost pull your shoulder out of joint. I've had two different dealers look at it, one of them twice, and both said it is normal.

It's pretty powerful for a four stroke and burns very, very little fuel. It's also pretty quiet. I've had a few issues with it stalling at idle, but turned the idle up just a hair and it seems to be much better.

I keep mine on the dinghy, though I used to take it off and store it in the Lazrette. It's heavy and tough to move around. The 20 hp is the same size block as the 15 hp, so I got as much HP as I could for the same weight, a really good thing to do with OB's. I see the 30 hp is only a tiny bit heavier than the 25?

I've owned a ton of outboards, overall I'd rate my suzuki 20hp a 7.

 

[Art]

Classic Johnsons mid 70's to late 80's that were serviced well and not used harshly are the ticket for power, low maintenance needs and running well 99.9% of the time... providing good gas mileage too. Currently have a 1975 50 hp Johnson on our cherry 1975 14'8" Crestliner tow-behind runabout. She's light weight, fast, and economical. see 1st photo


Currently looking at a cherry late 70's 17' tri hull with its original 115 hp Johnson. May supplant that larger tow behind boat for the little Crestliner (might/might-not sell Crestliner??). Boat's in A-1 shape, as is the Johnson motor. Owner has original brochures, sales receipts and all service records. Hope to soon spend a day to go see it, probably purchase it. See 2nd photo


I often run into well cared for classic boats and autos... They sometimes scream... buy me, love me! Must be my magnetic personality - LOL

 

[kraftee]

The small Honda outboards are still carbureted, as far as I know. Fine little motors, but the carb jets get clogged up if you don't start them at least every week - or if they get the tiniest impurities in their fuel (at least here in Florida.) I sold about twenty Honda-powered RIBs (20-horse and 30-horse) as a package along with our trawlers from '05 to '11. I understand that almost every single one of them has now been replaced with a Suzuki, Tohatsu, or Yamaha. The owners just got tired of having carburetors rebuilt every season.

 

[Insequent]

The small Honda outboards are still carbureted, as far as I know. Fine little motors, but the carb jets get clogged up if you don't start them at least every week - or if they get the tiniest impurities in their fuel (at least here in Florida.) I sold about twenty Honda-powered RIBs (20-horse and 30-horse) as a package along with our trawlers from '05 to '11. I understand that almost every single one of them has now been replaced with a Suzuki, Tohatsu, or Yamaha. The owners just got tired of having carburetors rebuilt every season.

Interesting feedback. I didn't know that about the smaller Honda outboards. My 40 is fuel injected 4 stroke.

What was the ratio of 2 stroke to 4 stroke in those sales? For 2 strokes, yes, if you dont shut off the fuel and run them until they stop then carby issues are frequent although less common with oil injection vs the old 2 stroke fuel mix.

My Honda 2000 genny is carburetted I believe and my Honda lawnmower definitely is. Both are 4 stroke. Both start first or second pull so far, and neither are started weekly or anything close to it over the year. Maybe they fixed something or so far I've been lucky.

 

[chriscritchett]

Looked at a used Honda or two and they LOOK like very well made products, but no experience with them.

I HAVE a 2006-ish Johnson (Suzuki)15hp 4-stroke that suffer perhaps the worst abuse imaginable....sitting. And it recently started up just fine after not running for 2-3 years and ran like a top for an entire day and part of another, working as chase boat for some other testing. Can't complain about that motor at all.

Also just repowered my Whaler with a 2014 Suzuki 60, and love it. Very nice product. But I'm sure they all are these days. Sadly, not enough hours on it under my ownership to speak to durability.

There's my $.02. Best of luck, you probably can't go wrong between the two.

 

[mysticdreamer]

thank you all for your time and advice..to answer a few ?..service area is not a problem,I crusie the puget sound for I'am still tied to my job...as for the big 3...I again refer to still working with morgage so price is a big factor..also installing a center console in dingy so another 1000 and last but most inportant my wife says I only have so much to spend LOL Thanks again for all your advice...will keep you posted..Rick

 

[Nomad Willy]

"Make sure its an outboard she can start."

This is so critical , to keep the bride from feeling "trapped" on board .

I suggest folks consider an electric trolling motor and battery so "She Who Must Be Obeyed" can do as she pleases with out asking for help.

At the very least , make her the Launch Captain , for every ride to anywhere.

I hear ya FF,
Have an old 70's 6hp Johnson. Bought a new 8hp 2 stroke Yamaha a few years ago. She still liked the old Johnson. We use the Yamaha mostly on a big frieght canoe now. Finally found a good old OMC "light twin" (this one's a 4hp) and about 34lbs. And if that's too heavy we have a Yamaha 2hp single cyl 2stroke at 27lbs. A bit noisy over 1/2 throttle even though it's water cooled but way quieter than the Honda air cooled 2hp.
But Chris really really liked the 6 Johnson. It needs a carb job now.

 

[kraftee]

Brian,

Those Hondas were all 4-strokes (pretty sure Honda has never made a 2-stroke outboard!) I am not indicting their build quality or fit and finish. Like all Honda products, they are flawless and beautiful. I also have Honda generators, Honda motorcycles, etc. However, Honda has always used Keihin carbs while the other Japanese manufacturers used Mikuni. Not sure if that is the reason that the little Honda outboards are so finicky about their fuel or not. But the fact remains, because of the excessive maintenance and poor reliability, most of the Honda 20 and 30 hp outboards I sold in the past ten years have been removed, sold (to other poor, unsuspecting souls) and replaced with other brands (primarily Suzuki.)

ERIC

 

[N4712]

We run a 40Hp Etec on our RIB, it originally came with a 40hp Honda (carbureted) that let us down twice, so we yanked it off and put the etec on it. No problems now.

 

[Marlinmike]

My vote is for Suzuki. Still waiting for Yamaha to come out with a small outboard that is fuel injected. As others have pointed out, many of the new carb 4 strokes have issues by me (some say because of emissions they are real lean), we see the same ritual every season, numerous pulls, sweat starts, marching off in a huff and comes back with the latest gas treatment to put in gas can, numerous additional pulls and outboard comes off and dropped off to the shop...

 

[Ted]

Hi,
I don't KNOW which is the best new OB, but;
Late last October I was able to get a 12' rowboat (with trailer) as a replacement dinghy; see picture.
Not needing the trailer after getting it home I took it to a dealer.
They stock Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki. His recommendation was
Yamaha, will be getting a 2.5 hp traded for the trailer.

Ted