Are there any good small outboards anymore? I would like a 2.5 to 5 horse outboard motor. The ratings I see on most all of them are really poor. Those of you who have one. What do you have and what do you like? Good or bad.

I had a couple of small Suzuki’s over the years. No issues with any. Rented a 5 horse Honda once, dang thing nearly vibrated my arm off.
Just bought a Mercury 2.5 for our canoe. But now doubt I will ever use it and it’s still in the box.

I'd think most any of them should work well. We have an old Johnson 6 horse. It needed a carburetor clean, but other wise it's good.

Not in my opinion! Yes, they run reliably but all are single cylinders motors with excessive vibration and noise......like a dirt bike.

I have a 65 Evinrude Ducktwin that is a twin .......very reliable and smooth.......

If you really want to find out about small outboards, go to Tinboats.net. Look for a guy named "pappy" an OMC mechanic.

Otherwise, here's my two cents:
All motors, regardless of brand, under 25 HP are made in Japan by Tohatsu. 4 strokes, that is. New motors 8 hp or under are usually single cylinder and vibrate like crazy. Plus, they are expensive to boot.

Go on Craigs list and find an Evinrude or Johnson 2 stoke from 1960 to 1990 and you will not be sorry. Avoid all others, especially Mercury's which can be a repair nightmare. You should be able to find a nice one for $650 or so.
Either have a shop go over it or do the following yourself.
New Champion sparkplugs
New impeller
Clean the carb
Check the coils
Change the gear oil
Use Evinrude X D 50 2 cycle outboard oil in a mix no leaner than 40 to one on newer engines and 24 to one on vintage machines
Older OMC's are all twin cylinder's and were made to last
I have a 1955 Evinrude 15 hp outboard that runs like new
Go OMC, you won't be sorry

Well said!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I have a little 2 hp weed eater motor that has been surprisingly reliable, I've had it about five years on my duck skiff. It is much lighter than a E-trolling motor and battery and has about as much thrust as a 40 lb e- motor. I tried my 3 hp Evinrude on this boat but it was to powerful although it is perfect for my square stern canoe.



My Evinrude 3 is 90's motor two cylinder water cooled and is rock solid, best motor. I have a 176 Evinrude 15 hp on my big duck boat again rock solid.

That is a great idea, I often thought of trying that. I have an echo weed wacker and that thing runs like a raped ape. I know that Nissan used to make a small 2 cycle outboard that had a great following.

I have a 2.0-2.3 horse Honda 4 stroke and it runs great. The only problem is it is too dam heavy for most canoes. I have a big ass canoe and it sill dam near tips it with a side mount. If you have square back it would probably work well.

A lot of lakes and parks are prohibiting 2 cycle now.

A big ass Husky or Sthil chain saw motor converted some how might make a dandy canoe engine.

OK here's your problem as I see it.
You need a light outboard that doesn't vibrate for a conventional canoe
Any of the four stroke motors out there in the one and a half hp to say, 5 or so will be a single cylinder vibrator.
If you went to that Tinboats site, you may get some better ideas. They are all boaters.
Can you make an extended motor mount with wood or aluminum that will place the engine directly behind the canoe?
Look at what is used on pontoon boats and make something similar.
There may even be commercially made mounts like this.
Personally, I'd look for an older Evinrude Lightwin 3 hp.
Yes its a 2 stroke, but its a twin with a built in tank and probably isn't more than 25 pounds.
As far as the restricted lakes go, I'd have a MinKota for them.
Yep, a twin kicker on the back
Outriggers in the middle
and look out!
Good luck in your search

As far as a 5 hp o/b goes, this is what I've seen some people do to have a 4 stroke 5.5 hp o/b for around $200.
Find a blown motor, usually on C/L or at a repair shop.
You don't need the engine, just the rest of it.
Go to Harbor Freight and get their vertical shaft 5.5 hp lawn mower engine and mate it to the o/b lower end.
Or use a Briggs off a mower if you please.
Sure its air cooled and noisy but it's super cheap.

My old 2 stroke 2 hp Mariner vibrated more than my 2.3 hp Honda. The Honda is air cooled and I like it on my jon boat especially in the cold because there is no water pump to freeze up. It doesn't weigh as much as a trolling motor and a battery and goes about forever on a tank of gas. I did run an Evirude 4 hp with a remote tank on a side mount on my 17' Grumman canoe. The weight was compensated somewhat by the torque lift and I never ran it high speed, but it was a smooth little twin 2 stroke. I always thought that the two cylinder 3 hp Evinrude with the built in tank would have been ideal on the canoe.

Another thing that I do with that little air cooled Honda is mount it to a board and walk around my shoreline with my waders to blow the leaf litter out into the deeper water. The one watch out with the Honda is that it is shorter than my 9.8 short shaft Merc and it might cavitate on a larger boat with a short shaft transom.

Another twin worth watching for is the Yamaha 2 stroke in 6 and 8hp that was discontinued in the 90s.

That 8hp Yamaha you have is a great motor as are some of the OMC 7.5 to 8 hp. Around 58# and weight to performance is good. Very smooth quiet motors.

I guess I opened my mouth, and showed my ignorance. I have not been around any new small outboards. Just the old-timers.

I have a 2.5hp yamaha & a 6hp same - both four strokes - not a complaint in the world with either motor.
I use them on a Gheenoe 13' that I put a floor in making a flat surface to walk on , also a seat in the middle of the boat . I use one of the extension handles so I guess that hides some of the vibration , although I pay no attention to a little vibration .
Have an 8hp [tohatsu] nissan also it doesn't putt putt around slow like I like when hunting , I just don't use the boat for running fast . Fast in stumpy rivers is costly .
The 2 stroke 8hp Nissan will do about 22-23mph but I just don't need that for what I do .

No way i'd buy an old outboard compared to a new honda/yamaha/suzuki - I've towed way too many friends back tot he dock who have old fixer upper outboards .

If you mix the oil higher than the recommended ratio your engine will run hotter than it should. Oil burns hotter than gasoline. If the engine is designed for 50 to 1 that is how you should mix it.
Putting extra oil doesn't help 2 stroke engines.

Hogwild, your statement does make sense but do you know of any testing that confirms the theory?.

A marine engine mechanic told me, to add a bit more oil than recommended. "You may smoke a bit, and you might foul a plug, but you'll never seize an engine, ever. "

I think the vibration issue is overstated. Yes the new 4 strokes are single cylinder, but they are also 4 stroke and good on fuel and quiet when not run full out. They are also new so you aren't buying other peoples problems.

I have a Suzuki 2.5 and 6Hp and am pleased with both. I run them both in Canoes with no issues yet, I haven't noticed the vibration issue that some have stated.

If I had it to do over again I'd likely get the smallest air cooled Honda instead of the 2.5 Suzuki for safer use in shallow silt. The 6HP Suzuki is doing great on my 18 foot Mackenzie Sport. I bought both Suzukis at a real good price as a new previous years model. Still warrantied and still brand new but 20%+ off, new price.

I appreciate the input from everyone. When I was a kid we had a 3 horse Johnson. Quiet, smooth and dependable. The new ones, not so much. Guess I was spoiled when things used to be made out of metal.

You can still find those

Funny this post came up. I started with a small Jon Boat 9 yrs ago and got sick of rowing . I buy a 2 horse Evinrude made around 1970. The guy on Craigslist said " Might need a tune up." First warning right there. I take it in and they say it si not worth it. I buy a 2.5 horse Suzuki for 500 bucks. It starts good and runs fine. The problem is , it is a wimpy unit. The shear pin breaks off at full throttle , the lower unit bolt broke ( likely from hitting a rock in the river) and I didn't know it till it started to grind. I buy a 2010 3.5 horse Mercury for 800 . It never really ran all that good but was told it is cause it is gravity fed and has a laps when giving it gas. I have it at the neighbors house . He tore down Mercurys for 44 yrs there at the plant in Fon Du Lac. He sais the float stays stuck down . If he can fix it I think I am in luck . It would deb a good outboard for my new 1436 Jon boat and it planes at less than full throttle and goes 9 mph. It is a short shaft however and so is the Jon Boat. I decide to swallow hard so down to the Merc dealer I go. A new 5 horse longs haft for my bigger boat ( Alumacraft V16) This outboard is new but far superior to the others, ,, but it is new. It has reverse, has a tank on top and can be run from the 6 gal. tank too. It also has a 2 amp charger and that makes sense cause it will likely be used for back trolling and the big TV sets I see on boats that are called fish finders use some juice. I have not been happy with small motors at all. I think they should charge a few hundred more dollars and make them 2 cylinders so they are even smoother and quieter.. The 3.5 horse Merc is not good at starting when its cold. I need something that starts and the colder , the more dangerous my hunting is cause I cross a river with ice chunks floating down and they are hard to push away.

I had a little 6HP Yamaha 2 cylinder and it was a sweetheart of a little motor. Sold it to a buddy who runs it on his john boat and it's a great fit. They aren't that heavy and are superior to the little one-lungers.

Sockpuppet, I found that out today when I took out my new 5 horse. It is very quiet but it does vibrate much more and shakes things in the boat and makes it rattle. I am going to try to find the rattles and also take some rubber roofing and perhaps glue it on top of the transom and perhaps the back of the transom and tighten the heck out of it. Maybe even bold the motor on too. This might help a bit. I wish they would spend a few hundred dollars more and make them 2 cylinders. A better product always sells better when it comes to hunting and fishing.

I read it somewhere but it is a fact that the more carbons there are in the hydrocarbon molecule the more heat it produces when it is burned. If using more oil was beneficial the engine makers would have recommended more. Nobody cared about a little more smoke in the 60s.

Clean water free new gas is the key esp. in a 2 stroke! Old gas will cause lots of problems in a 2 stroke. I drain carbs end of season and add stabilizer. Had an issue this WE on a fast river in buds 2 stroke jet boat betting carbs had water which creates rust and plugs jets.

Good to know. About to go through a 1985 Evinrude 15hp that's been sitting for 10-years plus. Hope it's savable.