Small outboard motors

J

jkswor

New member
Anyone have experience with the dingy moters at smalloutboardengines.com
Am looking for something to get me to the bank for my dog
These moters are relatively cheep and weigh 20 lbs. as opposed to other motors weighing 40 lbs or requiring a heavy batter
Just wondered if someone ever used one or seen one or know someone
Jim Swor
Tok ak
 
They will work but noisy. They are just weed eaters with props. If that is your only use i would just row. I had a small motor that was a pain to get started so I just started rowing instead. Its not hard if you have the right dinghy. A inflatable v hull/keel with a rigid floor rows far better then flat bottom dightys.
 
I think an electric trolling motor would work about the same...I like that little Honda 2 hp...but am too cheap to buy one...I have several old motors that I have found at yard sales/Craigs List etc... I have a really new looking 1968 Mercury 4.5 hp that looks kool and runs like new...it is a 2 cycle but for a dingy it is just fine....will probably outlive us all...

Joel
SEA3PO
 
Joel, my first big purchase was in the fall of '69, a new 3.9 Merc! Man, talk about an excited 13 year old. Anyway, I seem to remember the 4.5 came along in 1970 or '71, I think. But yours is a 1968 4.5?
 
Just bought a Honda 2.3 for $847. In Fairbanks ak
Most places will not ship to us or charge shiping that is insulting
So tks for everyone’s advice
Jim
 
Good catch...yep your right...mine is a 3.9 hp motor...the 4.5 came later... I don't have a clue who owned the motor before...they sure never used it....it looks just like a new one...its a 1968 (by serial number)

Joel
 
Catman":25lmfmkg said:
I seem to remember the 4.5 came along in 1970 or '71, I think.
Click to expand...

I have a extra long shaft 4.5 off a sail boat that I use as a kicker on my 16' Thundercraft. I believe it is mid 80's. Starts and runs like a top! Last summer I was doing some checks and wanted to start it with the cowl off. The recoil is built into the cowl so I spun the crank between my open palms and it started first try!

1980's vintage had the blue lettering/stripes. 1970's vintage had the red lettering. Mostly from the ones i've seen anyway.

Rob
 
SEA3PO":fuf3dc1k said:
Good catch...yep your right...mine is a 3.9 hp motor...the 4.5 came later... I don't have a clue who owned the motor before...they sure never used it....it looks just like a new one...its a 1968 (by serial number)

Joel
Click to expand...

Just a note for anyone trying to trace the development/lineage of outboards in a manufacturer's line.

Somewhere in the 1970's or 1980's (IIRC), the standards changed so that an engine's h.p. was rated at the prop shaft instead of at the powerhead.

I have a 2 h.p. Johnson motor that in later models was later down rated to 1.2 h.p. by the newer standards. That's a 40% decrease in rating with essentially the same motor. May not be the same decrease proportionately in larger motors, though.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
We used one of these for 15+ years. It would drive our very small dinghy (6' or something) about 5 knots or so (if memory serves). It was enough to go on excursions from the boat of a few miles.

These motor as so simple and light it is ridiculous. You can almost repair them with an axe. Ours did not have a transmission - you turned it around for reverse and you were under way when you started it. It generally started very easily.

Ours had a restrictor on the carb that I removed to theoretically boost the HP up to 3, but that "improvement" made a less than stellar improvement in the dinghy's top speed.

We will eventually (probably in the spring) be selling ours with the dinghy since, with the Rossy, we had to go to a larger dinghy with a 9.9 motor (dual purpose - emergency dinghy motor as well as dinghy).

John
The Mighty Wench
Cleveland, OH
 
We bought the Suzuki 2.5 what a wonderful lite weight engine 29lb and it runs a WM inflatable about 5-6 mph . I bought it at portabote for $735 with shipping no tax in Jan 2017 Jim
 
I am of the group who thinks the 2.5 hp Suzuki is a great dinghy motor. Years ago I had friends who owned outboards such as on the smalloutboards.com site. They struggled to start and keep running.
 
I also have a 2.5hp Suzuki and it has been a great little dinghy motor. It's super light, pushes the dinghy along quite well, even loaded with 2 adults and a 90 lb dog.
It does have a bit of a reluctant behavior to being started after sitting on it's side in the cockpit for a while. The little engine is hard to yank at first, so I have adopted a habit of pulling slowly on the cord for a few engine cycles before giving the old heave ho for a start attempt. Even then, it sometimes pulls the cord back hard enough to smart the hand that is doing the pulling.
I assume that this is because the thing is a four-stroke and during storage (with the correct side up) oil pours into the cylinder wall making it harder to cycle until said oil runs back into the oil sump after sitting vertical for awhile? Just wondering if any other owners of these engines have experienced this, and do they do the same slow-pull cycle?

Chris
 
My Yamaha 2.5 is a real gamer, but has one bad habit. It leaks oil when laid on its side. I followed the manual for correct side down, and the dipstick is firmly screwed tight. The dealer isn't sure why it's leaking, and apparently hasn't seen that before. Anyone else experience this with their little Yamaha?
 
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