Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Small 4-stroke outboard motor....

Looking to get a 2-5 horsepower 4 stroke outboard for a 16' square stern aluminum canoe. Which brands do you guys like? Obviously Honda and Yamaha are good. What about Nissan and Briggs? Anyone tried a Chinese knoci-off? I'd like to go American (Briggs), just not sure about the quality.

Thanks,


Jordan

All the good ones are Japanese. Tohatsu makes the small mercs, and I think they are rebadged by others as well. I'd get a 5hp with an internal tank.

I had a Honda four stroke 2 HP for years on a 13' square stern canoe and that damn thing was the bomb. I ran some rough windswept water with that little boat and motor, some with much drama. If I had it to do over again I might consider the weight and go more HP to help with control in rough water. I would be careful to use the 2 HP Honda as the baseline for weight and balance, as I feel much more weight on my little canoe would be a detriment rather than an asset.

How odd I just came across this thread. I have been looking for the same exact motor for my "new to me" 16' fiberglass skanoe.
I am leaning towards Honda, but a marine mechanic friend of mine (who works at a Honda Dealership) swears by Suzuki. He says the Hondas are great but the Suzuki takes the cake. I'm scheduled to test drive a Honda 2 H.P. Monday evening. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Nissans are Tohatsus with a different label. They're both good.

For a lot less money without a serious decrease in performance, take a look at electric trolling motors. I used a 34lb Minnkota on a 17 canoe and it zipped right along. A 50lb will plane it. An RV battery will keep it going for many, many hours. If you extend the cable, you can put the battery wherever to balance the weight better. Plus, it's quiet and that counts for a lot.

Fireball:

The Honda 5 hp is 60 lbs and the 2 hp is 30 lbs. Based on your experience, is the 5 hp too heavy> We're talking a 16-17' square stern freighter canoe with two adult men and a few days gear. It'll be loaded pretty good.

Gonna take it across Yellowstone Lake, I think I'd rather have a little too much motor than not enough. Your thoughts please?

Thanks,

Jordan

That is a thought Rockchuck. I could bring my little Honda generator to re-charge batteries overnight. Gonna be boating across Yellowstone Lake. I' spect I'll need 4-5 hours run time. I haven't really spec'd out the trip yet. People die on Yellowstone lake if your not well prepped and know what you're doing (a big "if" in my case).

Jordan

Thanks Rick. Tell us about your Skanoe. Which brand and model?


Thanks,

Jordan

You're talking above my technical paygrade, but if the specs work, I would definitely go with the 5 HP Honda. The 2HP just labored against the wind with two people and a small dog in it, but purred right along trolling for fish under normal conditions. I can see the need for more power, but the motor was a peach for starting and running right. Keep in mind my boat was a 13' Old Towne and was very small.

RJ,

A story for you...

A couple years ago I had a 12' Porta-Bote (folder). I was excited to get a 4-stroke for it (lower noise, less exhaust odor, etc.) and found a mint Merc 8-hp. The little Mercs are made by Tohatsu, same as the Nissan. I tell you what, I wished I had bought an older Mariner 2-stroke. That dang 4-stroke vibrated like crazy and was LOUD. No hole-shot with that tiny boat either, although once on plane and WOT it would scoot with only the pilot.

Did a little digging around the interwebs and found a whole slew of sailboaters who bitched about the same with the little 4-strokes... LOUD, vibration, and no power. A bunch were trying to measure thrust since various brands felt anemic compared to a comparable 2-stroke.

A twin-cylinder 4-stroke is a different beast, but you may want to take a test float with a one-lunger before buying one. I'd consider a 2-stroke, if legal where you are. At least check out some sailboat forums to see if things have gotten any better.

Jason

You'd be way better off buying a clean used 2-stroke. The Tohatsu/Nissan 3.5 weighs 27 lbs and hauls ass.

I agree with the 2-stroke vote for power and weight. But, you have to keep in mind that more and more places are going or will be going 4-stroke only. Especially inside of national parks and wildlife refuges. Just a thought.

I like the little air cooled Honda 2.3hp for putting to the beach in the inflatable. Not having to worry about the water pump isn't a bad thing. It definitely doesn't have the umph for rough or fast water. Next step up I'd go Suzuki 4 or 6hp at 55 lb. or Tohatsu 3.5 at 41 lb.

have you looked at a propane powered kicker? A buddy has one, and it's a Lehr 2.5 HP model. Runs forever on one of those one pound green cylinders.
http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|215570|1794283|1964825&id=2417499

Thanks for posting that, Sam!

I am sending that link to a buddy right now.

I didn't know there were small propane-powered outboards, but 37 lbs is not too bad.

Also, it would be nice to not have to seek out ethanol-free gas to avoid the problems it causes with small engines stored for months at a time...

John

here is a picture of the little kicker on a square back canoe. Went fishing in this one last month.

Thanks for the followup picture too Sam.

That is pretty much the kind of boat my friend is planning on, so I forwarded that to him too.

He does some fishing in parks -- and as noted above, many parks have banned 2-strokes. More are likely to follow in the coming years), so he thinks a 4-stroke is a better long-term investment.

John

I have a 2.5 Suzuki, new last year for about 750 that I use on a square back old town. The motor weighs under 40 pounds, but I'd have to say, it won't meet your needs unless you have time. It works well for me, pushing me along at about 6mph on 1/2 throttle, but at full throttle, it doesn't seem to move the boat any faster. Perhaps it's the hull design that limits its efficiency.

They make a 3hp at about 41 pounds that may be better.

You can see I have extendable outriggers as well. They can go out 3 feet on either side, but I keep em tucked up on the hull and have more than enough stability to stand and cast. Theres a home made trolling motor bracket there as well.

I searched for cheap outboards and found a site that had great prices on Suzis and Nissans. That's who I bought from. Shipped right to my door! Gassed her hp, put her in a tank and fired her right up. Did most of my initial 10 hour break in right there. She sips gas!

Dan

The skanoe is a Pelican Bayou 160. I think I have narrowed it down (?) to 3 or 4 options. Ha!

1) '07 Honda 4 stroke 2 H.P. @ $550
2) '04 Yamaha 4 stroke 4 H.P. @ $775
3) a new Minn-Kota saltwater 18" shaft w/ a couple deep cycle
marine batteries @ ?
4) keep looking for a Suzuki

90% will be inshore saltwater fishing. However we are planning a fishing, hunting and camping adventure this fall in the Mobile Delta, which will require a substantial amount of gear.

Good thread and interesting since I just bought a used 06 Suzuki 2.5 horse 4 stroke. I was not sure it was worth 525 bucks. I took it out and it was very quiet in idle, a bit loud and rough wide open. I was however totally impressed with the fact it pushed a 1432 jon boat with me in it , I'm 150 lbs . It planed @ 8 mph and planed well at 10.5 mph wide open. I couldn't believe 2.5 horse would put me on plane but did very easily. With me , my BIL and grand kid ( 450 lbs) it still went 5.5 mph wide open. I still would prefer a 2 stroke though but are getting hard to come by.