Dingy Outboard Motor

[rclampitt]

I am about to break down and buy an outboard for our 8 ft. inflatable dingy. I will appreciate opinions on 2 cycle vs. 4 cycle and horse power ie. enough to drag the boat home vs. appropiate for the little dingy. We haave a Cal 31.

Thanks for any thoughts on this.

RC

[peterpan2k]

I vote for at least a 10hp. 15 if you can. 4-stroke vs. 2-stroke no real advantage one way or the other, however enviromentelists might prefer 4 stroke.

Ref. I have a 6hp and it bairly move the dingy
Jim

[RichardElliott]

A quick comparison of weight between 2 stroke vs. 4 stroke should make the decision easy. The 2 stroke wins hands down. I love my 8hp Yamaha on an 8''6" RIB.

[SailorMitch]

I have a 3 HP Yamaha 2-stroke for my 9 ft. dinghy with inflatable floor. It moves the dinghy just fine, albeit I''m not about to tow skiers. I wanted a light weight engine, thus the small HP and the 2-stroke. As for make, my research came down to Honda and Yamaha as the "best" in an area hard to find good data. I chose Yamaha because it cost less than a Honda.

[928frenzy]

The dinghy''s specifications call for no more than 44#s and 5HP hanging on its transom. From ebay (meaning - used, but cheap), I bought a 2-stroke 4HP that weighs 38#s.

~ Happy sails to you ~ _/) ~

[Yodagwb]

Just ordered one for a 8''6" inflatable. 5hp 2 stroke.
Reason: need to go from point A to B not sking, not 10s of miles. More concerened with the weight to lift on and off of the dingy and the simplisity of the 2 stroke. If I were buying a big block ie 100hp+ I would definetly go 4 stroke.

[thefantasea]

I had a 7.5 hp Honda 4 stroke as the auxiliary on a 25'' MacGregor. It pushed us along at hull speed at less than full throttle and never faltered in ocean service off the south shore of Long Island. The built-in alternator kept the battery fully charged.

It seemed to me that it ran quieter than similar sized 2 strokes. Not having to mix oil into the gas just about eliminates the exhaust smoke and odor. Using ordinary automotive motor oil saves money over the pricier 2 stroke oil.

I loved it.

If you want a 2 stroke kicker, better hurry -- they are scheduled for phase out for environmental reasons.