2.6m SIB, short or long shaft engine?

[BrAinZ]

About to buy a 2.6m SIB, not sure exactly which one yet, but currently looking at a couple of engines for whichever I finally get.

Went to see a 4hp Mercury this morning, but it looks like a long shaft (compared to the others Ive seen). Seller didn't know a great deal about them, so not even sure if it's a 2 stroke or 4 stroke... but looks fairly modern, so probably a 4 stroke.

What would normally be used on a little SIB, a short shaft or long?

Would there be any advantages or disadvantages to either?

[rik_elliott]

Short is best, long will hang deep and cause extra drag and leave you more likely to strike the bottom. Of course, long leg will work and can be used - a good idea if you are using the sib as a tender for a boat that could use its outboard as a reserve engine, but generally for a little sib short is best

[BrAinZ]

Good advice.. Thanks.

[willk]

For exclusive use on the SIB, you need short - long will be a poor compromise. Long and Short are generally thought of as 20" and 15" from cav plate to top of the shaft. However a lot of small engines have an inbetweenish length, 17" would be normal enough on some "shorts". A very compact head will cause some to look a bit "leggy" too, use a tape!

PS, if you buy 5 or 6hp it will probably weight the same but will get the SIB on the plane - worth it IMHO, as it's even more fun than it looks...

[SIBer]

Short!
Plenty of videos on you tube of boats doing wheelies!

Inflatable Boat Wheelie - YouTube

[Max...]

You won't be doing that with a 4hp!!