On 2008-04-08 06:44:36 -0400, Bruce in Bangkok said:

The Briggs & Stratton will probably work as well as anything and last
as long. At least for the weekend and holiday use you will likely put
it to. Or get a good used second hand 4 - 5 H.P. if you can locate
one.

A B&S outboard? It's been years since I had a gas lawnmower (went
electric 20 years ago), but I wonder how reliable they are and how
easily serviced....

Search shows they're air cooled & OHV, so they're a bit different than
way back when.

Anyone have experience with them?

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

Jere Lull wrote:

On 2008-04-08 06:44:36 -0400, Bruce in Bangkok
said:

The Briggs & Stratton will probably work as well as anything and last
as long. At least for the weekend and holiday use you will likely put
it to. Or get a good used second hand 4 - 5 H.P. if you can locate
one.


A B&S outboard? It's been years since I had a gas lawnmower (went
electric 20 years ago), but I wonder how reliable they are and how
easily serviced....

Search shows they're air cooled & OHV, so they're a bit different than
way back when.

Anyone have experience with them?


I've had two of them.
One was an old beater used in salt water (a no-no for this engine)
Never missed a beat, though.
Just not quite as stong as...

The other one was brand new from Academy - on sale for $650)

Up Side:

It's a Briggs.
Starts, runs, does exactly what it's supposed to do.
Service centers everywhere.

It's a 4 stroke engine - no oil mixed in the gas.
Reliable as can be.

Lots-O-Torque.
This was the motor on my Capri 18 - 1500 pounds of small boat.
It would make hull speed at about 75% power
and could push the boat into a 25 mph headwind at a couple knots.
Strong motor...

Electronic RPM limiter to prevent damage from overspeed - like
when the prop comes out of the water or you turn and cavitate.

VERY miserly fuel consumption compared to equal powered two strokes.

ANd lastly, no water pick up for engine cooling - no exhaust water
tube either. A bit lowder, maybe at full boil, but not bad.


Down Side:

It's a 4 stroke, so it has oil in the sump.
You can't lay it down on it's side like a two stroke.

It's heavy for a 5 horse at 56 pounds.

External fuel tank required.


For what that's worth...

Richard

Motor mods page:
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~cavelamb/c18-mot.htm#top

--
(remove the X to email)

Now just why the HELL do I have to press 1 for English?
John Wayne

On Wed, 09 Apr 2008 03:53:41 GMT, Jere Lull wrote:

On 2008-04-08 06:44:36 -0400, Bruce in Bangkok said:

The Briggs & Stratton will probably work as well as anything and last
as long. At least for the weekend and holiday use you will likely put
it to. Or get a good used second hand 4 - 5 H.P. if you can locate
one.

A B&S outboard? It's been years since I had a gas lawnmower (went
electric 20 years ago), but I wonder how reliable they are and how
easily serviced....

Search shows they're air cooled & OHV, so they're a bit different than
way back when.

Anyone have experience with them?
..
I had a go cart with a 5 HP Briggs. It burned methanol and needless to
say, had lots of power. Of course it drank like a fish,

Casady

Not trying to gum up the motor search too much but have one more
possibility to offer the great boating minds on rec.boats.cruising.
At least you folks answer. On rec.boats, there's hardly a peep. But
it's already April and I gotta get a motor on my machine so I can give
up those $%$#$ oars!

At a local boat/motor store I found a brand-new in the box 2005
Tohatsu 3.5B (3.5 HP 2-stroke, 75 cc 1-cylinder) outboard for about
$500. It has forward/neutral only (360 degree steering), a 2:15:1
gear ratio, 7.4" diameter x 7" pitch prop, built-in .37 gallon gas
tank, 47 x 43 mm bore and stroke, 4200-5300 rpms and weighs in at 29
lbs.

So whaddya think? If some say the Suzuki 4hp and even the 2.5 hp
would push that 14 footer around the nice quiet lake at 5-6 mph,
wouldn't that screamin' Tohatsu 3.5 hp two-stroke do the job too?
BTW, the exhaust is under the water.

-Jay
(Still keeping one eye on the boat and the other on his wallet).

On Wed, 9 Apr 2008 13:59:26 -0700 (PDT), Jay
wrote:

Not trying to gum up the motor search too much but have one more
possibility to offer the great boating minds on rec.boats.cruising.
At least you folks answer. On rec.boats, there's hardly a peep. But
it's already April and I gotta get a motor on my machine so I can give
up those $%$#$ oars!

At a local boat/motor store I found a brand-new in the box 2005
Tohatsu 3.5B (3.5 HP 2-stroke, 75 cc 1-cylinder) outboard for about
$500. It has forward/neutral only (360 degree steering), a 2:15:1
gear ratio, 7.4" diameter x 7" pitch prop, built-in .37 gallon gas
tank, 47 x 43 mm bore and stroke, 4200-5300 rpms and weighs in at 29
lbs.

So whaddya think? If some say the Suzuki 4hp and even the 2.5 hp
would push that 14 footer around the nice quiet lake at 5-6 mph,
wouldn't that screamin' Tohatsu 3.5 hp two-stroke do the job too?
BTW, the exhaust is under the water.

-Jay
(Still keeping one eye on the boat and the other on his wallet).


The Tohatsu 2 - 3 H.P. motors are probably the most commonly seen
dinghy motor on cruising yachts in this area. They are extremely
reliable. Probably the most common problem is leaving fuel in the tank
while the motor is hanging on the stern rail for a season and getting
the carb gummed up. Taking it off and washing with fresh gasoline
usually cleans it.

I've seen them used on 12 - 14 ft. fiberglass boats, in fact there is
one that has been tying up down the jetty for three years or more so I
guess the guy is happy with it.

My Mercury 3.5 is basically the same motor and it has been running for
10 years now.

If it were for sale here I would buy it.






Bruce-in-Bangkok
(correct email address for reply)

Jay wrote

So whaddya think? If some say the Suzuki 4hp and even the 2.5 hp
would push that 14 footer around the nice quiet lake at 5-6 mph,
wouldn't that screamin' Tohatsu 3.5 hp two-stroke do the job too?
BTW, the exhaust is under the water.

Capital Jay! I push a 14' Al. all over the bay I live on with an old 2
HP Evenrude, works just fine. Hell I've towed a 27' 6500lb sailboat with it.

Cheers
Marty