Dinghy / Aux Motor advice

[RJG 26S]

Ok, so I have decided to get an auxiliary motor for my 26X that would also power my inflatable dinghy.

I found the following slightly used motor for sale for $950: http://www.newoutboards.com/brochures/S ... ochure.pdf

The motor is a 4 HP short shaft.

My dinghy is rated for 5 HP and I like the idea of a short shaft to limit the exposure of the propeller when beaching the dinghy.

Questions: 1. If I mount this to the starboard side of the transom using an adjustible mount that lifts the motor out of the water when not in use and lowers it vertically into the water for use, would the short shaft listed for a transom height of 15" work ok?

2. Would something like the medium sized aluminum mount such as this work in salt water or should I try to find something made of stainless steel http://www.iboats.com/Garelick-Aluminum ... w_id.38297 If not this one, other recommendations?

3. This particular motor has just a 0.4 gal internal tank which supposedly can run for about 45 minutes. Nice for the inflatable, but if I were to use it for longer periods of time for fishing, how hard is it to modify it so it could also be hooked up to an external tank?

4. Any comments on this Suzuki outboard? About what kind of speed would I expect for a 4 HP aux motor?

Thanks,

Bob

[Russ]

One thought is in regard to weight. The 4hp is advertised as 55lbs.
I have a Suzi 2.5 that weighs 30 lbs and is hard enough to deal with.

My experience with the 2.5 while attached to the dinghy it pushed the Mac (and dink) about 4mph. It's a noisy little sucker though.

--Russ

[DaveB]

Russ,
I to have a 2.5 hp Suzi that sits on a fixed bracket on my stearn Port. I use it on my 9.5 inflatable and it is easy enough to lift with one hand off the bracket and than two hands mounting on to the dingy. I to would use it for towing my MacX with the dingy as the 15 inch shaft is to small even if you could get a motor mount with 9 inch drop as this would be to low and any following sea or boat waves would put motor under water or heavy spray.
30 lbs is when it is almost filled with fuel as the motor weigs 28 lbs. I get around 1 hr doing 1/2 throttle at 4 knots on the dingy. I use a 16 oz aluminum drinking can as fuel backup.
I haven't tried towing the MacX and if I did I would do it with the dingy tied to the side, good to hear you get 4 mph out of it,even 2-3 would be good if it can get you home.
Dave

One thought is in regard to weight. The 4hp is advertised as 55lbs.
I have a Suzi 2.5 that weighs 30 lbs and is hard enough to deal with.

My experience with the 2.5 while attached to the dinghy it pushed the Mac (and dink) about 4mph. It's a noisy little sucker though.

--Russ

[Catigale]

This was beautifully documented and posted by Tahoe Jack in the Mac Mods section - complete with measurements etc.

- Mounting a 55 lb outboard by hand in anything but flat water only works if you are a 3-sigma weightlifter

- 950 USD is about 90% of the price of a new motor - I think I would buy new at that price and get a warranty

[Cap'n Ahab]

The Suzuki 4 HP is a nice motor, I use it to power my 10 foot inflatable walker bay. I bought them both from Blue Water Yachts where I purchased my 26m. It is a very reliable motor and fuel efficient. it is a little underpowered with 4 people and gear in the dinghy, but perfect for 2 plus some gear. Mine is the long shaft version. No comments on the install to your 26X though.

[Sumner]

....- Mounting a 55 lb outboard by hand in anything but flat water only works if you are a 3-sigma weightlifter.....

Yep, we have been using a 60 lb 5 HP Nissan on the dinghy and the last trip I lifted it off....



http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... de-12.html

...the mount on the back of the mac into the dinghy standing on.....



http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... de-30.html

..... the swim ladder platform and I felt I was going to maybe loose it.

So for a Christmas present we bought a....

http://www.onlineoutboards.com/Tohatsu- ... 3-5BL.html

.... 3 1/2 HP Tohatsu to use. It is still heavier than I wanted at 40 lbs. but we wanted the long shaft and it was the lightest 4 stroke long shaft I could fine. We wanted the long shaft so that it could be a backup to the 9.8 HP Tohatsu if that was ever needed to push the mac.



http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... iac-3.html

Also I had raised the transom on the dinghy for the long shaft Nissan and this way I wouldn't have to change anything. Hope to use it for the first time by this time next week. I'll see how we like it,

Sum

[Rick Westlake]

I put a Panther lift-up aluminum outboard bracket on Bossa Nova, on the port side of the stern just outboard of the rudder. It was an awkward job, as there isn't much room to spin a wrench up inside the transom; I also had to cut away enough of a fiberglass fillet in the stern to make room for the backing plates. And I got it a couple of inches too low, so the dinghy-kicker's prop does get wet on a starboard tack. Oh well, I did my best on it.



The engine I got cost less than the bracket; it's a 1959 Evinrude Lightwin, 3-hp two-stroke, that I picked up for $100 on Craigslist. I did all of this in November, and I haven't had the dinghy out since I installed the bracket. I did take Bossa Nova down to Florida in early December, which is how I know the engine drags with the mount full "up"; but it was cold enough that I chose not to mess with the dink, and I spent my nights in a marina instead.

[RJG 26S]

- 950 USD is about 90% of the price of a new motor - I think I would buy new at that price and get a warranty

Somebody beat me to it or the listing on Craigslist expired, so new is now the plan. I found this website: http://www.shopoutboards.com/ where they have some good prices, no tax and free shipping. There is also a special with Mercury right now where you can get a 5 year warranty

I think I will go for the lighter 3.5 with a weight range of 38 to 41 lbs being easier to handle than the 55 to 57 lb 4 HPs.

I am still confused regarding short shaft vs long shaft. It seems like there is a bit more room on the transom where a short shaft would be mounted. Since the adjustable mounts move the outboards up and down approximately 11-13" and either way, if properly mounted would place the anti-cavitation plate just below the bottom of the transom. Now don't take this the wrong way, but does 5" in shaft length make that big of a difference?

Thanks,

Bob

[RJG 26S]

I put a Panther lift-up aluminum outboard bracket on Bossa Nova, on the port side of the stern just outboard of the rudder. It was an awkward job, as there isn't much room to spin a wrench up inside the transom; I also had to cut away enough of a fiberglass fillet in the stern to make room for the backing plates. And I got it a couple of inches too low, so the dinghy-kicker's prop does get wet on a starboard tack. Oh well, I did my best on it.



The engine I got cost less than the bracket; it's a 1959 Evinrude Lightwin, 3-hp two-stroke, that I picked up for $100 on Craigslist. I did all of this in November, and I haven't had the dinghy out since I installed the bracket. I did take Bossa Nova down to Florida in early December, which is how I know the engine drags with the mount full "up"; but it was cold enough that I chose not to mess with the dink, and I spent my nights in a marina instead.

Rick,

I have seen the Aux motor mounted on both the port and starboard sides. Why did you choose the port side?

Thanks,

Bob

[Catigale]

Now don't take this the wrong way, but does 5" in shaft length make that big of a difference?

Bob - if you are lake sailing and want the backup capability then it probably wont.

On bigger lakes/ocean, a short shaft will cavitate on a Mac and it could get ugly.

[Chinook]

I've set up with retractable mount on the starboard side, and I run a 3.5 hp 2 stroke, long shaft. It weighs 28 lbs, and I can easily transfer it from motor mount to dinghy transom by hand. It's useful for powering the Mac at slow speeds fwhile salmon trolling with a downrigger. Regarding its use as a backup kicker motor, it has limitations. In flat waters it will push the Mac at 4 knots, full throttle. Internal tank, though, so you have to refill the fuel tank fairly often, if running wot. Also, while it does fine in light wind and flat water, it quickly gets overpowered and will even stall out of operated in rough conditions or strong headwind. My conclusion is that in the event that main engine quit some distance from safe harbor, sails are the best option in getting from A to B, and the kicker would be most useful in maneuvering in the harbor and up to the dock. It would also be worth running if becalmed.

[Rick Westlake]

Rick,

I have seen the Aux motor mounted on both the port and starboard sides. Why did you choose the port side?

Thanks,

Bob

Bob,

I chose the port side because it's next to the boarding ladder. It's my habit to board the dinghy from there, and I cleat its painter to the port quarter cleat when I have it in the water. Also, I have a cleat on the port side of the stern for my topping lift, and when I do move the motor to the dinghy's transom I'll be able to leash the motor to that cleat while it's unclamped.

I might have put my motor on the starboard side, if I'd remembered that was where Chinook put his mount.

[Sumner]

...... Now don't take this the wrong way, but does 5" in shaft length make that big of a difference?

Thanks, Bob

It will only make a difference if you can't get the outboard in the water far enough for it to pick up cooling water and of course you want the prop in the water. If we would of bought a short shaft and wanted to use it as a backup on the Mac it wouldn't of worked using the stock motor well on our S as it was too high. We did need to put the NIssan on the first time out when the Honda wouldn't start.

I didn't like it way down in the water though on the Zodiac, so raised the transom on it after talking to the manufacture about doing that. Raising the transom was some work, but not that much and now we are fine with a long shaft on either boat.

When we replaced the Honda long shaft we went with a Tohatsu 9.8 that is an extra-long shaft (25 inches). I made a ....



http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... de-25.html

.....new mount for it that raises it about 5 inches so that it is in the water the same depth as the long shaft was. This helped to....



http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... de-26.html

..... get the controls higher, thus easier to use and moved it back just enough that it will rotate lock to lock which it wouldn't in the stock location. This video....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COMAPYd5 ... ure=relmfu

...shows the controls better.

If we were doing more open water sailing we have the option to....



.... pull the mount off, about a one minute job. I just have to remove the 4 1/2 in nuts and the whole mount comes off just leaving the transom thru bolts on. That puts the extra-long shaft down in the stock location on the transom with results in it being further in the water and less likely to captivate on swells.

My recommendation on buying the Mercury is don't do it. Tohatsu makes the small outboards, including that 3 1/2 HP, for Nissan and Mercury, so you are just paying extra for the name on the outside.

If you note the contact address for the place you mentioned...

http://www.shopoutboards.com/Contact.html

....with online outboards....

http://www.onlineoutboards.com/Contact.html

... where we bought our 2 Tohatsu's you will notice they are the same and thus the same vendor. They just can't list the Mercury on the same web site as the Nissan/Tohatsu.

Good luck,

Sum

[nedmiller]

I think it's a great idea raise the transom if you are using a long shaft motor on an inflatable. I think the drag would greater with the long shaft. Also, if you have a powerful long shaft motor and you are sitting at the back with no gear or anyone up front, you might flip the boat over if you accelerated rapidly. Of course, raising the transom does change the leverage so make it strong enough.
SILK

[RJG 26S]

My recommendation on buying the Mercury is don't do it. Tohatsu makes the small outboards, including that 3 1/2 HP, for Nissan and Mercury, so you are just paying extra for the name on the outside.

Sumner,

Comparing the three different nameplates on the Tohatsu motors:

1. Tohatsu 3.5 (Short/Long) Weight (41 lbs / 43 lbs) Price ($949.99 / $989.99) 3 Year Warranty

2. Nissan 3.5 (Short/Long) Weight (41 lbs / 43 lbs) Price ($985.00 / $1025.00) 3 Year Warranty

3. Mercury 3.5 (Short/Long) Weight (38 lbs / 41 lbs)Price ($997.50 / $1016.50) 5 Year Warranty

So the idea of having to spend an extra $27 to 48 to get a motor with an extra 2 year warranty that weighs 2 lbs less and have it match my current Red and Black Mercury does not seem too bad to me.

I am really glad to hear that you have purchased two motors from this company and since you did not mention anything bad, I assume that they are a good company to work with.

Thanks,

Bob