On Apr 15, 6:01*pm, wrote:

Jay,

I drove myself about half nuts choosing a small outboard for my
inflatable. Decided firmly on the Suzuki DF2.5 four stroke. UPS just
delivered it a few minutes ago. It's a far cry from the old
Johnnyrudes, lemmetellya. Lovely piece of gear indeed. The $729 you
list is actually a pretty decent price, but, in the
interest of not starving, I'm pretty good at finding the rock bottom
lowest prices on stuff. Local dealers wanted almost a grand including
sales tax, so that wouldn't cut it. Found a real nice guy named Ray
Jr. at The Boat Place, Naples Florida, 239-200-9597. Who sold me one
new in factory box, shipped to godforsaken scumhole known as Dallas,
Texas, for over $100 less than your price. He shipped promptly, sent
tracking # immediately, and provided a pleasant buying experience.
Seemed like something you might want to know. And, as far as I know,
30 lb thrust is roughly one horsepower. Peace out...........


Sounds like a good match and price. Tohatsu/Nissan also had a 2HP
that they changed to a 2.5 HP in January by tweaking the carb a bit,
according to a tech I contacted at Tohatsu. Best price I've seen on
that is about $685 delivered. Odd though that the motor on the
Tohatsu 2.5 is 85.5cc while the one on the Suzuki 2.5 is 68cc. What's
the bottom line advantage, if any, to an outboard that has the same
horsepower rating as another yet has a greater cc displacement? BTW,
that Tohatsu 2.5 and the Tohatsu 3.5 4-strokers have the same 85.5cc
motor.

What I find so nice about this group are the technical and
informative responses one gets from the members. It also seems to be
much more active that rec.boats. As you can tell, I'm rather new to
the outboard scene. Been a rower of small boats for a long time but
getting too old to make a career out of it so now turning to more
alternate forms of energy than my arms and shoulders (does that make
me hip and "green" with the times? lol) Ooops, guess I'm going the
"wrong way" to achieve "alternate energy." I should be progressing
"away" from technology? OMG, I'm already "green!" LOL

But with all the help I've received and the options presented, I'm
about ready to make a move and once I do, there'll be a comprehensive
review on my choice, whether good or bad. -Jay