Kit_L
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2016
- Messages
- 476
- Location
- Australia
- Vessel Name
- Suu Kyi
- Vessel Make
- Custom 40' catamaran
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.
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.