Do I have an oddball tiller motor???

[Excursion73]

Hello all
I saved a 2004 4 stroke honda 8hp 25" shaft outboard from an uncertain future...I bought it off a gentleman who was leaving for the Bahamas and had just purchased a lighter 2 stroke, he was having difficulty lifting the honda...so he was going to store the motor outside for the next 3 years.

I told him I would buy it rather than see it deteriorate in the harsh florida sun...
The motor runs like a top, starts super easy, shifts like velvet. ...only problem is its a Xtra long shaft.....I posted it on Craigslist and had no responses. .....

Is this motor un sellable......
What is the application for this...
Does the extra 5 inches turn boaters away???
Any input would be appreciated.

[Fiveslide]

You bought it to resell it? What do you want for it?



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[Excursion73]

No, not necessarily, I just didn't want to see a perfectly good clean motor just sit , I figured I may be able to hook it up on my fish in boat in the future.
I got it for a good price and couldn't pass it up.
If a sail boater came along and wanted to buy it I would sell it.

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by Excursion73

Is this motor un sellable......

No

What is the application for this...

26 foot or less sail boats and some trailer sailers. Possibly also used as auxiliary trolling motor on a larger powerboat.

And some oddball work boats might also use a small XL outboard as well.

Does the extra 5 inches turn boaters away???

If XL not needed, yes

Any input would be appreciated.

Boat transoms are designed to fit a particular outboard leg length. Most dinghy's that take that size motor use the 15" short shaft. A longer shaft motor just adds disadvantages. Sail boats will take the 20' long shaft or 25" XL shaft most often interchangeably because the longer the shaft, the less likely it is that the prop will pop out of the water as the boat pitches and the additional shaft length is not usually a problem.

[dick sargent]

Long shaft outboard motors are necessary on transom mounted sailboats...new, they are more expensive than standard length shaft engines.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Excursion73

Hello all
I saved a 2004 4 stroke honda 8hp 25" shaft outboard from an uncertain future...I bought it off a gentleman who was leaving for the Bahamas and had just purchased a lighter 2 stroke, he was having difficulty lifting the honda...so he was going to store the motor outside for the next 3 years.

I told him I would buy it rather than see it deteriorate in the harsh florida sun...
The motor runs like a top, starts super easy, shifts like velvet. ...only problem is its a Xtra long shaft.....I posted it on Craigslist and had no responses. .....

Is this motor un sellable......
What is the application for this...
Does the extra 5 inches turn boaters away???
Any input would be appreciated.

If you don't find inquires here, I'll be surprised.

[hamburking]

I'm going to guess you have a "Honda 75 longshaft". Its a great outboard for a sailboat, 22'-28'. Usually only a sailboat needs the long leg.

I owned the very similar Honda 100. Its a great engine. Very reliable and long lasting. The only trouble you may have is that the carb needs to be blown out or cleaned from time to time. For me it was every other year or so.

FYI, no need to say Honda 4 stroke. Honda on ever made 4 strokes. Good solid engines. You made a good buy.

[Isabella Jane]

That motor sounds just like ours, right down to the date and prop. Sends our 23' trailer sailer very nicely. Long shaft quite necessary in sloppy chop which would otherwise have the prop out the water (on our boat).
Reliable motor. Relatively easy to service. Very economical. Just a bit heavy!

[secrabtree]

Another advantage of a 4 stroke is fuel consumption. When we were cruising in Mexico we could explore further up rivers and estuaries because we could go almost twice as far on our 3 gallon tank with a 6HP 4 stroke than we had been able to do when we only had a 4HP 2 stroke. And it was quieter, too.

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by secrabtree

Another advantage of a 4 stroke is fuel consumption. When we were cruising in Mexico we could explore further up rivers and estuaries because we could go almost twice as far on our 3 gallon tank with a 6HP 4 stroke than we had been able to do when we only had a 4HP 2 stroke. And it was quieter, too.

My Honda 100 (9.8hp, 4 stroke) would push my C&C25 at about 5knots, consuming about 1/2 gallon per hour. So my 5 gallon tank would last 10 hours, for a range of 50 miles.

I carried a couple extra gallon cans, just in case, when heading on a long trip.

If I slowed to 4 knots, it used a lot less fuel, but felt like I was going no place.

I never really got to collect enough fuel consumption data, cause I preferred to sail. I even sailed in/out of my slip occasionally. The motor was mostly just for show and when there was no wind at all (rare).

[valhalla360]

The extra long shaft is typically intended for a sailboat where you need to get the prop down low but keep the actual motor out of the water in following seas.

It certainly would work fine for a dingy. Yeah your draft does go up by 5" but not a major concern. I wouldn't buy new for the dingy with the XL shaft but a good trade off if you got a deal.

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

It certainly would work fine for a dingy. Yeah your draft does go up by 5" but not a major concern. I wouldn't buy new for the dingy with the XL shaft but a good trade off if you got a deal.

For going slowly in a large dinghy, sure, it will work. But any kind of speed, especially in a light/small dinghy, would increase the forces twisting the transom, forcing the bow up. If you were aware of this, and well trimmed, it could work. But IMHO it would really raise the bow perhaps to a dangerous level, especially if the stern is already fully loaded with the weight of a 4 stroke.

They do make a transom mount extension bracket for mounting a long shaft on a conventional transom...but it seems like a complicated and expensive solution.

I've often thought it would be quite an elegant solution to share the outboard between the sailboat and the dinghy.

[thomm225]

Maybe repost it on Craigslist in the Spring.

It's a good engine for a smaller sailboat.

I have a 2012 5 hp 4 stroke Mercury 25" XL Shaft Outboard on my Bristol 27. It uses very little gas and has worked great so far.

Most folks would want a larger outboard though for my size boat so that engine of yours should sell if the price is reasonable

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by hamburking

For going slowly in a large dinghy, sure, it will work. But any kind of speed, especially in a light/small dinghy, would increase the forces twisting the transom, forcing the bow up. If you were aware of this, and well trimmed, it could work. But IMHO it would really raise the bow perhaps to a dangerous level, especially if the stern is already fully loaded with the weight of a 4 stroke.

They do make a transom mount extension bracket for mounting a long shaft on a conventional transom...but it seems like a complicated and expensive solution.

I've often thought it would be quite an elegant solution to share the outboard between the sailboat and the dinghy.

We are only talking about a little 8hp motor. Yes, there is a mathematical difference but unless we are talking a 12 yr old in an 7' dingy squeezed as far back as they can against the transom, who then guns it and doesn't let off when the bow comes up a bit high...it's not a big concern.

Sliding a few inches forward will more than compensate for any bow lift.

The problem with a single motor for dingy and mother ship is they have different needs. We have a 25hp and a 4hp. The 25hp would be an absolute bear to get on and off the dingy and the 4hp will only move the big boat at about 3kts in calm conditions. In order to use one outboard performance would have to suffer for one or the other. We do have a spring loaded mount that the dingy motor rides on and that can be dropped in a few seconds as a backup. The other big problem is you lose the ability to use remote controls and larger on board fuel tanks (at least if you don't want to spend a couple hours each time hooking them up). Then you have the safety issue at anchor. The kids head off in the dingy, squall blows in and the anchor starts dragging but you now have an engineless boat.