Which NEW outboard?

[solar]

Looking for a new 2.5-3 HP outboard for my new dingy.

What would you buy? Prices are almost the same.
Normal light use expected.

Honda? Suzuki? Mercury? other?
OR bite the price bullet and go Electric?

Thanks

[Vinnie45]

I have the air cooled Honda and it is great . Make sure you use non leaded gas if possible . I have not had any issues in three years .

[Kibo]

Out in the Caribbean all the fishermen use Yamaha outboards and they beat them up but they still keep going

I have an 8hp Yamaha now and have had 15hp on bigger dinghies. They have the best reputation for longevity and reliability

Not sure how small they go though but you may get a 3hp perhaps

[tiger79]

Depends what you mean by "normal light use".  If that means fairly short trips, a Torqeedo works well.  I've had one for a few years now and it's great - almost silent, very easy to put on the dinghy, clean, and it recharges from the boat batteries.

[Laysula]

I had a 3.5 Mercury 4 stroke. Swapped it this year for a second hand Merc 3.3 two stroke, 2/3rds the weight and far smoother. If you want a new one, you can still buy new in the channel islands.

[Neil]

I have a Suzuki 2.2 two stroke. It is from 2005. The advantage with these is they are light so easily man-handled from the yacht on and off the dingy and also when ashore when dragging up a beach. Weight is much more of a consideration for these uses than raw horse power.
Another thing about this engine is that it is very servicable and will put up with alot of bad treatment. Leave it outside all winter and pull the cord and it will start, or if not a 5 min tinker and you are there.
Two stroke engines are becoming rarer due to legislative issues, so if you can get hold of a second hand one it could be well worth it.
Finally I would always caution against relying on any outboard too much. If you cam't get out of trouble with oars if it fails you may be asking for trouble.

[Yngmar]

Key decision you need to make is if you want a 2 or a 4 stroke engine.

We have a tiny 2.5 HP Suzuki 4-stroke. I'm not overly impressed with it. It's unreliable because the itsy bitsy jets in the carb keep clogging and take a lot of time to clean. The magneto died once too. It's fairly serviceable, but there are some annoying parts, like lining up the coolant pipe in the leg or the gearbox oil change. I'd say it's an okay outboard at best. Major advantage is its weight - I can give it to the first mate to hold, then clamber out of the dinghy and take it from her to put on the pushpit bracket.

Neighbour has an air-cooled Honda, and while noisy, it seems a better design. Might just be me though.

[Salty]

I have a 2.3 horsepower Honda four stroke air cooled outboard and find it both sufficiently powerful enough for our dinghy, and reliable enough for me. I don’t know how old it is as it came with the boat B36(2002) when I bought it back in December 2009. I had it serviced once professionally at the end of 2010, so I suppose it could probably do with another service sometime soon. The petrol tank was topped up several years ago and hasn’t needed any more added for at least three of those years. I think it’s a great little engine, and would strongly recommend one.

[Club 56]

I have the 2 HP 4 stoke Honda. Unleaded fuel.
it does 95% of what I need it for.
Likes, builtin fuel tank. Unleaded, no 2 stroke to mix.
Weight.Approx 13 kg, Easy to drag out of the under floor locker and throw it on the dingy.
reliable, never had any real issues and considering It's not used for months. Serviced a couple of time over the years.

Dislikes
Noisy when going full throttle.
Must remember to close breather on top of tank when tilting motor.

Suggest you do a quick survey around your marina to judge what brands are popular.

Cheers
Club 56

[Krill]

i have a 2.5 hp yamaha 4 stroke from new,

Good -

always starts no issues with it
fairly light weight
dinghy goes about 4-5knts
sits in my boot on its back for 1 1/2 hours and still runs fine
it's not smoky
fairly quiet

cons...

erm the only cons i have are the same with all outboards, they weigh more than 5kg and make noise,

I would love to go electric but £ to engine ratio favours the traditional outboard, although going out to the boat im always envious of my neighbours electric one.

[SofiaB]

Got lucky with a used Torqueedo that looked new and unused. Purchased a spare battery but haven’t needed it. Other than no maintenance and no petrol on board the motor is three light snap together parts. I assemble it on the dink. Love the thing!  Made a sweet bracket and I’m good to go.

[Jackho]

if you haven't already purchased - highly recommend going electric.  bought 3HP Torqueedo and absolutely brill.

[Laysula]

What did you buy in the end?

[solar]

At the end I went for a new 2.3 Honda that was on sale that weekend under 700 Euros.
Tried it once around the marina...looks O.K
The electric options are still way overpriced IMHO.

[stevem]

I bought the Honda 2.3 hp last year cost £549 from SeaMark Nunn they sent it out to Greece for an extra £38 .they gave excellent service . It was all done online.