Dinghy Motor

[BB marine]

I'm an old school 2 stroke fan. I spent much of my career working on these engines. The weight to Hp ratio is better with the 2 stroke and most are 2 cylinders so they are smoother running. I have this 1983 7.5 Evinrude that I use on my RIB. weighs 53lbs and puts my 8'10" aluminum Rib up on a plane quickly. It is fun to use in the harbor and river.Its not to bad to take on and off while in the marina or calm anchorage. If we are in an anchorage that is stirred up with waves it is PIA. The Suzuki 2.5 water cooled has great reviews, weighs 29lbs (short shaft),quiet running, will be my dingy motor this year. I'm still keeping my little 2 stroke to use in the harbor its fun for dingy poker runs 😀.


Its an old motor runs great!

 

[Cutwater28GG]

@Summersteve. the suzuki is water cooled. the honda is air cooled and thus much louder. go the suzuki

 

[Dcsqatar]

Once again, thanks for the responses. I ignorantly thought that even while pushing, and not planing, that more HP would mean more speed. However, seems like if I do not want to got to 6 HP+, which I would prefer not to do due to handling weight, that a 2.5 HP will work well. So now I am thinking a 2.5 HP water cooled engine like Suzuki. By the way, there is another active post praising the merits of the Torqeedo.

 

[shrh676]

We just received a new dinghy and motor that we will use as a tender for our R-27ob. We opted for a 7' 7" Achilles with an inflatable keel for easier towing and an ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 electric outboard (3hp equivalent). Haven't had an opportunity to try them out yet, but will report our impressions as soon as we do. Weight and storage strongly influenced our decision to go electric. The battery on the Spirit 1.0 is rated at 1018Wh and will charge to capacity in about 6 hours. We can charge up when staying at marinas. At 55lbs, the dinghy is light enough to haul aboard if necessary or for cleaning. A gas outboard was out of the question. Simply no way to stow it onboard on an R-27.

 

[scross]

We too have the 2.5 hp Suzuki and are happy with it. We had a wood slat floor “roll up” dinghy that we sold and upgraded to a fiberglass hull model. Rigid hulls are important in the PNW due to rocky shores and the need to stern tie from time to time. Perhaps an inflatable or slat floored dinghy would work just fine for the sandy beaches of Texas and Florida.

 

[S@LTD]

Add me to the Susuki list. We went through the same debate and just purchased a 2.5hp about 2 months ago. Very glad we did. Dealing with batteries and recharging was not something we wanted to contend with and the noise from the Honda was a non starter for us even though it was nice not to have to deal with impellers and flushing. Friends of ours really struggled with reliability of the Lehr. We are about 6 hours into our break in period and really like the weight and the Susuki is super quiet. Ordered online from Portabote in Mountainview and it was on our doorstep within 48 hrs.

 

[daviddri]

Two factors I haven't seen yet in favor of the Torqeedo (I may have just missed them) are:
1) You can store it somewhere other than on the life rail as it doesn't have to be stored vertically and can even be stored in a travel bag (optional)
2) You can take the battery off the motor before mounting the motor in the dinghy and then attach it after the motor is mounted if you find it easier to manage the weight by dividing it into two parts.