Hangkai 3.5hp,good enough?

[matt167]

My first boat I built was a Glen L/ Hankinson 8' drift pram, built out of 3/8" marine DF plywood, that has sat unfinished due to a mess up.. I have just figured out how to fix it and it's a few hours from completion..

I will want to power this but don't want to dump a boat load into a motor.. It's either going to be a bargin bin used like an Eska, Gamefisher or something like that or a Hangkai if nothing else available.. But will it be ' as reliable' as a 30- 40 year old motor? It's an 8' pram so anything over 4hp will be too big, limiting my choices to mainly Eska, Gamefisher, Cruise And Carry, and the odd chance I find something OMC/Merc/Honda or whatever that's 4hp or less for a couple hundred or less

They don't cost over $200, and I don't mean the weedwacker powered one. Amazon seems to have favorable reviews.. This is more of a pond boat. I won't be far from shore or without a paddle.

 

[flyingscott]

The 2.5 hp motors built by Tahatsu would be a good choice. The OMC 4 hp motors are also an excellent choice.

 

[The Force power]

Lehr propane powered is a good option for small motors

 

[matt167]

Only problem with spending on a motor, is I want to keep the cost as close to zero as possible. On this boat anyway, as it's just an 8' drift pram that I might not use much at all. More or less finishing it because I might as well and having a boat that I can throw in the bed of my truck and float somewhere is a nice option..

I keep eyeballing the OMC 4hp's and stuff but they seem to go for quite a bit, and I don't know all the right places to look.. A 30# trolling motor and a decent battery would probably be fine as well, but Gas seems better than fighting with a battery

 

[The Force power]

A trolling motor will work, I had a 6' dingy with a 50lbs that worked just fine. (50 lb thrust = 1.5 hp)
There's no fighting with electric only with gas
However with currents/wind you are very limited!!
as far as "staying close to zero" in the boating world is a myth

 

[matt167]

A trolling motor will work, I had a 6' dingy with a 50lbs that worked just fine. (50 lb thrust = 1.5 hp)
There's no fighting with electric only with gas
However with currents/wind you are very limited!!
as far as "staying close to zero" in the boating world is a myth

I started building this boat off from Glen L plans in 2010ish. I didn't read the instructions correctly where the seat boxes were installed with the sides when they were wired in place ( S&G construction ). so now it's glued in the wrong shape with no seat boxes.. I kicked it into the corner of the shop and let it sit, and then I was up cutting lumber for my Chugger build recently, and decided to pull it out and at least look. I'm going to screw and glue cleats in from the outside for seat boxes to screw to instead... This boat with a set of oars isn't going to cost me another $100.

 

[The Force power]

Well, it depends on your intentions with the boat. close to shore electric is a good way to go & if you already have a trolling motor.....bonus.

you either lug a battery or an outboard, to me the same except electric always "starts" lol

 

[matt167]

I will use it to fish a remote lake that has had an HOA block off access to except a NY DEC hand launch

 

[flyingscott]

Lehr should be nobodies first choice. When your Hankai doesn't run right where will you get parts/service for it. Low.price isn't always the cheapest.

 

[matt167]

Parts are available from Ebay and Amazon. However I'm currently looking for an old ELTO
I do have a Chinese chainsaw which runs and cuts phenomenal, especially with the cost ( $100 for 62cc ). Bought it to see how bad it was, but it's not bad at all.. The chainsaws though, are built to a copy of Komatsu/ Redmax chainsaws before production was shut down. I think the Hangkai/ other brand of same thing are built to a very rough copy of an older Yamaha 2hp..

There is a listing for a 3.6 Hangkai for $160, and it's tempting to see just what it is

 

[matt167]

I ordered the $164 3.5hp, knowing there is an 80% chance it's usage life will be short lived... The real reason is, I'm just curious and it was cheap enough. I know the leg is a copy of a Yamaha 2hp, but the power head is some kind of weed eater derived thing and it should be about 50cc.. I'm curious as to how the water cooling actually works. It looks to just dump sea water into the exhaust which is made of copper. The cooled copper would pull the heat out of the cylinder head, but not by much

It might just end up as a barrel water circulator

 

[matt167]

I got the Hangkai 3.5hp, and my first impressions are... it's a motor, it seems like it'll run. It's very light, and the leg looks just like a 2hp Yamaha.. If it runs ok, I can see it will be good for launching into remote lakes/ ponds. We have some secluded lakes/ large ponds here.

99% of the time, I will be using my 1982/83ish Johnson 4hp which I was able to obtain for $120 with a 1997 parts motor... With the Hangkai costing $165 at a severe discount I don't think they are at all worth the cost. If 4hp OMC twins are in the $100-200 range. The Hangkai is a bit lighter/ can be carried one handed very easily where a 4hp is slightly heavier

 

[matt167]

The first issue with this motor. The oil fill and drain is not machined on this one, but the bosses are in place. Some are and some are not. Mine is not.
Filling the gearbox requires pulling the prop and removing the 2 bolts that holds the prop shaft cover on. It's not a terrible job, but the fill can never be correct as it's filled laying down. I got it where I'm pretty sure it's close but probably still over full.

 

[matt167]

Second issue with this motor is, bog at full throttle. I think it gets too much fuel.. But it started with true fuel 50:1 ( storage fuel ) in 3 pulls and at this time runs good

 

[matt167]

I barrel ran this thing until it was just about out of gas. It actually seems like a pretty neat outboard. It does run good except full throttle gets a bog. But 3/4.5 throttle and it runs great. For sure not a real 3.5 hp but I have a real 4hp Johnson for bigger bodies of water. This is lighter to carry longer distances and has an internal tank.