2.3 HP gas-powered Honda or electric for inflatable tender?

[Pete the Cat]

I had no idea a 6hp could make a dinghy plane. Impressive.

One person on board it is an Achilles 9 ft. hypalon dinghy with aluminum floor--but I think it would plane with two with one of the new lightweight RiBs.

 

[dhill]

I have an ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 extra short shaft on my 8.6' Avon dinghy with fiberglass bottom. It is not speedy, but it is almost silent and doesn't wake the neighbors at anchorages. No fuel, oil to worry about. Two parts, each about 22 lbs. The battery floats. It also interfaces with solar panels. It was expensive. Range is limited, but it gets us ashore from the usual anchorages. If I wanted to explore further afield, then I would choose another option.

Hope that helps!
Dave

 

[jtsai]

For those who owns Torqeedo electric outboard, do you keep the unit attached to dinghy at night or store the battery and control handle from the weather?

I also have both, Torqeedo and an old 2-cycle outboard that weighs in barely 20 lbs. I don't think twice leaving the outboard with the dinghy overnight but unsure how weather proof is the Torqeedo unit. After all, it is electronic and we all know how marine electronics are.

 

[Bolo]

For those who owns Torqeedo electric outboard, do you keep the unit attached to dinghy at night or store the battery and control handle from the weather?

I also have both, Torqeedo and an old 2-cycle outboard that weighs in barely 20 lbs. I don't think twice leaving the outboard with the dinghy overnight but unsure how weather proof is the Torqeedo unit. After all, it is electronic and we all know how marine electronics are.

I will keep my Torqeedo in the dinghy overnight if I’m going to use it the following day but I NEVER leave it attached to the dinghy while towing it cause that’s just asking for trouble. When not on the dinghy I keep the drive section on a bracket at the pushpit with the battery and tiller below. I don’t worry about keeping it out in the weather because it’s supposedly made to stand that sort of exposure. When I’m transferring the drive section to the dinghy I keep a line tied around it with the bitter end tied to a cleat just in case it gets dropped into the water. I use to do the same with my gasoline outboards in the past.

 

[Christian Williams]

How about a 60's-vintage British Seagull?

I'm going to get one, clean it up, and mount it in the living room as a piece of art.

I spent more time pulling that starter cord than I did motoring it. Also, somewhere on the floor of the Sound off Connecticut is the Seagull that flew off the transom as I was demonstrating tight turns at age 15. Learned to tighten the dogs and have a safety line, and how to feel really stupid.

 

[windblown]

How about a 60's-vintage British Seagull?

I'm going to get one, clean it up, and mount it in the living room as a piece of art.

I spent more time pulling that starter cord than I did motoring it. Also, somewhere on the floor of the Sound off Connecticut is the Seagull that flew off the transom as I was demonstrating tight turns at age 15. Learned to tighten the dogs and have a safety line, and how to feel really stupid.

View attachment 47573

Oooooh, Christian, that seagull does capture the eye and the imagination! Truly, a piece of art, for those who understand.

 

[Nick J]

I feel the same way about vintage sewing machines and typewriters. Now I'll have to add vintage outboards to the list.

 

[paul culver]

I feel the same way about vintage sewing machines and typewriters. Now I'll have to add vintage outboards to the list.

Ditto for slide rules.

 

[Pete the Cat]

How about a 60's-vintage British Seagull?

I'm going to get one, clean it up, and mount it in the living room as a piece of art.

I spent more time pulling that starter cord than I did motoring it. Also, somewhere on the floor of the Sound off Connecticut is the Seagull that flew off the transom as I was demonstrating tight turns at age 15. Learned to tighten the dogs and have a safety line, and how to feel really stupid.

View attachment 47573

I think they would make an excellent icon of British mechanical malpractice. I tried in vain to help the hapless folks who bought in them in the 1970s during their heyday. I think their ugliness was part of the appeal: something this mechanically ugly was presumed to be at least be reliable. Turns out they weren't. I have considered producing book of failed marine inventions---my ancestors actually had a factory in New York in the early 1900s that turned out many of them. I have their catalog from 1910-its amusing, and the likely reason our name is not on any modern marine equipment. But the folly continues.

 

[gabriel]

How about a 60's-vintage British Seagull?

I'm going to get one, clean it up, and mount it in the living room as a piece of art.

there seems to be quite a few of these masterpieces for sale out there:

british seagull outboard motor - boat parts - by owner - marine sale

british seagull outboard motor it has compression so it's not seized. i've never used it or tested it. i'm selling it as untested and to be safe - non-working, for parts or repair it's missing the...

ventura.craigslist.org

I’m sure the admiral will appreciate the new “decoration”
: )

 

[Alan Gomes]

I think they would make an excellent icon of British mechanical malpractice.

And then, of course, there's British electrical malpractice.

Edit: Here's another entertaining discussion.

 

[Alan Gomes]

there seems to be quite a few of these masterpieces for sale out there:

british seagull outboard motor - boat parts - by owner - marine sale

british seagull outboard motor it has compression so it's not seized. i've never used it or tested it. i'm selling it as untested and to be safe - non-working, for parts or repair it's missing the...

ventura.craigslist.org

I’m sure the admiral will appreciate the new “decoration”
: )

Ya just gotta love that thumb-lever throttle!

 

[driftless]

One person on board it is an Achilles 9 ft. hypalon dinghy with aluminum floor--but I think it would plane with two with one of the new lightweight RiBs.

Our Suzuki 6 hp will plane our 8 foot high-pressure floor Zodiac with my wife and I onboard (about 310 lbs of people)

 

[Bepi]

For ethanol concerns I am a fan of the product "Sea Foam". I restored and maintained a small fleet of 2.3's and the carbs stayed clear as long as an additive was used.

 

[Alan Gomes]

For ethanol concerns I am a fan of the product "Sea Foam". I restored and maintained a small fleet of 2.3's and the carbs stayed clear as long as an additive was used.

My fuel was treated with BioborEB, which was the top-rated stabilizer by Practical Sailor (I believe). The fuel still went bad and destroyed my carb when it sat in my unused outboard for around 10 months during the family emergency I mentioned. I'm not taking any more chances with stabilizers.

Mainesail's comments in this thread are quite informative.

 

[Pete the Cat]

Most of the new 4 cycle outboards now come with fuel shutoff valves. My belief is that if you run the engine out of gas before you store it for any length of time, you can avoid many of the evils of ethanol. But better never to use that if you can buy an alternative.

 

[Loren Beach]

My belief is that if you run the engine out of gas before you store it for any length of time, you can avoid many of the evils of ethanol

That's also the traditional advice for the two stroke OB's back in the 70's, to keep the fuel from gumming up in the carburetor.

 

[gabriel]

That's also the traditional advice for the two stroke OB's back in the 70's, to keep the fuel from gumming up in the carburetor.

70’s?? I still use a 2 stroke sailmaster! : ) I’m almost hoping it dies so I have an excuse to upgrade to a more fuel efficient 4 stroke but it just doesn’t quit! I always drain the carb though.

 

[debonAir]

Gumming up your carb is not really an ethanol issue. Its a bad gas issue. Gasoline is highly reactive and volatile and that's what makes it a great fuel, but it also means it is decomposing rapidly as soon as its made. For cars this isn't a problem since you replace the gas constantly. For boats it can be an issue since you can have gas sitting in tanks for year(s) slowly being used. You can get stabilizers (like Stabil) that slow the decomposition and lets your gasoline keep over the winter and you can get fuel additives like sea-foam to help keep "gunk" soluble in the fuel so it doesn't get left back in the carb hopefully.

The problems with ethanol are 1) ethanol is hyrdoscopic (loves water) and combines with it. When enough water is absorbed the water-ethanol mix separates from the gasoline it is in and forms a layer of wet alchohol on the bottom of your tank (it is denser than gasoline) and won't run your motor. 2) the attracted water speeds up corrosion of any ferrous parts in the fuel system 3) ethanol can attack other fuel system components (aluminum parts for example) depending on conditions etc.

Us ethanol fans have to stick up for it ya know!

I've debated the electric tender motor for years now. There are a lot of pluses, but even as someone that owns/drives a full electric car I would still choose a light 2-stroke for the time being. Mostly because it is still easier and simpler (and quicker) to find gas on the ocean than it is to find wall-plugs. If you have a generator on board that could sway the argument, but even so, my larger rib with a 15hp outboard is practical backup-propulsion if my aux diesel fails. The 2Hp on the little inflatable couldn't muster that.

I used to disconnect the fuel line to my outboard and run the carb dry after each use but I've actually had a lot more trouble that way than just leaving it attached and the carb full. I think water gets in the line somehow when its not connected. Could be just my setup.