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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.

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