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Which outboard motor

PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 9:04 am
by Arjen
Hi all, tried to find some info about outboard motors for the pocketship.
Please your findings and advice...

Power (hp), electric, gasoline, propane, long tail, short tail, motor mount etc...

Re: Which outboard motor

PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 4:43 pm
by Mflyer65
I am deciding about motors myself. There is a good example of choices on this forum. I am thinking the Honda 2.5 long shaft for gas and price or the E propulsion Plus for electric and quiet runnbut haven’t pulled the trigger on one yet. I really li

Re: Which outboard motor

PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 4:45 pm
by Mflyer65
Sorry hit the send before finishing the post. I am leaning toward the electrics for the peace and quiet with little issue of fuel needs.
Mike

Re: Which outboard motor

PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2020 12:22 pm
by Bflat
I was close to getting the Honda, and reports are that it's a good one (I like the light weight). But being air cooled, it's loud (some one compared it to a lawn mower). So, I went with a Suzuki. It's about 29 or 30 pounds, but water cooled and so quiet that a normal conversation can be had. I think any of the water cooled 4 strokes (such as a Yamaha) would be equally good.

Re: Which outboard motor

PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2020 12:06 pm
by Wayne G
I initially used a 6hp Tohatsu SailPro (25” shaft) but based on input from John Harris where he thought this was oversized and too heavy for PocketShip (60 lbs) I eventually changed it for a 30 lbs Honda 2.3hp with a 20” shaft.

Although the air cooled Honda works well and I don’t find it to be very noisy, I actually preferred the Tohatsu for the following reasons:
Tohatsu has a reverse gear. The Honda needs to be spun 180 degrees to go astern. Not a big deal unless you need to stop or change direction quickly.

At 6hp there is never an issue of making headway even in a strong headwind. The Honda can get the boat to hull speed at about 1/2 throttle in low wind but it struggles in strong headwinds.

Tohatsu has a neutral gear. The Honda has a fixed gear and a centrifugal clutch where the prop engages above a certain rpm. This can be a problem when tied up at a dock and the engine is started with the choke on where the engine revs high and engages the prop. Because it is air cooled the engine can be started with the outboard tilted up out of the water ( you need to ignore any strange looks from on-lookers as the engine screams and the prop spins). Luckily the choke can be taken off almost as soon as the engine starts.

Finally, as a bonus, the Tohatsu has an auxiliary 5A alternator output for charging batteries etc.

I have the motor mount shown in the attached photo (I don’t know why but 4 stroke motors require higher rated mounts, the one shown below is rated for a 2 stroke motor)
CCE6F35D-BF95-4FF6-8A34-87736F733417.jpeg
CCE6F35D-BF95-4FF6-8A34-87736F733417.jpeg (63.16 KiB) Viewed 4628 times

Re: Which outboard motor

PostPosted: Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:07 am
by karlstatt
At first I also wanted to take the Honda. But a friend has it and finds it very loud. I bought a Mercury 3.5 with the idea that it is a good compromise between more power and weight and that you can drive it with less gas. The idea has proven itself, even a third brings the boat up to hull speed and you can still have a conversation on board without shouting at each other.
In the meantime, however, we have changed to an Epropulsion 1.0 Plus electric motor and I never want to have to change again. The motor is powerful and has sufficient endurance, and the power can be called up immediately in an emergency - we are on narrow rivers with currents.

Re: Which outboard motor

PostPosted: Thu Apr 15, 2021 7:40 pm
karlstatt wrote:In the meantime, however, we have changed to an Epropulsion 1.0 Plus electric motor and I never want to have to change again. The motor is powerful and has sufficient endurance, and the power can be called up immediately in an emergency - we are on narrow rivers with currents.


How do you manage the motor's tiller? I saw an ePropulsion video, and it looked like the tiller would not swing up very far, not enough to clear the transom skirt.

Re: Which outboard motor

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2021 2:19 am
by Arjen
Hi Skippers,

Thank you for your information and feedback.

I considered an electric outboard but had to drop that idea. I want to sail the Wadden sea which is notorious because of the strong tidal currents especially in the vincinity of the harbours.
Electric power just hasn't enought range for these situations.

When I (endlessly) looking at pocketship pictures and tubes on the internet I see that the Suzuki 2.5 is very popular.
Over here in Holland the Suzuki was also tested as one of the best.
When I recently "stumbled over" a 1 y old (2 hour) Suzuki with a fair discount at my local dealer, my final choice was made.

Mount:
As the transom of the Pocketship is quite high and I don't want to drag the outboard through the water under sail, a fixed mount wouldn't do the job for me.
Instead I installed an adjustable motor mount. These are in stainless and aluminum. I used aluminum which I welded in place (less holes, less chance of leakage ;) )

Image

Re: Which outboard motor

PostPosted: Tue May 25, 2021 5:18 pm
by chaertl
I've been running a 2.5 hp Lehr for eight years or so. The only major issue has been the gas line. Blew one off the fitting once sitting in the driveway on 90 degree day. Lesson learned, don't leave the tank hooked up when not in use. I was using various 3 hp Johnsons before that but had to carry an extra gas can because they kept running out of fuel. With the Lehr I can have over 12 hours of fuel stashed in the rope lockers and haven't had to buy a new can in two years.

Re: Which outboard motor

PostPosted: Wed May 26, 2021 5:55 pm
Bummer, it looks like Lehr is no longer in business.

Doug