I never had an outboard engine. I have always used a set of oars with my
little rigid dinghy.
Now I am looking at getting an inflatable and they do not row as well as a
rigid dinghy so I need an outboard engine.
Carrying gasoline on my sailboat does not appeal to me very much let alone
mixing oil. On the other hand a two strokes engine does not weight as much
as a 4 strokes. On a sailboat handling an outboard engine means that you
have to lift it up and secure it on the stern rail when sailing. Then when
you want to go ashore you have to get the outboard down and mounted on your
inflatable.
I have not done this before and any held would be appreciated.

wrote:
I never had an outboard engine. I have always used a set of oars with my
little rigid dinghy.
Now I am looking at getting an inflatable and they do not row as well as a
rigid dinghy so I need an outboard engine.
Carrying gasoline on my sailboat does not appeal to me very much let alone
mixing oil. On the other hand a two strokes engine does not weight as much
as a 4 strokes. On a sailboat handling an outboard engine means that you
have to lift it up and secure it on the stern rail when sailing. Then when
you want to go ashore you have to get the outboard down and mounted on your
inflatable.
I have not done this before and any held would be appreciated.


I usually sail alone and this problem deviled me for years.
I have the lightest modern outboard with a clutch that I
could easily source where I am moored in Italy, a 2-stroke,
3.5 hp Johnson that weighs in at 13kg. I didn't want davits
or lifting tackle, just to be able to physically lift alone
onto a bracket fitted to the pushpit.

My solution was to fit a webbing strap sling under the block
front and back with a long separate loop under the two
straps at the top.

To lift onto the yacht I would first slacken off the fixing
clamps and replace the motor safety line from dinghy to
pushpit. With the inflatable tethered side-on to a stern
cleat (the safety line now keeping the stern into the
yacht's quarter), after boarding by the stern ladder I can
reach down to the loop, lead it up while I lean over the
pushpit, fit the loop around my wrist and up she rises, easy.

To lower with the reverse technique requires a little
practice to stop the motor spinning and to locate the fixing
clamps onto the inflatable's wooden transom - the safety
line can be utilized to steady it but the inflatable has to
be lashed in at the right position.

It works for me.

On Sun, 21 May 2006 12:30:59 +0000, marierdj wrote:

I never had an outboard engine. I have always used a set of oars with my
little rigid dinghy.
Now I am looking at getting an inflatable and they do not row as well as
a rigid dinghy so I need an outboard engine.

We use a soft-bottomed 3-person Zodiac fitted with a 1/4hp MinnKota
electric motor that I got for free. I use a small 12v
motorcycle/snowmobile battery for power. The motor and battery together
weigh about 10kg and stow easily in the lazarette. I can cruise around an
anchorage for about 2-3hrs. I recharge using a solar cell. No oil, gas,
mess or noise. I can sneak up on nature for great photos etc...

On my boat I am able to lift the outboard off my dingy with small
tackle from the end of my boom. On small boat you might be able to
work something out with you main sheet -- eg. put a snap shackle on the
boat side and attach that to the engine for lifting. I think you will
be happier with a 2-stroke than a four. I spoken with a lot of folks
who have moved to four strokes and the reviews are mixed. The small
Honda four strokes seem to have the most loyal following, but even with
them I know some folks who have been very unhappy... You might try
rowing your new dink before you buy an engine though. I had a Zodiac
285 air floor and just a simple set of modifications to the row locks
and glued on rub strakes/keels on the bottom made it as rowable as many
small hard dingies.

-- Tom.

Trouble with 4 strokes, I understand, is that you cannot just lie them
down any old how - the crankcase oil runs away. I've got a 5hp Tohatsu
with integral tank and it is great powering a small air bed Tohatsu
inflatable. Light enough to easily lift or carry out of forepeak -
takes less than 2 mins to launch dinghy, get engine and leave!! Starts
first time, even when not touched for over a year. No fumes from
stowed motor when tank fully shut down and it hangs on forepeak bracket.

In article .com,
" wrote:

Trouble with 4 strokes, I understand, is that you cannot just lie them
down any old how - the crankcase oil runs away.

True but my Honda 2HP engine can be laid down in one of 2 orientations.
The side you can't lay it is the one with the tiller handle, and I
suspect few would try this side anyway.

The Honda is lightweight - 12kg IIRC, air cooled so no internal
corrosion, and has a centrifugal clutch. The engine spins around for
reverse, which I find I rarely need to do. I'm quite happy with it.

PDW

Peter Wiley wrote in news:220520060158216656%
:

The Honda is lightweight

Met some people at the marina whos kids were having a ball riding around
in their dingy powered by a WEEDEATER!...(c;

They had taken the bottom off a cheap Weedeater, the kind run by a
speedometer cable that's just bent tubing on the bottom. They stuffed
the tubing with marine grease to keep the water out and lube the cable,
sealing it with a little plastic cap at the bottom to save the whales.
The tubing was bent further than original so the trolling motor nylon
weedless prop fixed to the bottom of it was angled down about only 5
degrees. With no skeg, there's no steering without power, they told me.
It was the big Minnkota prop found in any boat shop.

The motor was held on the boat by a Minnkota trolling motor mount, the
kind that has an adjustable depth ring clamp around a shaft. The little
one fits a weedeater fine and lets you lay it over out of the water
horizontally with the engine in the boat for "refueling" right on the
seat. The little thumb throttle was moved to the little tiller handle.
A dead-man throttle, if you let go of it, they had it idled so low it
quit so the dink just sat there waiting for you to clamber back aboard.

I asked them how troublefree it was. "We can't afford to fix them when
something finally wears out. They're only $69 at Walmart, anywhere.", he
said. Point well taken. Their dingy outboard motor cost about the same
as the thermostat in a Yamaha...(c;

Talk about light! Even the kids can lift it with one hand!

Lots of great advantages, too.....

Air cooled - no flushing, water pump to tear up, clogged intakes, etc.,
and you can crank it out of the water without ever burning anything up.

Simple - two stroke, 1 ANY POSITION DIAPHRAM carb with NO FLOAT BOWL to
leak gas out of over the deck. Even upside down, gas doesn't pour out of
it.

Economy - Gas tanks come in QUARTS, not gallons. Lube oil comes in
little 6-packs from Big Lots or Home Depot for almost nothing, not
$30/gallon Yamalube. Check how long your Weedeater runs on a pint of
premix trimming the yard. Try to run it out of fuel in an afternoon...

Talk about NOISY!.....(c;

No need to worry if those guys noticed you crossing the channel towards
your anchorage with your super-quiet 4-stroke $4000 Honda. They'll hear
it buzzing away like a...a.....Weedeater!

The $100 outboard motor....cool....

Red Green would be very proud...

wrote:

Now I am looking at getting an inflatable and they do not row as well as a
rigid dinghy so I need an outboard engine.
Carrying gasoline on my sailboat does not appeal to me very much let alone
mixing oil.

If you're not going far in the dink, then a 1 gallon tank of premix[0]
doesn't take much space in the overboard-draining gas{propane} locker.

On the other hand a two strokes engine does not weight as much
as a 4 strokes. On a sailboat handling an outboard engine means that you
have to lift it up and secure it on the stern rail when sailing. Then when
you want to go ashore you have to get the outboard down and mounted on your
inflatable.

Consider a temporary bracket[1] of some description that can fit onto
the toerail at the quarter, and mount the O/B in two stages. Dink
painter to midshipscleat, dink quarter-handle to stern-cleat and it's a
much lower lift/drop required when in the tender.

/ME?
I'd like enough space to carry a Mirror dingy on the foredeck...

HTH, Alan
[0] 'tho that larger jerrycan of unmixed petrol left in the car might be
a greater hazzard.
[1] i.e. lump of 2*4 with a groove or some G-clamps
--
99 Ducati 748BP, 95 Ducati 600SS, 81 Guzzi Monza, 74 MV Agusta 350
"Ride to Work, Work to Ride" SI# 7.067 DoD#1930 PGP Key 0xBDED56C5

On Sun, 21 May 2006 12:30:59 +0000, marierdj wrote:

I never had an outboard engine. I have always used a set of oars with my
little rigid dinghy.
Now I am looking at getting an inflatable and they do not row as well as
a rigid dinghy so I need an outboard engine. Carrying gasoline on my
sailboat does not appeal to me very much let alone mixing oil. On the
other hand a two strokes engine does not weight as much as a 4 strokes.
On a sailboat handling an outboard engine means that you have to lift it
up and secure it on the stern rail when sailing. Then when you want to
go ashore you have to get the outboard down and mounted on your
inflatable.
I have not done this before and any held would be appreciated.

I've been very happy with the 2 HP Honda 4 stroke, which weighs only 28
LB, and runs for a couple of hours on a pint of fuel. It's been dead
reliable for 4 years, and hundreds of starts (at least).

Even a Seagull is heavier than that, noisier, stinkier, thirstier, less
reliable, and horribly polluting.

Matt O.

Mys Terry wrote:
On Mon, 22 May 2006 17:52:11 -0400, Matt O'Toole
wrote:


On Sun, 21 May 2006 12:30:59 +0000, marierdj wrote:


I never had an outboard engine. I have always used a set of oars with my
little rigid dinghy.
Now I am looking at getting an inflatable and they do not row as well as
a rigid dinghy so I need an outboard engine. Carrying gasoline on my
sailboat does not appeal to me very much let alone mixing oil. On the
other hand a two strokes engine does not weight as much as a 4 strokes.
On a sailboat handling an outboard engine means that you have to lift it
up and secure it on the stern rail when sailing. Then when you want to
go ashore you have to get the outboard down and mounted on your
inflatable.
I have not done this before and any held would be appreciated.

I've been very happy with the 2 HP Honda 4 stroke, which weighs only 28
LB, and runs for a couple of hours on a pint of fuel. It's been dead
reliable for 4 years, and hundreds of starts (at least).

Even a Seagull is heavier than that, noisier, stinkier, thirstier, less
reliable, and horribly polluting.

Matt O.


When people ask me about Seagull Outboards, I like to tell them that many owners
swear by them. Every time they are by them...


Terry & Skipper, Clearlake Texas


It's that blue cloud of smoke that gets me. Especially if you have a
following wind.
re 1954 Seagull 40 Plus 3 hp ... uses 10:1 gas/oil ratio