Hi All,

I am car topping a 12' boat that is rated for 15hp. I will have the boat on
an Eide electric boat loader on my pickup.

I was wondering what is the largest 4 stroke outboard (in CA) that I can put
in the back of my pickup and then move a few feet to mount on my boat.

I guess I will have to go to the dealer and try to heft those motors?

--
Bill Kiene

Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA

Web site: www.kiene.com

My 15 hp Johnson 4 stroke weighs around 95 pounds. Doesn't sound heavy until
you consider that you have to pretty much hug the thing to move it without
it slipping out of your arms. Since you'll be moving the motor often, you
might want to poke around www.westmarine.com and see if they make some sort
of collapsible dolly to roll the motor around. Or, modify a hand truck - the
kind used for moving boxes.

"Bill Kiene" wrote in message
. com...
Hi All,

I am car topping a 12' boat that is rated for 15hp. I will have the boat
on
an Eide electric boat loader on my pickup.

I was wondering what is the largest 4 stroke outboard (in CA) that I can
put
in the back of my pickup and then move a few feet to mount on my boat.

I guess I will have to go to the dealer and try to heft those motors?

--
Bill Kiene

Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA

Web site: www.kiene.com

My 6 hp Evinrude Yachtwin is sitting on my handtruck as we speak.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
.. Since you'll be moving the motor often, you
might want to poke around www.westmarine.com and see if they make some
sort
of collapsible dolly to roll the motor around. Or, modify a hand truck -
the
kind used for moving boxes.

I can tell you the 5 hp 4 cycle Honda weighed more than this old back can
handle.
--
RichG manager, Carolina Skiff Owners Group on MSN
http://groups.msn.com/CarolinaSkiffOwners

I loaded a 9.9 Yamaha for a friend's wife while he was out of town so she could
get it tuned up for him. It's a heavy motor to say the least.

One thing you have to remember is that you can only lay these four strokes down
on one side or oil will leak. There is a label on the motor that indicates the
correct side for transport.

Dan

Bill Kiene wrote:
Hi All,

I am car topping a 12' boat that is rated for 15hp. I will have the boat on
an Eide electric boat loader on my pickup.

I was wondering what is the largest 4 stroke outboard (in CA) that I can put
in the back of my pickup and then move a few feet to mount on my boat.

I guess I will have to go to the dealer and try to heft those motors?

Thanks for all the help.

I can see that car topping might not be as great as I thought after see how
heavy the motors are now.

--
Bill Kiene

Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA

Web site: www.kiene.com


"Bill Kiene" wrote in message
. com...
Hi All,

I am car topping a 12' boat that is rated for 15hp. I will have the boat
on
an Eide electric boat loader on my pickup.

I was wondering what is the largest 4 stroke outboard (in CA) that I can
put
in the back of my pickup and then move a few feet to mount on my boat.

I guess I will have to go to the dealer and try to heft those motors?

--
Bill Kiene

Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA

Web site: www.kiene.com

How about a trolling motor and 3 batteries? Combined, they'd weigh not much
different than a 15 hp 4 stroke and a 6 gallon tank of gas.

"Bill Kiene" wrote in message
. com...
Thanks for all the help.

I can see that car topping might not be as great as I thought after see
how
heavy the motors are now.

--
Bill Kiene

Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA

Web site: www.kiene.com


"Bill Kiene" wrote in message
. com...
Hi All,

I am car topping a 12' boat that is rated for 15hp. I will have the boat
on
an Eide electric boat loader on my pickup.

I was wondering what is the largest 4 stroke outboard (in CA) that I can
put
in the back of my pickup and then move a few feet to mount on my boat.

I guess I will have to go to the dealer and try to heft those motors?

--
Bill Kiene

Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA

Web site: www.kiene.com

Bill, I bought a 3.3 hp Merc that was light as a feather. 2 cycle ( maybe
that won't work in CA???) but, if you just wanted to get around, and not
plane the boat.... don't give up yet. I Looked up weights at the Johnson
site for 2 cycles .

a 3.5 was 30 lbs; 6 hp 58lbs; 8 hp 58lbs; and 9.15 at 94lbs.

4 cycles were 55lbs. for 4 hp 68/83/97/97 for the 15
--
RichG manager, Carolina Skiff Owners Group on MSN

"Bill Kiene" wrote in message
. com...
Hi All,

I am car topping a 12' boat that is rated for 15hp. I will have the boat
on
an Eide electric boat loader on my pickup.

I was wondering what is the largest 4 stroke outboard (in CA) that I can
put
in the back of my pickup and then move a few feet to mount on my boat.

I guess I will have to go to the dealer and try to heft those motors?

That's the best idea of course (hefting). You should also be able to surf
the web and find weights for a bunch of motors that you're considering. I'm
familiar with the 10/15 hp range (often, usually, the same motor). 2
strokes tend to be in the 70-80 lb range and 4 strokes in the 90-100 lb
range.

70 - 80 lbs is all I would care to lift without help ... and in middle age,
I'm not that excited about lifting it very often. That would lead me to
believe that in a 4 stroke, you're looking in the less than 10 hp range,
maybe in the 5 hp range. On the other hand, with a 12 foot boat, you might
find 5 hp to be plenty for most usage.

Good luck,

Cam

"Bill Kiene" wrote in message
. com...
Hi All,

I was wondering what is the largest 4 stroke outboard (in CA) that I can
put
in the back of my pickup and then move a few feet to mount on my boat.



You should have an idea of how much weight is your limit, but keep in mind
that there will be several situations that you have to deal with.

Most people would be able to "lift" a lot more than they could "carry". If
you just need to lift it from the bed of the truck to a wagon on the ground
then you can go with something a lot heavier.

If you have to lug this thing down a dock or similar then you will either
need to get a cart of some sort or a very light motor.

Being able to lift the motor is a lot easier than being able to position it
just right. Holding it in an awkward position while you ease it down on the
transom of the boat may really put a strain on your back.

I have a 9.9 Hp two stroke engine that I use on my dinghy. I can carry this
around the big boat and mount it on the inflatable from the swim platform.
Weighing in at about 68 pounds it is about as heavy as I would care to work
with. I can lift more, and carry more, but I would probably drop something
heavier overboard in the process of getting it on the transom.

You can get creative with your rig to come up with better ways to deal with
the heavy motor. If you have a rack on the top of your truck to carry the
boat then you could mount a beam of some sort that could extend back a few
feet. Throw a pulley on this and use a winch/comealong/rope hoist to do the
heavy lifting. In other words, get the size motor that fits your needs,
then work out a suitable solution to save your back.