help!!! I need an outboard fast......

Matt77

Recruit
Joined
Sep 8, 2001
Messages
4
Here's the problem.<br />I have a 14 foot jon boat. It's not the grandest vessel that has graced freshwater. It's what I have, and until next june, it's what I can afford.<br />I used my cousin's 1.75 hp gamefisher for two years. Well, it doesn't work anymore, I'm not messing with it. It's a gamefisher. Junk. I put 60 bucks into it to get it to run. Long story short, it's been making me angry, and yesterday, it wouldn't run. Well, it did, for about 2 minutes, and then no go for 4 hours. Had to be towed in. My marine battery isn't holding up like it used to, and it was getting dark. <br />My boat is rated for 10 hp. I don't know if I can afford a 10 hp right now. Especially new. I would buy a newer-used 9.9 if I came across one, well, I can't. I can't even find any used ones in the 800 dollar range.<br />I talked to a local shop that said to buy a Yamaha 9.9 and later get it worked to 25 hp. <br />question is, though, if I can swing a 5 hp, would it be worth it? If I spend 900 on a new 5 hp from Nissan, should I spend the extra hundred or so and get a four stroke?<br />Is it true that a 4 stroke is more powerful than a 2 stroke of the same hp?<br />I don't know what to do. I really want to get some outboard a.s.a.p. Duck season is soon, and i wanted to start hunting them this year. Muskies are heating up. <br />I can't seem to find any reasonable engines around here. I don't want an older engine. <br />I don't want a beat up engine either. <br />I don't know if I should waste my money and get a smaller engine or just bag it for the season and wait and get a 9.9 next year.<br />I don't know if Nissan is any good. I don't know if I want a mercury, johnson, mariner, yamaha..... <br />I hear that mercury is coming out with a whole new product line in the spring. I don't want to buy the old, when they're coming out with the new.<br />I can't afford a honda 4 stroke.<br />Nissan seems to be reasonablly priced, well, they're Tohatsu made until 18hp I'm pretty sure.<br />Parts for the gamefisher are EXPENSIVE. Considering it's so small, moves me at a blinding speed of 4 mph, it's not worth dumping the money and resources into the thing. I believe the flywheel is held together with a prayer on the thing. AHHH<br />Thank you for the help<br />Matt
 

JasonJ

Rear Admiral
Joined
Aug 20, 2001
Messages
4,163
Re: help!!! I need an outboard fast......

Horsepower is horsepower, doesn't matter if it is 2 or 4 stroke. What DOES matter is weight. A 4 stroke is heavier than a 2 stroke, so you lose a bit of power to the motor pullings its heavier mass, but the 4 stroke has better low end torque, so that helps to offset the weight. The 4 stroke can get almost twice as much econmomy over a 2 stroke as far as fuel consumption, but that is offset by its higher cost. I feel a 4 stroke is a better motor for what you are doing, and if it were me, I would bag the season, and save the green for the motor you want. If you get an okay motor now, you may kick yourself later for not just waiting. If you are planning on getting a bigger boat, you may want to plan this motor purchase for a possible future use as a trolling motor for the bigger boat. If you consider everything and plan it out, you will buy one motor and be happy. Heck, I have been trying to find a decent used 5 horse motor for trolling, someone has to die and leave you one in his will it seems. Just none out there...
 

BayStLouis

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Messages
32
Re: help!!! I need an outboard fast......

Save your money and get a 9.9 hp, you'll be happier with that. The lease-return Mercurys at http://www.boatmotors.com/outboard/mercury/sale_mercury.html <br />might be worth considering, if you can stretch your budget a bit beyond $800.00<br /><br />Keep in mind that newer is not always better. The Evinrude/Johnson 9.9 hp 2-stroke model was built from 1974 until the 1990s, so plenty of repair and replacement parts are out there. You might luck out on Ebay, too - I've seen a number of outboards in the 10 hp range sell there over the past few months. I would roll the dice and spend $400.00 on an older 9.9 hp before spending money on *anything* smaller. Just my two cents, but I like tinkering with the things, too. <br /><br />I've experienced the "joy" of a 7.5 hp Gamefisher, so I know your plight well. There's a 15 hp Johnson where the old air-cooled Sears motor used to be - the boat even planes now!<br /><br />Good luck.<br /><br />BSL
 
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