(really) Small outboard recommendations

[Bill R]

Come springtime, if the building gods smile on me, I will be needing a (really) small outboard in the 2-3 hp range.

12' ply and goop skiff, built from open source plans (old Popular Mechanics article).

I am on a small lake, and speed is not an issue. I am looking for something physically small and light weight.

I have looked at the Tohatsu and Hondas so far... What else is out there that is reliable and recommended? Cost is ismportant, but not a huge issue, as I would prefer to spend the money for a better product.

TIA.

[John Turpin]

Both the Tohatsu and Honda have great reputations and can be found for about the same money (the Honda may be a tad higher). The Honda is air-cooled and much noisier than the water-cooled Tohat. The Honda is, however, much lighter. I bought the Honda 2 hp and like it very much. Toting it around is a breeze.

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

They don't make many (really) small outboards any more. I was surprised to learn Honda offered a 2.
Of course, old 2-stroke outboards are everywhere and are cheap, light and fairly easy to repair.
In the past air-cooled motors all suffered from one problem. If you ran them too long at too low an RPM the fans did not deliver enough air and they overheated. I'd like to know how Honda got around that.

[Bob Cleek]

Sounds like a job for a SEAGULL!

[JimConlin]

Tohatsu motors are re-branded as Nissan, at a bit more money.

[Ron Carter]

A friend has a Honda 2 on a 17' fiberglass whitehall. Gets hull speed at about 1/2 throttle. He gets 33 mpg at cruise speed. Yes it is noiser than a 4 stroke but no noiser than my 1958 3 hp Johnson and a lot more friendly to the environment.

[Donn]

The little Honda 4-stroke is a fine engine. I have one on my Mantis tiller, and it just starts and runs and runs, with no flaws. Old fuel, poor maintenance and boathouse storage, and it doesn't mind at all.

[George Ray]

We love our Honda 2HP. Carry with one hand. It does the job of two military issue draft horses?

[Tylerdurden]

Bill, seriously look at electric. Once you go that small its the way to go. I have had a bunch of small OB's and I won't consider one anymore.

[ahp]

I have sailed with friends that had Seagulls. They are very simple, but, they seem to have two speeds, fast and faster, don't idle worth a damn, and vibrate A LOT.

[JimConlin]

I have sailed with friends that had Seagulls. They are very simple, but, they seem to have two speeds, fast and faster, don't idle worth a damn, and vibrate A LOT.
Another feature is that they leave enough oil on the water to keep the mosquito population down.

[Thorne]

Or in the air, enough to make downwind motoring quite unpleasant.

The problem with the electric option in so small of a boat is weight -- the batteries needed for more than a few hours trolling speed would weight far more than any outboard/gastank/gascan combos...

I have a trolling motor and battery waiting to be used, still trying to figure out how to mount both and not kill myself hoisting the battery around in the process...

[Pericles]

Details from UK supplier, but are available worldwide. Google.

http://www.parsunoutboard.co.uk/2_6hp_outboard.html

About $740 perhaps?

Pericles

[esingleman]

I bought an Island Hopper outboard this summer (2.5 HP) it is basically a large weed wacker with a propeller on the end. In principle it didn't seem bad on the website. It is very light at 18 lbs. It started an ran very well on the trailer, however when I put it in my car to take it to the lake, the carburator leaked gas into my trunk. My weed wacker doesn't do that so I will have to check into this problem over the winter. If I can get this ironed out, I think this could be a great motor for my little skiff.

Check out their website: www.smalloutboardengines.com (http://www.smalloutboardengines.com)

Erick

[Ron Joslin]

I got a Suzuki 2.5 four-stroke last year and just love it. It is water cooled, has an internal gas tank which is nice but is too small to run all day without a refill. It is light enough to "one hand it" , has no reverse gear- the motor rotates 360°. I used it on my 2500 lb 23 foot boat and it has plenty of power to get me in and out of the harbor and is ok until the wind gets up.
FYI: I got it new and the first thing the dealer did was put in a better water pump impeller due to a factory recall.
In my research I found out that you can't buy a new small 2-stroke in Florida and that there are about 5 motors in the 2-2.5 hp size and it looks like some are made from one company and sold under diffrent names,just diffrent stickers on them. I went to 3 boat shops - dealers before finding one that sold a small motor. One told me that "they dont make em anymore" !!!