Small outboard advice please

[Jeff Dodd]

Matt
Some good information provided on this thread, thanks for the post.

My experience with a 12 Gregor and 12’ Lund- I ran a 2-stroke Nissan 9.8 hp. I liked it because it weighed 58lbs. So easy to use transport.

The vibration from a singe cylinder OB is something I’d stay away from.

New Tohatsu 6hp OB looks nice, 2 cylinder and weighs 81 pounds. Ug.

Your boat looks lightweight aluminum and if you are trailering, you may consider not traveling far with an 81 pound OB on the transom. Store that in the bed of the truck.

Another consideration- get a small 4hp OB to push you around at low speeds and you’ll save battery life, and be able to get back from the far end of those big lakes!

 

[headduck]

Efi is huge. Wouldnt buy a motor today without it.

The single cylinder point is important for experience on the water.

Tohatsu for a while (may still do) made mercury, Nissan, and evinrude small hp motors...honda made their larger HP motors for a moment as well.

I have a Tohatsu 2012 9.8 2 cylinder for my kicker..It's fine but the carb is a pain.. I clean it 2 times a season. Gotten pretty quick. Running non-ethanol gas helps, but it's never on the way...

Suzuki's are also well liked and efi. Yamaha's are loved by some as well as hondas... like everything else fishing, personal preference wins the day.

Propping... there are pages written about this... how do use your boat, how heavy are you and your geat, whats rpm at WOT... a balance between needs and efficiency is often sought. For instance, I chose a shorter pitch for increased torque at a consequence of lower top speed.

Kitsap marina can have decent deals on in stock smaller hp motors, 'specially round boat show time.

 

[headduck]

Dont forget about resale....some motors are less popular on the used market.

 

[bennysbuddy]

I know on a few European fishing sites I follow , those Tohatsu motors are held in a high regard for reliability & long life

 

[BDD]

I had an older 8 HP Merc (made by Tohatsu) with an electric start. I wanted an 8 HP Yamaha and got one, which was stolen so I bought another. Both Yamahas had a pull start. I'd take a newer Yami will a pull start over an older Merc/Tohatsu with an electric start every time. I guess the question I can't answer is if I'd take an older Yami with a pull start over an older Merc/Tohatsu with an electric start.

At one point I was researching smaller Tohatsu outboards with a jet pump to put on lighter sleds and inflatables. I liked the idea of the Tohatsu because they were 2 strokes and very light compared to the other smaller jet units with the 4 stroke engines. I'm not sure Tohatsu (or anybody else for that matter) even sells a 2 stroke anymore.

 

[veilside180sx]

After having cleaned at least 200 carbs from all of the manufacturers 9.9hp motors...I'd stick with the venerable Yamaha T9.9 or F9.9 depending on the application.

I own a Nissan/Tohatsu (finicky carb), Honda, and a Yami. As much as I love EFI stuff...they haven't been any more reliable than their carb'd counterparts. The orifice that a fuel injector pushes through will clog VERY easily with any gunk just like a carb. So all you do is swap from cleaning injectors vs a carb. Some find that easier...others more difficult.

All I can say is with whatever you choose...only run E0...and still add stabilizer.

 

[SSPey]

Myself and several friends have run Yamaha 9.9s for years with zero problems. Zero finicky issues, even after sitting for months. E0 only!

 

[Aufwuchs]

I have a Yamaha 9.9 I've had now for about 10 years. It's given me no problems, it's quiet, and gets my 14 foot boat on plane with two people in the boat.

 

[Bruce Baker]

I have a 14' Lund with a 15hp Honda (1993). The Honda has served me well. The only issues were from using E85. I know use ethanol free gas. Other problem had to do with the fuel coupling. Unbeknownst to me, the O-ring on the female piece went bad. I was having issues with the motor stalling while idling or trolling and it being very hard to restart. So I was getting tired of that and looking at replacing it. I was mentioning it to a friend when he had stopped by the house and he looked at the connectors. He then pointed out that the O-ring was bad in the female connector. I had never thought of that. The first clue to this issue was that when I was priming the bulb, gas would leak from the connection when I gave the bulb that one last pump. But, I did not put two and two together. And I never had bothered to check the O-ring. The style of connectors for my engine are not made anymore. Honda changed them in 1996 (went from round to rectangular). There was an outfit in Georgia (iBoat) was still selling the pre-1996 style female end end, but it also came with the fuel line. Not a big deal, but some more digging on the internet led me to a company that sold a kit for the upgrade (just the male and female connectors). So, I bought that and upgraded to the new style. After replacing the connectors, I started the engine (I actually never had an issue starting the engine for the first time, no matter how long the boat has sat) and I was able to run it on idle for 30 minutes with no issues at all. Just wish I had diagnosed the issue sooner.