Back up engine help please.

secondopsman · 12 January 2013, 21:27

Not a Rib or a Sib i know but you gents have be so hopeful in the past i thought i would give it a try.
SO i sold the Sib and now have a Bayliner Capri

,Its 19.5 ft long weighs around 1200Kgs and im looking at a back up engine.Ideally i would like a long shaft 2 stroke with built in fuel tank so i could keep it up front in the cuddy and pull it out should the worst happen.Been offered a 3.5hp Mariner but can anyone tell me if this would push my boat along.
Thanks
Pete

Nos4r2 · 12 January 2013, 21:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by secondopsman

3.5hp Mariner can anyone tell me if this would push my boat along.
Thanks
Pete

No. That's a heavy lump to push. I'd start at 6hp, maybe even a 9.8hp Tohatsu 2 stroke if you like huntng hen's teeth.

Festinghouse · 12 January 2013, 21:47

go away with your binliner! only joking, id def go for a 2 stroke 9.9 or 15. get a small external tank. an internal one is likely to leak in your cuddy.

Screaming04 · 13 January 2013, 05:54

I'm with NOS4R2 6-9.9. I think 8 would be perfect.

clydeoutboards · 13 January 2013, 07:53

This brings in the big question again i.e. how you want to use it and where you are. If you just want to get to safty and only go out in goodish weather with no or small currents then the 3.5 would be ok. If you want walking pace or fast walking pace then I would go for a 5-10hp. Above that I would suggest you

a: think again
b: get a twin set up
c: go to the gym a lot and aerobics classes as lifting a 15hp 2 stroke on a rolling boat will be hard work.

oh and as stated the tohatsu engine is like hens teeth and so is the yamaha equivalent as everyone has the same problem.

safe boating

Dave

secondopsman · 13 January 2013, 08:07

Thanks for the replies so far.

Useage wise we go out to sea but not far as the wife moans

and only in calm weather and also on Windermere but again only in nice weather,
Its only to get us back in the event of an inboard engine failure.
Reason i was looking smallish was the lifting it on / off.
Pete

clydeoutboards · 13 January 2013, 08:20

well I would go with 5-6hp and if you can lift around 28kg I would even go 4 stroke and the best that you can afford as it is there to save your life and keep the wife happy. oh and they also hold their value very well. Tohatsu are the same as mercury / mariner (all made by Nissan) and would be perfect. Honda or Yamaha if you are rich.

oh and please remember to start it up before you go out!

Dave

starnetman2001 · 13 January 2013, 08:46

To give you an idea,

I have a Northcraft rig that weighs about the same.

My backup which I have used on several occasions is a Susi 8hp 2 stroke. It has a built in iil tank and I have plumbed into the main tank but also have an external.

Pushed the boat at 5knotts very max is 6. After engine failure used to get back to port this year but opposing tide flow meant I was making 2 knots. ... Long journey!

I think 8-10 would be sensible and I suggest you do what I do and test each outing.

Downhilldai · 13 January 2013, 09:50

Surplus to requirements DT6 (1987ish) and DT8c (oil injection, 1992ish) Soozooks here.

Landlockedpirate · 13 January 2013, 11:12

A few years ago I had a 26ft 2299kg Bayliner and I used a 5hp, 2 Stroke Mariner Long shaft as a backup.

Luckily I never needed to use it in anger, but when I tried it on a calm day with no tidal flow on the Broads I found it would only just move me at around 1-2kts.

Your Capri is lighter so I think 5hp would be fine on Windermere, but if you are going out to sea you are going to need a more grunt. Have a look around for a saildrive outboard, they have long or extra long shafts and a bigger, slower turning prop more suited to displacement boats.

If all I could buy/store was a 5hp I would get it, but for safety I would look for about an 8hp, anything more is overkill because you will be pushing displacement hull speed.

9D280 · 14 January 2013, 09:50

Lifting it off & on - NEVER underestimate how difficult that can be in even a slight roll, even a small engine - epecially if you care about the state of your Gelcoat.

Bushrider · 14 January 2013, 09:59

I use a Yamaha 8hp 2 stroke with a high thrust propeller for the job .

clydeoutboards · 14 January 2013, 10:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by 9D280

Lifting it off & on - NEVER underestimate how difficult that can be in even a slight roll, even a small engine - epecially if you care about the state of your Gelcoat.

ppenman · 14 January 2013, 10:06

A 4-6 hp 4 stroke ways the same as the 9.8 2 stroke Suzuki. I've got both. For your use I'd go for a 6hp 4 stroke as at least you don't have to worry about pre-mixing the fuel. I'd also go for the external tank option rather than rely on a very small internal tank.

How are you going to mount it ?

9D280 · 15 January 2013, 11:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by ppenman

For your use I'd go for a 6hp 4 stroke as at least you don't have to worry about pre-mixing the fuel.

Indeed - the same reason I actively want a premix aux!

Just bear in mind that if your main has died as a result of water in the fuel or whatever other tank related reason, that might lull you into a false sense of security.

ppenman · 15 January 2013, 14:16

Hmm, I don't really understand the reasoning. If you took the fuel for the aux from a separate plastic tank there should be no cross contamination unless you filled tank and boat from the same source. If you did that you'd still have the same problem whether it is 2 or 4 stroke. However, you can stop the fuel getting stale by taking it off the boat and using it in car, motorbike etc if it is a 4 stroke. The larger outboards (my tohatsu 9.8 2 stroke for example) tend to only have external tanks.

9D280 · 15 January 2013, 15:33

In the past people have pointed out the advantage of common fuel..... I should maybe have typed a little more background to that thought!

Probably more relevant to twin engine setups.