Tohatsu 6hp 4-stroke?

[safarisurf]

Hi, I need a new 4 stroke outboard for my 10' Avon (older rover 100) and I'm attracted to the light weight of a single cylinder engine. The Tohatsu 6hp looks good but I'm not sure it will have enough power. This avon is my harbor tender and I do like it to plane with two light adults. I am replacing an older johnson 9.9 two stroke which is more than enough. Any one out there use this Tohatsu - am I asking too much from 6hp? Moving up to a two cylinder 4-stroke significantly bumps the weight.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[BeneteauMark]

I have a 5hp Mercury 4 stroke, which I understand is actually manufactured by Tohatsu. It's a long shaft model, with the "high thrust" prop. (It came off my sailboat when I upgraded that OB.)

While it will move my Zodiac Fastroller 310 (which is about 10 feet long), it will not plane. Have thought about going back to the stock prop to see if that makes any difference.

FWIW,
Mark
One Step Closer
Lake St. Clair, MI

[Sialia]

I used a 6hp 2-stroke Evinrude on an Avon in the '80's. The dinghy had a wooden floor, three pieces, and if I remember correctly, was about 9 feet. I could plane with two adults, up to about 325 pounds. After that, sea conditions had a lot to do with performance. More recently, I had a Suzuki 4-stroke on a 10 foot Achilles and could not plane with more than 300 pounds. If you want to be sure, get a bigger engine.

[sailingdog]

Also, don't forget to take into account for the heavier weight of the four-stroke engines. A two-stroke is considerably lighter in weight. A six-horsepower four-stroke is probably as heavy as the two-stroke 9.9 HP outboard.