Inboard to Outboard?

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

Besides the many performance issues listed above, outboards are gas guzzlers..be aware of that....run time on a 5-6 gallon tank will be measured in a few hours.
Filling up the tank again, from another container on a moving boat will be tricky.
Remember, you'll be dealing with gasoline, not diesel.

It's really a two person job...one person on the wheel/tiller....the other on the engine throttle/gearshift controls....can be done by one person off course, but tricky...

Outboards are best used on relatively calm waters.....with little wave action to lift the prop out of the water....even with an extended shaft.....

Have realistic expectations on what propulsion power a small outboard can provide.

Lastly, outboards have dismal performance in reverse. Learn to understand exactly what to expect from your outboard in reverse when time comes to dock, etc.

Most all the above comments are totally incorrect.

First off most of the smaller 4 stroke outboards come with 3 gallon tanks. I have one of those and another 2.5 gallon plastic jug onboard and that's it.

I usually though only have about 3 gallons or so of gas total onboard at any one time. There's also the 40 ounce integral tank which is great for just coming and going from the dock

Looks like you are talking about old 2 stroke outboards, and their 6 gallon metal tanks.

I've had about 7 of those.

I'm a single hander so everything is done by one person.

Reverse works great, and since my outboard can rotate through about 200 degrees, coming and going from the dock is very easy.

I use both the boat's tiller and the outboard's tiller.

I can cross the 20 mile lower Chesapeake Bay on about 1.5 gallons of gas. This usually takes 4-5 hours on autopilot depending on the tide.

The smaller 4 stroke outboards of today are as efficient as most diesels on fuel.

As far as calm water and the prop coming out? That occurs with the shorter shaft outboards that are installed to high on the stern with a short bracket throw.

Using the outboard here to get around some tankers before sailing again. It isn't calm and the outboard isn't coming out of the water

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri0c5GnZ1I8

[MicHughV]

you have your experiences....I have mine...please don't use a blanket comment that my statements are all incorrect..

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

you have your experiences....I have mine...please don't use a blanket comment that my statements are all incorrect..

Well it appears all your comments were based on old 2 stroke outboards that we used to have back in the day and the shorter shaft models

Those comments matched up with those old 2 strokes I had as well.

Today though with the new 4 strokes, it's totally different.

I found this out actually with a 1960's 4 stroke outboard I had. It was a Bearcat 55 hp on a 17' boat, and it did better on gas than my 25 hp 2 stroke that was only pushing a 14' aluminum boat

It was a Bearcat 55 hp 4 stroke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccIDT7B3jHY

[MicHughV]

I've owned and operated a variety of 2 stroke and 4 stroke outboards in my 35 odd years afloat. Additionally, I've been on many an outboard propelled sailboat, my own included.
Besides the sailboats, I've owned two fishing boats, one powered by a single engine, the other by twins, not to mention the countless outboard powered dinks i've owned.
I also know quite a few other outboard engine owners and their craft.
'jes sayin'....

[flyingfin]

Why bother with an outboard, just a couple of oars will suffice according to J Slocum

[thomm225]

For me it's been 51 years of using outboards (2 and 4 stroke) but more importantly the last 11 with this one a 2012 Mercury 5 hp 4 stroke with 25" extra long shaft

This outboard that I have had on my boat for these last 11 years has been great in most any conditions where I needed power.

As I said I carry very little gas onboard but this little engine can get me back on a Sunday if there is no or little wind from as far out as 60 miles

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by flyingfin

Why bother with an outboard, just a couple of oars will suffice according to J Slocum

J Slocum never had to be back for work on Monday to run a site/project otherwise oars probably would work okay.

[campbdon]

Sorry if this isn't the best place for this question but here goes...
I decided to settle on either a Tohatsu 9.9 EEPTUL or a Yamaha T9.9XPB. I believe a key to making either of these work well for me is outfitting with a "high thrust" prop. Does anyone here have any recommendations on specs for such a prop? ie: 4 vs 3 blade, diameter, pitch, etc ?? The dealer asks specifically on what type of prop to install. Shouldn't they know what high thrust means?
Thanks again!

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by campbdon

Sorry if this isn't the best place for this question but here goes...
I decided to settle on either a Tohatsu 9.9 EEPTUL or a Yamaha T9.9XPB. I believe a key to making either of these work well for me is outfitting with a "high thrust" prop. Does anyone here have any recommendations on specs for such a prop? ie: 4 vs 3 blade, diameter, pitch, etc ?? The dealer asks specifically on what type of prop to install. Shouldn't they know what high thrust means?
Thanks again!

You'd probably get lots more advice if you start a thread with that question.

Include type boat as well.

That would probably help.

[Jdege]

One apparent advantage of outboards is that you can lift them out of the water when sailing.

The brackets can be raised by a foot or so, and the motor itself can be tilted.

But how feasible is that, when an outboard is hanging off the transom of a sailboat, instead of just a dinghy? How hard a reach, leaning over the stern to pull up the motor?

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Jdege

One apparent advantage of outboards is that you can lift them out of the water when sailing.

The brackets can be raised by a foot or so, and the motor itself can be tilted.

But how feasible is that, when an outboard is hanging off the transom of a sailboat, instead of just a dinghy? How hard a reach, leaning over the stern to pull up the motor?

When I pull up my outboard I actually climb up on the stern of my boat to do it then it's quite easy. Also my outboard is a 58 lb 5 hp 4 stroke 25" shaft.

I also think it is good for older folks (I'm almost 70) to do things like that just for the slight bit of exercise and using different muscles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agtdrmAqojs

[hirondeller]

For 3 years I ran a 10hp Yamaha on a 26ft Hunter 1984 monohull, long shoal draft cast iron keel, with an 'off center' folding motor mount on the stern. It did ventilate the prop in a 3 foot chop, despite the 25in 'X-shaft'. I can't lie, that was really annoying, it was the only serious negative.



Unlike a previous post indicated it was highly maneuverable much better than a diesel when docking ( I sometimes ran a friend's Catalina 27 diesel), no real problems. In reverse I would turn the tiller and motor at the same time and sweep into very tight turns, awesome turn radius! I would then back down past a long line of marina boats (on both sides) under perfect control in a very narrow marina channel. Just point your prop and rudder at a mark, rev it, and it goes exactly there in reverse! Easy to learn.



All things considered I would encourage your conversion. I would buy a 10-20 hp EFI , the trade offs are favorable. Suzuki makes a 25in shaft EFI tiller motor that weighs 140lbs (admittedly heavy, check the mount rating) with a high thrust prop as an option ~$3000. Note that the 10, 15 and 20hp SUZE are all exactly the same motor (with reprogramming and a larger restrictor plate in the throttle body, same weight). 20hp should 'scoot' your boat against any wind and current. The EFIs run lean and sip fuel, 8-10mpg is possible at 50-75% throttle.



Best wishes.

[boatman61]

Have fitted a Suzuki 8hp ls on a Chance 37 for a delivery trip because of a seized inboard, it got us down the river from Seville to the sea then next came into use from just past Lisbon to Figuerra da Foz, a distance of some 100+nm..
Cruised at 4.5kts on 2/3rds throttle.. No problems.

[catalac08]

I think an important point for a monohull outboard engine is that it needs to be mounted centrally otherwise it will certainly lift out when heeling. The point is well made about the importance of a 25" shaft - that extra 5" makes all the difference.
I have used outboard main engines for a number of years on catamaran wirhgout major problems. A few observations though:-
Power tilt is great for lifting the engine when sailing and then getting the engine down quickly when needed however power tilt if it fails can cause a problem. In theory you release a valve nut below the PT cylinder, this enable fluid to bypass and you can lift and raise the engine manually. This nut is at the bottom of the transom brackety and no way could this be released at sea. My PT failed and even lying in a dinghy under the stern of the boat could this be released and I had to go and dry out to release the valve. My 25HP engine weighs about 100kg and would al;so be very heavy to manually raise and lower.
Berthing a boat with an outboard can be hard unless you can steer the engine when it it very good. If the engine is fixed you do not get prop wash over the rudder or prop walk as you would with a diesel prop behind the rudder.
Modern outboards are sophisticated, fuel injection etc but are not cheap.
As some have said you can make it work for you as I have but given the choice I would go for an inboard diesel.
Fuel can be hard to get in some areas here (UK) and outboards can be stolen. Servicing can be expensive as the boat needs to be lifted to change the gear oil or dried out by most mechanics will not do this.

[Benz]

I have an 8hp high-thrust 4-stroke Yamaha on my 31' 10-ton cutter. It's mounted off-center on a homemade bracket. It was easier to just make a bracket with the proper angles than try to wedge a commercial bracket. It has worked for 12K miles of voyaging, and I only once wished it was an inboard.
Despite the long shaft, it cavitates in chop--that's the biggest drawback to an OB, but it's easy to tilt up, easy to handle throttle arm and boat tiller at the same time, and renders the boat very maneuverable.
There's a wide-bladed high-thrust prop, and I believe the engine is geared to accomodate.
For me, at least, the advantages of the OB outweigh the downsides.
I would not mount it with hanger bolts into wood: I'd through-bolt studs to the wood with countersunk holes behind, then through-bolt the wood to the transom--that is, if it weren't better to jsut fab a bracket out of aluminum angle.