Gas Outboard Recommendations or should I keep the Trolling Motor

[sailingdog]

Be aware that the Honda can be a bit problematic at near idle speeds, where the centrifugal clutch may or may not kick in... IMHO, you're better off with the Tohatsu and a real transmission.

[cristamd]

Ah...makes sense. I didn't think of that. Would there be any reason other than cost to go with the 2.5HP Tohatsu over a 3.5HP one? They are exactly the same weight.

[RXBOT]

U R right price is probably the only reason, it is likely that the only difference is the carb. It might even be possible to buy a 2.5 and purchase a replacement carb for a 3.5 and still be cheaper and have an extra carb.

[cristamd]

Interesting. Does anyone know if the motors are binned into the 2.5/3.5HP units based on test results or build quality like microprocessors are? Basically in the microprocessor/cpu world, all the parts in a given series are supposed to be the same and the ones that fail the burn-in test faster are put in the slower bin, and the ones that pass the test are put in the faster bin. I'm guessing putting a 3.5HP carb in a 2.5HP engine would also void the warranty.

[TohatsuGuru]

It's a carb thing, not a bin thing. Any modification nullifies a warranty, but the carbs look identical and no one will ever know as no dealer ever looks at numbers on carburetors.