4,5 or 6HP 4 stroke? Help!!

Langy3366 · 06 May 2010, 06:16

Hi,
I have a quicksilver 340 air and need some help please. I've read so much in such a short time my head is spinning. I have the opportunity to buy a 2nd hand 6hp 4 stroke Mercury from a marina dealer. They told me I needed 6hp to get the boat to plane (just). But I've read that the 6hp Tohatsu and Mercury are both underperformers. Can anyone help me out please? (if anyone has one I would be interested).

Many thanks.

BogMonster · 06 May 2010, 10:47

Several manufacturers use the same cc engine for 4, 5 & 6hp versions simply making it rev harder & different carb settings for the higher HP versions. No experience on any of the engines you refer to but that is possibly a reason.

fred bolton · 06 May 2010, 17:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Langy3366

Hi,
They told me I needed 6hp to get the boat to plane (just). But I've read that the 6hp Tohatsu and Mercury are both underperformers. Can anyone help me out please? (if anyone has one I would be interested).

Many thanks.

Get them to prove it 6hp maybe a little underpowered 15hp 2 stroke is great fun

astra · 06 May 2010, 18:30

Pm sent

lightning · 07 May 2010, 14:21

Get the 6hp. It looks and weighs the same as the 5hp and has 20% more power.
You could go for a 9hp or more but then the weight becomes an issue. The Mercury 6hp weighs 26kg and is not too bad to carry about.

My 2.85m SIB planes easily with the 6hp and two persons on board, achieving just over 14mph on the GPS.

Ian Sharlot · 07 May 2010, 15:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by fred bolton

Get them to prove it 6hp maybe a little underpowered 15hp 2 stroke is great fun

I'll second that. I had one with a 10hp 2 stroke always wished I'd had a 15hp

Mike G. · 07 May 2010, 15:34

pm sent

Erin · 07 May 2010, 19:20

I had a 5hp 2-stroke on a 3.2 sib some years back and it would only plane with one person on board and did 12 kts. You need more than 6 to get some fun out of it.

m chappelow · 07 May 2010, 20:01

I would go for the larger engine ,better a 6 hp buzzing on the plane happy than a 5 hp reving its bollacks off all the time .

lightning · 08 May 2010, 22:00

Make sure you are OK with the weight before going for the 15hp. I struggled to lift one off the ground in the shop....the 6hp is bad enough trying to get it into the back of the van.