Two stroke or four stroke

[Mithril Bham]

Originally Posted by LoudMusic

Depending on how far you hope to travel in each dinghy trip you may want to look into electric.

Second that on a dinghy that size. Quiet is great. Use solar.

[twig]

I use a 2 stroke 5 hp and happy with it but if I store it on dinghy with outdrive out of the water it will drip water with just enough exhaust residue to leave a sheen on the water surface. Marina told me I had to do something. I leave it down now but it gets all mucked up after awhile.

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by twig

I use a 2 stroke 5 hp and happy with it but if I store it on dinghy with outdrive out of the water it will drip water with just enough exhaust residue to leave a sheen on the water surface. Marina told me I had to do something. I leave it down now but it gets all mucked up after awhile.

May want to check your lower end to see if there water in it. We tilt ours up and beside the initial water when tilted up, it doesn't drip water, oil or fuel.


Bill O.

[Ramona]

Two stroke engine and use synthetic oil.

[Mike Banks]

The better question is noisy and air-cooled or quiet and water-cooled. Personally, I like an air-cooled four stroke. That pretty much means Honda. Water-cooled means problems sooner or later.

[Dennis.G]

Two stroke motors stink. Literally. Blue stinky smoke due to unburnt fuel in the exhaust. Pollution is the issue.

[DMCantor]

It also depends on your cruising grounds. We had a 4-stroke 5hp outboard in a temperate climate, and it was a great engine. We tried one in the Caribbean (same brand), and it was a constant headache. We have learned to go with market share, and the prevalence of Yamaha 2-strokes in the Caribbean is very, very high.

[Oceanride007]

I have a 2.6m Barefoot with 6HP Tohatsu 2/St am on my own, despite big fat wheels difficult to get up the beach, more than a few times have thought need to pair it with a 3HP Yamaha 2 St.


Friend has a similar sized dinghy with a 15HP Yamaha 2 St he loves it but has a wife to help him. His engine is so sweet and could be used to push the mothership.


I needed a Outboard davit to get the Engine off with Dinghy on Davit. Not easy to Engineer. Due to height clearance issues. Can man handle a 6HP but only just in calm conditions.


6HP will get me and 20Kg on the plain, a little easier with a Hydro plane, but if 2 people 2.6m will not plane, maybe a 3.0m will, am now investigating a 8HP carburetor To give long distance commutes more feasible. And smaller Engine if dragging up beach.

[wsmurdoch]

Tohatsu used to have a page showing the wide open throttle fuel consumption rates for their 2 and 4 stroke engines. I found it again in the Wayback Machine.
https://web.archive.org/web/20001017..._consumpt.html

Bill

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by wsmurdoch

Tohatsu used to have a page showing the wide open throttle fuel consumption rates for their 2 and 4 stroke engines. I found it again in the Wayback Machine.
https://web.archive.org/web/20001017..._consumpt.html

Bill

For a non injected two stroke, 30% greater fuel consumption over an equivalent 4 stroke is a good rule of thumb. That's why 4 strokes are definitely in the box seat for larger engines or applications where fuel management is important (e.g sailboat auxiliaries).

Originally Posted by Dennis.G

Two stroke motors stink. Literally. Blue stinky smoke due to unburnt fuel in the exhaust. Pollution is the issue.

I'm weird. Nothing reminds me more of being on the water then a whiff of good ol' two stroke exhaust, which kind of smells pleasant because of the association.

[Akapeterc]

Two-stroke motors can’t be sold in Australia after about halfway through next year

[01kiwijohn]

For a small motor, I'd go two stroke. Lighter, simpler, less maintenance and better mid range torque, to get you off the beach. At 50:1 premix, they don't generally smoke and running at fairly constant RPM the pollution difference, with a 4 banger, is negligible.

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by Akapeterc

Two-stroke motors can’t be sold in Australia after about halfway through next year

Wow. I knew that was on the cards, but i didn't realise importation had already ceased. On the plus side, I'm sitting on a goldmine with three sub 10hp 2s outboards sitting in my shed!


I did find this interesting snippet, when checking the facts:

Dealers who embrace the changes, and move buyers toward clean engines will gain better margins and more service work, claims Fooks from Blue Sky Alliance.

Make of that what you will.

[flyingfin]

If your vessel is a dock queen, get a four stroke since you only use it for touring the harbour. If you do lots of cruising, towing the dinghy is a problem, so you will need to pull the engine and zodiac and tie them down on deck; therefore a 4,6 or 8hp two stroke is the optimum power plant. But before you buy anything, go to your local dealer or outboard repair shop and spend an hour carrying their motors around the shop. Let you arms and back decide for you.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Mike Banks

The better question is noisy and air-cooled or quiet and water-cooled. Personally, I like an air-cooled four stroke. That pretty much means Honda. Water-cooled means problems sooner or later.

Unfortunately the air cooled Hondas have problems too, and often sooner rather than later. Pretty common to have valve covers rust through, letting the oil out. Something to keep an eye on.