I have a 8' Portaboat and a friend of mine has a Honda 2 HP 4 stroke outboard.
We got together one weekend and found that the Portaboat would *almost* get
up on a plane with one passenger and that motor. Maybe with a tiller
extension and weight further forward, it would. For me, that is the motor
to get for our Portaboat. Light, simple, strong enough to go upwind/current
where I could not row. It is air-cooled (simple) and has a Centrifical
Clutch so you can slow to a stop without killing the motor. The tank is
integrated (both good and bad points about that) so for reverse, you spin
the motor around (and flip the tiller over the top). Slick.

I had a 5 HP Honda for 4 years. Never had a problem with it. I'd recommend
them from my personal experience, which is not something I would say about
the Yamaha 9.9 high thrust motors....

-=O=- Randy Devol F/C-31 #213, Joint Venture



On Tue, 21 Sep 2004, Jelle wrote:

Bobsprit wrote:

I'm about to order a 5HP outboard to go with my new 10' Porta-bote. Anyone
have any real info on which 5HP 4 cycle outboard is best currently?

4 stroke will be unavoidable nowadays, but the overstrained back from
lugging a too heavy outboard is not. Why on earth do you think you need 5
hp for a floppy 10' boat? A 2.5 horse Honda will be a lot easier on your
back. The cost about GBP 400 / EUR 650.


--
vriendelijke groeten/kind regards,

Jelle

begin replace-outlook-please.exe

I used one of these and liked it except that it's louder than the water
cooled ones and you have to be careful how you lie it down or the oil
runs out.

My personal favorite is a used 4 hp Johnson 2 stroke 2 cylinder, about
1987 vintage which I bought for $400. It's quite, starts easy, has an
integral tank, doesn't care how you lie it down and uses very little
fuel. It weighs 33#, and every pound makes a difference when you're
wobbling around on a dinghy trying to line up those brackets with the
transom.

I mitigate the oil smell and smoke by using Pennzoil 100% synthetic oil,
which is an improvement over the stock TCW-3 stuff and of course costs
twice as much, adding at least $5 to my boating expenses for the season.

Capt. Jeff

Thanks for all the comments, folks.
Looks like I'll be going with the Porta Bote 10 and the 5HP.

RB