In a recent posting, Chuck Coykendale wrote:
CC> Looking for opinions about the small 5-10 hp Four cycleoutboard motors 
like
CC> Honda.  Thinking about one for my18' sailboat.  Thanks.
   Chuck, I used a 7.5 Honda 4-stroke  on my
   24-footer for years.  Absolutely reliable, easy to maintain, fix, and
   find parts for - a well-known engine, even in out-of-the-way places.
   Might be a bit heavy duty for your boat, though.  If you're just
   using your motor to maneuver into a mooring, and weight is important,
   something very small would be enough, 1.2 Tanaka or Sears or a 2 HP,
   with a gravity feed gas tank. If you're cruising, (you don't mention
   the kind of boat) 4.5 may be enough.
   Things to watch: have the right propeller for your boat, take advice
   on this. In a seaway, a transom-mounted motor will race when your
   boat enters a trough and the stern grabs air -- fortunately, my boat
   had an aft lazarette arrangement which put the propeller further
   forward.  Finally, you will be carrying gasoline on board, in a
   format which is probably the most potentially dangerous of all the
   choices (diesel, gas inboard, gas outboard) so pay particular
   attention to your fuel tank arrangements: have a tie-down strap, a
   pad, well-ventilated location, and rules about smoking and refueling
   (i.e. no smoking and refuel on shore).
   For longer passages which may require using the motor (40 n.miles or
   so across Lake Huron) I used to bring an extra 5-litre tank, and
   transfer the fuel lines to the other tank, rather than use a jerry
   can.  But you only get into this type of nonsense when you have to be
   at work on Monday morning, a requirement you should get rid of at the
   first opportunity.
   --acz
 * OLX 2.1 TD * Life's a reach, and then you gybe.
 * S2S Toronto, Ontario  (416) 975-1547
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