What Dinghy engine should I buy?

ok since we're "trawler" fans here, how about finding an old reliable British Seagull and enjoy the journey -- forget planing

Sold my 5-hp, single-cylinder Seagull before acquiring a dinghy. (It was the auxiliary engine for my previous sailboat.) Could be man-handled and always reliable.

Considered electric?

Old reliable Seagull? No such thing. New reliable Seagull, never was such a thing. Miserable damn things. The best you could say about them was they were easy to fix when they broke. 25:1 gas to oil ratio when every other outboard ran on 50:1, just plain dirty. Of course that was an improvement over the original 10:1 ratio.
Bakelite spark plug covers broke with a little tap. Banjo bolt fuel connections leaked. That recoil starter they tacked on jammed all the time. At least it was easy to take off and the old rope wind pulley was underneath. The fuel shutoff actually had cork in it! It was probably a good outboard, in the 1930's.

HopCar said:

.... That recoil starter they tacked on jammed all the time. At least it was easy to take off and the old rope wind pulley was underneath. The fuel shutoff actually had cork in it! It was probably a good outboard, in the 1930's.

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Recoil start on a Seagull? I only remember a rope with a wooden handle, the repetitive use of which was accompanied by very bad language. But it did work, and it beat rowing around beautiful Jervis Bay on the south coast of NSW.
Try this as a source of 3 hp electric outboards. Ok, it`s in Australia, but they won`t be made here, few things are, and are likely to be readily available worldwide, probably made in China or maybe Korea, knowing the seller. Epropulsion | Island Inflatables

Capt.Bill11 said:

Hmmm... When you travel out of the country you see 4 strokes everywhere. Maybe it just a matter of proper filtration and using a good fuel treatment but I've never had a fuel issue with the 4 strokes I've run out in other countries.

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Any specific countries? The sense that I have is that I have only seen 4 strokes smaller than 25hp in the majority where it is legally required. In the Eastern Caribbean where the 4 strokes are not required few dinghies have them and usually only because they were bought in the US / Canada or Europe before they came to the Eastern Caribbean.

Brucek, look at Mark's picture. His had the recoil starter.

The absolute best dinghy motor is a early 90's yamaha 2 stroke.. 9.9 or 15 the weight is the same. Find a lake motor that has spent its time in fresh water, do as someone else suggested and do a complete tune up and enjoy it. My first one took almost 20 years to kill , now I'm into 10 years on the second one and it is doing great.

One of the nordhavn's I cruised had a very low hour injected 4 stroke and is was a huge pain in the ass..very fuel sensitive, hard to work on, heavy, under powered..did I mention it was a pain in the ass!!
I have personally done just about every evil thing one can do to a outboard short of lighting it on fire and the Yamaha's just take it. The above 4 stroke was a suzuki and I really did want to torch it!
The yamaha's are 100/1 and barely smoke and are bulletproof..I'm sold on them.
Hollywood

Is there ANYTHING Mark doesn't have a picture of?

guess i was lucky, but my seagull nev er gave me any trouble. remember many a fun time putting around the san joaquin on our avon,,,

hmason said:

Is there ANYTHING Mark doesn't have a picture of?

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and how does he retrieve the pictures so quickly? !!!!

hmason said:

Is there ANYTHING Mark doesn't have a picture of?

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Yes, but you're free to test/question.

My Seagull always started on two or three tugs on the starter cord. Just needed to prime the engine by pushing a button and making sure air could bleed into the fuel tank.

HopCar said:

Brucek, look at Mark's picture. His had the recoil starter.

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I saw that fancy revolutionary development. Obviously a modern one, unlike the one we used a long time ago.

So did any of you own Sears or Eska?

An 8hp Yamaha 2-stroke has got to be one of the most perfect dink engines ever built. If it does not do the job for the OP, something is wrong with his dink!! The four strokes in this app SUCK.

I still have no problem getting parts for 30+ year old Evinrudes.

KISS still is a valuable concept.

ranger42c said:

We switched to a Suzuki DF15A at the beginning of the 2014 season. Lightest electric-start I could find (106-lbs), and the only "portable" (9.9/15/20-hp) models available with fuel injection. (15 is because of the max HP rating for our dink.)

BUT... I couldn't have done that before we acquired a dinghy trailer.... so we can leave the motor mounted all the time.

So far, no issues with ethanol.

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I should have added our davit mount is part of the solution too; we don't have mount/dismount the outboard when launching or retrieving the dinghy.

I also suspect the small 1-cylinder 2-strokes are maybe more susceptible to ethanol issues. Thinking maybe the 2-cylinder models are able to deal with early stages of phase separation easier.

-Chris

hollywood8118 said:

The yamaha's are 100/1 and barely smoke and are bulletproof..I'm sold on them.
Hollywood

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I am pretty sure the Yamahas did not go 100/1 until the changes in 2007...the same ones that killed the small 2 stroke. And my Yamaha dealer tells me that Yamaha did absolutely nothing to get that 100/1 and suggests you keep it at 50/1. I just aim somewhere in between without getting too anal about measuring.

I think the EPA shut down (small non ECM)2 stroke sales in 2010. Mine(15hp) was built in December of 2010 and I purchased it in January 2011. I hope to get many many years of service out of it.

I have an Avon 280 RIB with an '02 Yamaha 9.9 4-stroke manual-start OB. It is used infrequently and each time has been almost impossible to start. The last two times required a trip to the Yamaha dealer and a carb service to get it started. It has been impeccably maintained and looks showroom new. It is however, a total POS in my opinion unless you can use it often. The problem according to Yamaha service is that the combination of tiny jets and ethanol fuel are a bad combination for which there is no solution other than using the fuel before it breaks down and clogs the carb. Running it 'dry' still leaves enough gasoline in it to clog the jets and small passages.

Now, I also have a like-new '96 Evinrude Yacht Twin (extra long shaft) 2-stroke electric-start OB. It is in perfect shape and starts instantly, even manually. It will cost me about $450 - $500 in new parts to convert it to a standard length shaft for use on the Avon.

My Yamaha mechanic says I'm nuts for even thinking about converting the Evinrude, too old he says.

But, the idea of having a reliable, 2-stroke electric-start motor for my dink that is lighter (even with a small battery) than the Yamaha makes sense to this old guy, regardless of age or conversion cost.

Drastic measures, but I am sick of pulling that starter rope!

BandB said:

So did any of you own Sears or Eska?

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I had a 28 HP Sears on a 14' boat in the mid 70's. Electric start, remote controls and a bilge pump built into the drive shaft! Pick up plate in bilge and a hose to a connection on the leg.

The motor was completly reliable and started first time every time. It was a huge improvement over the 4 cylinder 4 carb Merc it replaced.

Rob

Baker said:

I am pretty sure the Yamahas did not go 100/1 until the changes in 2007...the same ones that killed the small 2 stroke. And my Yamaha dealer tells me that Yamaha did absolutely nothing to get that 100/1 and suggests you keep it at 50/1. I just aim somewhere in between without getting too anal about measuring.

I think the EPA shut down (small non ECM)2 stroke sales in 2010. Mine(15hp) was built in December of 2010 and I purchased it in January 2011. I hope to get many many years of service out of it.

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the recommended ratio on my 9.9 was 100/1.. unless the previous owner did some nasty trickery and found a decal that perfectly matched the yamaha decals and placed it there .. I doubt it.

I always ran/run both motors at 50/1 as there is no obnoxious smoke to smoke up the Admirals white bikini's while we cruise the anchorages admiring boats.

the only negative is the 15 takes considerably more effort to pull start it.. it kept my kids from using " my " dinghy for years.

not that is matters to the Admiral as she has taken to bow riding whilst slugging champagne when we cruise the dinghy... the ultimate hood ornament !

HOLLYWOOD

hollywood8118 said:

the recommended ratio on my 9.9 was 100/1.. unless the previous owner did some nasty trickery and found a decal that perfectly matched the yamaha decals and placed it there .. I doubt it.

I always ran/run both motors at 50/1 as there is no obnoxious smoke to smoke up the Admirals white bikini's while we cruise the anchorages admiring boats.

the only negative is the 15 takes considerably more effort to pull start it.. it kept my kids from using " my " dinghy for years.

not that is matters to the Admiral as she has taken to bow riding whilst slugging champagne when we cruise the dinghy... the ultimate hood ornament !

HOLLYWOOD

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Wooooohoooo!!!! Well played. I stumbled upon a little trick by accident. I had taken all of the linens home to clean. And we ended up taking an impromptu boat ride. Well, I did manage to come up with one towel. The girls were concerned about getting suntan oil all over the bow cusions, so they shared. I thought it was awfully considerate of them!!! Ratio....2/1

Baker said:

The girls were concerned about getting suntan oil all over the bow cusions, so they shared. I thought it was awfully considerate of them!!! Ratio....2/1

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Wish my boat had balls like yours does (although the bow's a funny place for them). Maybe then I'd have the same kind of problems with suntan oil on the cushions!

When I bought my boat, it came with an Avon 10' dinghy and a 15hp 4 stroke Yamaha. I sold it for $2500.00 and when the buyer picked it up he installed a new battery, hit the starter, and it fired right up! I have since heard that he and his wife are thrilled with the dinghy! We have no use for the dinghy as we never use one and it's a poor substitute as a life boat.

angus99 said:

Wish my boat had balls like yours does (although the bow's a funny place for them).

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Damn! I had the same thought!

I'll second (third? fourth?) the recommendation of a Yamaha 9.9 or 15 2 stroke. Actually, they're the same engine. The only part that is different is the reed valve assembly.

I have a circa 2004 model 9.9 that I converted to a 15. It is bulletproof, relatively lightweight (79 pounds), and powerful. With just me aboard, my 10' Achilles RIB is scary fast...I've seen 27 knots when it's smooth enough. With five adults (~750 pounds) the boat still gets up on plane, albeit a bit slowly. The engine starts easily, runs smoothly, doesn't smoke much, and hardly needs any maintenance.

BandB said:

So did any of you own Sears or Eska?

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Had an Elgin when I was a kid!

Heron said:

Had an Elgin when I was a kid!

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My father said he did, but I never saw one. Before my time.

I offer caution on Yamaha 15 or 20 hp 4 strokes. I bought a 20 Yamaha 4 stroke to replace a perfectly good 25 Mercury 2 stroke wanting a quieter outboard. What a nightmare. Yamaha redesigned these engines to make them lighter and in doing so removed a counterbalance. They also designed these dual piston engines so that the pistons work in unison. One piston is exhausting as the the other piston is firing. The exhausting piston also fires to burn any unburned fuel. The result is vibration that in my welded aluminum jon boat that is louder than the 2 stroke mercury. Yamaha acknowledges the vibration but says the outboard is performing according to specifications. The vibration is not as noticeable on a rib or fiberglass boat but is still there. I expect Yamaha will have problems with these engines in the future. I am building a case so i can get in line to sue them when mine fails. I Will never buy another Yamaha. I currently own a 150 hp Yamaha 4 stroke on a bay boat and have owned 3 other Yamaha 2 strokes of various sizes on previous boats. Investigate and make your own decision.