Shopping for a new dinghy and outboard. What would you get?

Dave, I have two dinks; one aluminium (a very old, leaky Savage 'Tern' with a set of real oars), and one Zodiac (also leaky), with 'oar-like' appendages that can be used for rowing, but only if your outboard won't start (or has no 'tell-tale' water, like the day before yesterday). Both of them are light, and I lift either of them on to the marlin board (I think you call this a 'swim platform') so they rest vertically against the transom, using a stern rope on the far gunwale—easy lift and tie down.

I use a 2.5 h.p. pull-start Suzuki 4-stroke. It weighs 12.5 Kg (28 lbs, with gas), so relatively easy to remove and stash on the safety rails. I bought it new; it always starts first pull, and it has a carburettor. If I am not going to use it for a few days, I suspend it over a big bucket of water, start it, and turn the fuel off so the carburettor drains completely, and flush the salt out. Call me paranoid.

Neither dink will plane with this miserly engine, but then again, I am not in a hurry. While I can't say I smell the roses while getting to shore and back, I always enjoy the ride. I have used both dinks in 30Kn winds at times (not by choice, but where we live is not called "Windy Point" for nothing), too. This little engine can push me and the dink against that kind of wind, so not being able to plane is not a downside for me. Sometimes, smaller and lighter is better, for many reasons.

Dave, I have two dinks; one aluminium (a very old, leaky Savage 'Tern' with a set of real oars), and one Zodiac (also leaky), with 'oar-like' appendages that can be used for rowing, but only if your outboard won't start (or has no 'tell-tale' water, like the day before yesterday). Both of them are light, and I lift either of them on to the marlin board (I think you call this a 'swim platform') so they rest vertically against the transom, using a stern rope on the far gunwale—easy lift and tie down.

I use a 2.5 h.p. pull-start Suzuki 4-stroke. It weighs 12.5 Kg (28 lbs, with gas), so relatively easy to remove and stash on the safety rails. I bought it new; it always starts first pull, and it has a carburettor. If I am not going to use it for a few days, I suspend it over a big bucket of water, start it, and turn the fuel off so the carburettor drains completely, and flush the salt out. Call me paranoid.

Neither dink will plane with this miserly engine, but then again, I am not in a hurry. While I can't say I smell the roses while getting to shore and back, I always enjoy the ride. I have used both dinks in 30Kn winds at times (not by choice, but where we live is not called "Windy Point" for nothing), too. This little engine can push me and the dink against that kind of wind, so not being able to plane is not a downside for me. Sometimes, smaller and lighter is better, for many reasons.

An electric would be lighter yet. Also quieter, more reliable, no gas, no smell or emissions, and you get real reverse.

Two Stroke Fan

My boat has a davit wench and the inflatable sits on top of the sundeck. I don't put the outboard up there but prefer to take it off so I favor a 2- stroke because of weight.

For your application a four stroke would be fine but as you add electric start and you add even more weight and a battery. I had a long shaft 15 hp electric start Yamaha outboard on a 13 foot valco and it bent the transom because of weight. I then went to a older 15 hp Johnson two stroke and was much happier.

The two stroke makes the same horsepower with less displacement and will get you up on plane much quicker as well as the oil mix seems to stabilize the gas longer, it's easier to start (pull) and much less expensive.

I have had Honda, Yamaha, Mercury, Mariner (tohatsu) and Johnson outboards I believe the Yamaha's are the best by far. My next motor will be a used 15 hp Yamaha two stroke.

A carbureted dinghy outboard in an area that only has ethanol gas is a constant headache. No gas treatment really makes a difference. No carb cleaner helps. If you can feed them no ethanol fuel you will be happy.

At the moment, I believe only Suzuki and Tohatsu make 15hp EFI. Yamaha and Honda are still carbureted.

I just bought a 25hp Suzuki for a 13ft Whaler after a long string of Yamahas and will never go back. The engine is much quieter, smoother, and starts as reliably as a car.

Even so, do not leave ethanol gas in the tank for a long time (e.g. over two months). Pump it into a car and use it there.

CarlF said:

A carbureted dinghy outboard in an area that only has ethanol gas is a constant headache. No gas treatment really makes a difference. No carb cleaner helps. If you can feed them no ethanol fuel you will be happy.

At the moment, I believe only Suzuki and Tohatsu make 15hp EFI. Yamaha and Honda are still carbureted.

I just bought a 25hp Suzuki for a 13ft Whaler after a long string of Yamahas and will never go back. The engine is much quieter, smoother, and starts as reliably as a car.

Even so, do not leave ethanol gas in the tank for a long time (e.g. over two months). Pump it into a car and use it there.

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I used nothing but very expensive non-ethanol engineered fuel in my 3.5 hp Merc. Very expensive at about $3-$4 per QUART! My engine was still problematic and this season wouldn't start. Hence pushing me to electric.

backinblue,

what are your recommendations or did you make these in an earlier post?

and can a mode delete my doubled post above (how does this happen?), please?

Kit_L said:

backinblue,

what are your recommendations or did you make these in an earlier post?

and can a mode delete my doubled post above (how does this happen?), please?

Click to expand...

I don't know how the double post happened sorry. My outboard story follows. I got back into boating last year after a number of years away so needed a new dinghy and motor. I bought a roll-up inflatable and a 3.5HP Merc (2019) knowing they had finicky carb issues. I thought I would beat that by using ONLY pre-packaged, non-ethanol fuel (Home Depot, etc) since it was new. The first season was ok, this season I couldn't get it to start and it's now in the shop. A good friend has a 2016 3.5 HP Merc that he can never keep running right and has finally given up and bought a 2.5 HP Honda. I started looking at electrics instead. I like the ease and reliability of starting meaning that my wife can dinghy solo and I won't have to worry about her getting back. It's also very lightweight and easy to handle. I'm not looking for tremendous range or high speed so this works for me. I first looked at Torqeedo and then came upon ePropulsion. Their latest model, the 1.0 plus, has even greater range. Plenty of youtube videos and comparisons.

One more good advertisement, good summary of features. Studies have shown that the high purchase price pays for itself over time, but that's not the reason to buy it.

backinblue, thanks. I watched all three videos—these are a bit expensive here, but I will look for a dealer anyway. Thanks.

Kit_L said:

backinblue, thanks. I watched all three videos—these are a bit expensive here, but I will look for a dealer anyway. Thanks.

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Expensive to purchase, but basically free to own. No fuel, no maintenance. The peace of mind is priceless to me. I paid about $2k online, incl taxes and shipping.

https://liquidsurfandsail.com/

CarlF said:

A carbureted dinghy outboard in an area that only has ethanol gas is a constant headache. No gas treatment really makes a difference. No carb cleaner helps. If you can feed them no ethanol fuel you will be happy.

At the moment, I believe only Suzuki and Tohatsu make 15hp EFI. Yamaha and Honda are still carbureted.

I just bought a 25hp Suzuki for a 13ft Whaler after a long string of Yamahas and will never go back. The engine is much quieter, smoother, and starts as reliably as a car.

Even so, do not leave ethanol gas in the tank for a long time (e.g. over two months). Pump it into a car and use it there.

Click to expand...

I agree with most of the sentiment here.... all except for one thing: ethanol is so bad I won't even put it in one of my cars if I have a choice

sledge said:

I agree with most of the sentiment here.... all except for one thing: ethanol is so bad I won't even put it in one of my cars if I have a choice

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As I said in an earlier post, using nothing but highly priced ethanol-free fuel, did not prevent me or others I know from having problems. Agree ethanol is bad, but that doesn't forgive these manufacturers from making a crappy product. BTW, if you haven't heard, these carb mixture screws are bottomed out as lean as possible for emissions reasons and factory sealed. You can break the seal and readjust which should help some.