Re: Honda 9.9 long-short shaft ?
I also picked up a longer shaft Honda outboard cheap ($50). I can't find any markings on it, but I think it's a 7.5 of 9.9 from looking at pictures in Honda's manuals on line. Anyway, what happens if you just use the long shaft on your small boat. That's what I was hoping to do. Obviously, you would drag on stuff a little easier, but if you are not really in shallow water, does it hurt anything else?
Update: I tested and it seemed to push the boat along fairly well. I think it's a 10HP and pushes my boat about 18 mph. My 15 HP Evinrude only pushes it 22 mph (using a GPS to measure speed). It is awfully close to hitting (2") when I back it in and it does drag easier on the bottom making loading/unloading on shallow ramps more difficult. The worst think is that small turns in the handle seem to really cut the boat back and forth quickly. It's a little scarry. It feels like you could almost cut the boat so fast it would throw you and your stuff out.
