Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Small Outboard Recommendation

Hey Gang,

I’m looking to get a 10 to 15 horsepower outboard for my aluminum John boat. I’m looking for opinions on the options out there. It would be nice to find a descent used one. I had a Force 15hp many years ago that was a great motor and I would love to find another one like it. Seems like Yahama and Suzuki are taking over the outboard market.

90’s merc 2 stroke. Lightest for the power. A 15hp is like 60-70 lbs, same as my 6hp.

2 stroke or 4 stroke?

Don’t matter.

Had one of these and it was a great little motor. Yamaha makes a great motor, too. Keep an eye on Craigslist and download some of the resell apps that are out there.

I've heard good things about Tohatsu.

Buy a 10hp fourstoke yamaha. Way cheaper than a 15hp and the only difference is the carbs. A 15hp carb is only $250 on ebay. The motors are bullet proof.

New- Tohatsu

Old- Merc or Johnson.

Suzuki 4 stroke EFI 15 or 20 hp.

New
Honda & Yamaha are probably the best but they cost more.
Nissan, Mercury, Suzuki & Tohatsu are all the same motor, all made by Tohatsu.

So, Tohatsu let Suzuki debut the EFI models several years before Nissan, Mercury, and themselves?

Sorry, but I have to throw the BS flag.

Cut and pasted from https://nestawayboats.com/shop/petrol-outboards/

Last of what we consider to be portable outboard motors is the 15 & 20hp group. In this market until very recently Suzuki was the runaway leader, as at 44kg their 15/20 was 8kg lighter than the nearest rival. And – uniquely – it has EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) for easier starting (no choke etc), faster pick-up and better fuel economy. Yes, that’s double the power for only a 19% increase (7kg) in weight, compared with the (lightest-in-class) Tohatsu 9.8!

2019 RRP on the Suzuki 20 £2900 (for the manual start, tiller version, many other options available please call or email)

However in late 2017 Tohatsu announced their new 20hp four stroke, also with EFI, and weighing in at… 43kg. So only 1kg lighter, but once you get over 40kg every kilo really does count. We are also told it’s even more fuel efficient than the Suzuki, but to be fair the Suzuki is already astonishingly fuel efficient. (Neither motor would use up 12 litres – the size of tank supplied with both – of petrol during a typical day’s use.)

The new model Tohatsu 20 price is £2640. NB if you find a Tohatsu 20 listed cheaper, it may be the previous version – this was a very nice engine but does not have EFI and weighs 52kg.

If you were thinking about a 10hp motor the Suzuki 15 at £2445 may also be worth consideration. It has no weight advantage over the 20, but some boats have a 15hp limit, and with this motor you still get EFI and a motor that only weighs 44kg. The same logic of course applies to the new model Tohatsu 15, which we can do at £2160.

Yamaha

9.9 yamaha 4stroke - brand new , it'll be purring like a kitten when you're too old to use it . Provided you run real gasoline through it and change the engine and lower unit oil .

I have a 2.5 & 6hp 4strokes bought new in 2010 never a hiccup .
Owned a jetski rental business for a few years - one name stands out in reliabilty and resale - yamaha . Although i've read that honda owners love their motors too .

I saw a video years ago of a Dug-out [heavy hand carved vessel] boat that went up a river DEEP INTO THE WILDERNESS of south america .
Six too seven hour trip depending on river current/load when going upstream . It carried supplies and passengers with the 'don't worry about the mule load the wagon' mentality .

Engine was a 6hp yamaha 4stroke just like mine , it was ran at constant WOP=wide open throttle going and coming 7 days a week .
The Captain didn't speak english but pointed to the yamaha name on the motor with a smile when asked about the quality of the motor .

I have a Honda 9.9 pushes my 12ft V bottom at 20mph and I can get about 20 miles on a gallon of gas.I had a 14ft flat bottom before that.I think it pushed it a little faster but got rid of it because it didn't handle the chop as well as the V bottom.Honda makes a great motor and I think they are built a little better than some of the other brands.

If you can tolerate the weight, get a 15hp. 4 stroke...

There is NO comparison between a 4 stroke and 2 ... in terms of how much maintenance they need, 4’s are so much better.

IF you do 2 cycle stay away from Mercury, the Venturi pathways as too small and you end up doing a carb cleaning each year...

They're affiliated with Merc and Nisson. I don't know how much they overlap in their motors.
Tohatsu's been around for nearly 100 years. They survived WWII and rebuilt. They now have a world wide market.

I’ve gone through them all—my rule of thumb—if newer than 10 years shop by price. Older than 10 years—Yammi or Honda or nothing. Ive got a backyard full of mercs and evinrudes and Johnson’s and Nissans and Suzuki’s.
I can get any of the old ones to run perfect here in the yard i just can’t trust them out on the Lake.

I had a Yamaha 10 hp on my Sea Sport when we lived in Alaska. We would use the Yammie when we trolled for silvers or were cruising the shores in PWS looking for black bears. I ran the motor wide open at least 100 hours a year for 7-8 years. Never had one issue.

Tohatsu makes a light 15HP.

The only 15 I saw on their website is a 4-stroke that weighs 94lb.