Aux power

[jonp]

I've never been that impressed with carrying a spare outboard but with the low cost of new 2/3/4 two stroke outboards because of being fazed out over emissions regulations they now seem worth getting.

A 3hp Yamaha is about $800 Au new or £450 UK.

I fish offshore locally to around 50km but mostly 30-40km, for this I wouldn't bother with an aux as I'm in radio, phone and often sight of other boats ( here we also log on with marine rescue each trip stating whereabouts and eta etc).

It's the big trips I often do that are 80km offshore, where I often hop from small island to island ( uninhabited). These trips are anything from 4 days onwards and cover around 600km, where radios and phones are completely out of range ( two epirbs onboard ).

I carry plenty of both underfloor fuel as well as spare 25lt outboard tanks and 20lt drums. So simply adding two stroke oil to any of the spare above floor containers to run the two stroke wouldn't be any issue. If I don't have a breakdown then that fuel would simply be used by my 4 stroke ( no need to carry any premix ).

My boat is a zodiac pro tour which is a little narrower and lighter than the other pro models. I know these little aux outboards aren't going to get me flying back home in a couple of hours but I'm trying to get an idea what they will move my boat at with around 3/4 throttle.

[Xk59D]

3-4mph......i think max you will see is 4.5-5 mph flat out with 3hp

i don't know how strong the tides are in your part of the world so it might barely move you.

better trying to get a 2 stroke 6-8hp. i have an 8hp yam and it gets me just over 7mph at 3/4 throttle.

given the distance you need to go i would get as big as you can physically fit on there, wouldn't even bother with a 3hp.

[beamishken]

Usual opinion is 1hp per meter I've got a 5hp 2 stroke yamaha and it pushes my 7.4m surprisingly well although i carry an 8 usually.
If the 5hp 2 stroke yam is available to you then I'd imagine that would be ideal as it's the best power to weight and easily carried

[jeffstevens763@g]

i had a 4hp on my 6m rib flat out good conditions no tide about 5 mph BK is right ideally you need more HP but fitting it on the transom is the problem my boat had a 2.4m beam and the 4 hp just fitted but difficult to steer so i used the main engine as a rudder.

[breezeblock]

I've got a silly wee Honda 2.3 I tried it on Loch Lomond and the speed was woeful 2 knots if I recall I knew it was gonna be crap but I didn't think it would be that bad this was in calm water my thinking now is its easier and better than paddling

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by breezeblock

I've got a silly wee Honda 2.3 I tried it on Loch Lomond and the speed was woeful 2 knots if I recall I knew it was gonna be crap but I didn't think it would be that bad this was in calm water my thinking now is its easier and better than paddling

second class engine is better than a first class paddle it'll keep you off the rocks

[spartacus]

Beamishken's suggestion is good about 5hp as good all-round auxilliary power, given the sort of distances you're doing.

In addition - think about installing stainless steel U bolt on transom knee. These outboards weren't designed for the kind of stresses they'll experience as auxilliary engine, especially on saddle area, so having the engine tethered in the up position with a ratchet strap provides additional tension on it to stop it vibrating when underway.

I flush my Mariner 4hp with fresh water too every trip, regardless of whether I've used it. Salt gets everwhere, and the tell-tales on these small outboards are prone to blocking. Nothing a piece of strimmer nylon can't sort!

[paintman]

I've got a Suzuki DT4 on my 17' dory & the fishing boats I hire on Rutland Water & Pitsford Reservoir are also 4hp.
According to my GPS 5 knots is flat out.

[jonp]

Cheers for the replays lads, it's not something I'm overly convinced with the idea off truthfully especially if I need to go above the light weight low priced 4hp. As you can imagine my boat is already heavily loaded just with fuel, drinking water, food and camping gear ( not to mention all the toys like dive and fishing gear) so the extra weight jumping up in hp is all part of the equation.

I'm also looking at buying a Garmin inreach gps tracker two way communicating unit, that way I can get messages back and forth to and from anywhere in the world.

I must admit I've owned boats for 40years now and have never not managed to get home under my own steam, I'm also far from an occasional boater and clock hundreds of sea hours each year on all kinds of boats.

After my last big run offshore several other boat owners have now shown interest in tagging along on th next trip, which at least helps if anything goes wrong for anyone, not so sure how we would go having to do an 80km tow though!!

Once again thanks for the reply's they've been very helpful.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by jeffstevens763@g

second class engine is better than a first class paddle it'll keep you off the rocks

Maybe not off the rocks-most small auxiliaries won't cope too well at anything other than flat calm but If it's all you can fit, just something that'll keep you head to wind if its lumpy while you wait for rescue will be better than a paddle.

Btw... Make sure you get it serviced and run it up regularly. I'm not sure Hightower or Biggles will forget the sight of me trying out a 2hp Evinrude aux on my SR4 and discovering that there was a fault on the high Tension circuit meaning that I got constant HT shocks if I held the tiller.

[beamishken]

4&5hp yamaha is the same engine