Honda BF 2.3 outboard motor compatibility with a Walker Bay 8'4" plastic dingy .

[Darren 63]

Hello friends, I am planning to buy a Honda BF 2.3 for my rigid , polypropylene 8'4" Walker Bay tender and I could use some help choosing the length of shaft (short vs long ) . Everywhere I look on the internet says that I should go with a short shaft outboard, however, my Walker Bay transom measures 21 inches from
the top of the transom to the bottom of the keel.
I am a newbie who has done some homework, and I have learned that transom length of outboard motors can vary buy 2 or 2.5 inches. I have looked at the
advertised transom length of Zuzuki ( 2 NFL choice so far ) , Yamaha , Mercury and Honda, and most measure around 19.5 inches . The Honda seems to be the
shortest at 16.5.
So it seems to me that the long short Honda is the best fit for my transom, without cutting some transom off of my boat.
I would be very happy to receive any information on this as is possible. Which length Honda BF 2.3 should I use with my Walker Bay rigid tender?

Something else that might help : I cant find a Walker Bay site that will help me - does anyone know of such a sight. The main reason I want to get this
right is that no company ( as far as I know ) will exchange motors if one has been " in the water ".

I thank you in advance for any and all help : Inreally want to get off to a good start by having the correct length of shaft on my outboard.

Best regards,
Darren 63

 

[Sea Rider]

Welcome to Iboats Darren,

Glad to read that you have taken the time to measure many OB lenghts which aren't same lenght as you have seen. Boaters thinks that any OB brand being S-L-XL will have same exact length. That same issue applies to boats as well.

What does Walker Bay have to say about which OB lengh is needed to power that dinghy.

Depending on how loaded that dinghy will be passengers included, will have my doubts if a under powred 2.3 OB will plane that small dinghy. If so, better go for a L shaft OB, will perform better at fast displacement speed, close turns.

A 2-4 strokes Tohatsu 3.5 HP will be a excellent alternative to a 3.2 HP-OB.

Happy Boating

 

[Darren 63]

Hi Sea Rider, and thank you for the welcome ! Walker Bay recommends using a short shaft motor, and this is also marked on the boat info tag. The boat is
classified as a displacement hulled boat ( I'm not positive what that means, but I think it may mean that it is more or less flat bottomed (?). The boat is made of
polypropylene and weighs 71 lbs. I have arranged to buy the motor tommorow, so I'm still very much open to suggestions, and will check this thread again in the
morning for any other possible input. My local Honda marine dealer has both short and long shaft outboards in stock, so I will ask their salesperson too.
I have decided on a Honda because I want easy after-use cleaning ( air cooled ), light weight ( I have back problems) and also because ( like most ) Honda
has a quality reputation. Sea Rider ( great handle ) , do you think I should go by the manufacturers recommendation and get the short shaft?
I will report back to this thread as I progress along my highly anticipated journey into boating. My main goal is exploring saltwater shorelines as well as
going on river expeditions.
Thanks again for the help. I'm going to create a link to this site as it is polite, and I will undoubtedly have more questions and things to learn.
Cheers all;
Darren.

 

[pvanv]

I have a wb 8 (deluxe model with wood floorboards, NLA), and use a Tohatsu 4 hp short. In fact, I have raised the transom a couple of inches (made a new motor mount pad) to get the antiventilation plate up to where it needs to be. You definitely need a short shaft.

 

[Darren 63]

Hello Paul , thank you very very much for the info. My second post last night ( the one you answered ) was a last - ditch effort to try and find someone with a
WB and a 2.5 hp outboard. I had spent hours yesterday searching the net for something , anything , that would answer my question. So I thank you very much
for your reply ( and Sea Rider too ) ; now I won't be stressing about this while I'm waiting to get a chance to launch my WB with the new outboard. I'm so glad I
found iboat. I look forward to reading different threads , asking more questions as I work towards safe, happy boating.
Thanks for making my day pvanv ! Cheers and safe boating all ;
Darren.


Prince Edward Island, ( PEI )
Canada ( east coast )

 

[Sea Rider]

Darren.

Fast displacement hull speed means that won't be able to plane that dinghy, due to hull shap and short size which creates excessive hull drag, near impossible to cancel with a under powered OB. Is it possible to test a S shaft OB and change it for a L one if sits too high, ask dealer if having demo OB's at hand ?

The issue with S shaft is that will be sitting higher on a already higher transom. If OB achieves prop areration issues at choppy, windy water cond will need to chop transom down, but that isn't known utill a water trail is done. OTOH if sitting a L shaft one, you cal always shim it up, as the dinghy is a non planing hull, at reduced speed there will be no water splash issues going on at rear of transom compared to a planning hull.

Anyway post performance results with the S shaft OB.

Happy Boating

 

[Darren 63]

Thanks for explaining the hull issue for me Sea Rider. The dealer won't lend out a demo But of course I'm not looking to break any speed records lol...
I just want to move on the water without rowing ( did that years ago, and while I enjoyed it, I want to motor these days ) . The way I've rationalized it ( wise or
otherwise ) is that everything I've read says to use a short shaft, Paul has first hand experience and success with a short shaft even though the motor isn't a Honda,
and finally, I bought the boat used last summer, so if I do have to lower the transom a bit ( while still being able to rotate the motor 360 degrees ) it really
won't bother me very much. I guess the real results will show when I get on the water ( as soon as possible hehe ) and I will definitely post an update on this thread
to give the issue closure for anyone who might face the same decision.

I will definitely post my results;
Happy Boating and huge thanks to both you guys

Darren
Walker Bay 8 ; Honda bf2.3 short shaft.

 

[pvanv]

I sold the wb line for years. They all call for short shaft. In my personal case, because the wb8 was designed for 15 inch shaft, and modern japanese motors are more like a 17 inch shaft, I replaced the mounting pad with a solid block of aluminum to raise the short shaft motor even higher. I also run with the motor trimmed down, to limit bow rise at full throttle. Lowering the motor would be ridiculous, and even if you wanted to, you cannot cut down the plastic wb hull without damaging its integrity.

The wb10 balances better, and seats two better, but weighs more, and is too big to fit in the back of a pickup with the gate closed. With the 8, I usually want the passenger way up front, and the operator closer to the back. I also have an anchor, etc, under the front seat to help hold it down. If operating solo, I use a tiller extension on the motor, and sit on the center seat. Get as low a pitch prop as you can get; you will never be going very fast, and the "stock" props usually don't allow the motor to come anywhere near the optimum wot rpm. On our wb8, with the Tohatsu 4, we run a 6 pitch prop, and still never ever hit the rated wot rpm.

Nice thing about that honda (there aren't many nice things about that motor -- it's designed as a cheap throw-away motor) is that it is quite light, due to its massive use of plastic parts. Still, you will find that with the motor on the transom, the bow will sit nearly out of the water with no people in the boat.

Luis, these boats Never ever work well with long shaft motors. Too much drag, too much bow rise. Planing is almost impossible, especially if running the rated hp or below.

 

[Sea Rider]

Yep, underpowered portable OB's used with stock props on short lenght boats with high hull drag coeficien will make OB to run near towards the lugging side. To perform much better OB will need a prop maximization with less pitch props. Won't plane the thing, but will push much better if more load is added.

Have found that's it's no use demanding more throttle to speed up a bit, will just achieve bow up attitude that will add extra hull drag to the equation, much better is just throtteling to a point that will achieve combo tu run parallel to water level with least OB effort on a boat that won't plane and it's only good for fast displacement speed.

Happy Boating

 

[Darren 63]

Hello guys ( and gals ) , I just received this letter from a gentleman who sells the Walker Bay. Here is his view :

"Mr. Giddings,

Although I agree it would seem logical that the WB8 with this measurement would not be a 15? shaft, it is in fact correct and this is the bet motor for the boat. The keel housing and the wheel adds a few inches, without the keel the transom height would be much closer to 15". Also since it is not a planing hull the water does not come off the transom at the same straight angle as it would if it were planing. The right motor is a short shaft.

Regards,

Michael Carroll
Director Sales and Marketing
Walker Bay Boats"

Seems like we have a bit of difference regarding the share size. I've got two soilars who have sold WB , and if I'm reading this right, they disagree. Darn my
luck trying to get a motor so I can leave my oars for emergencies. Any more thoughts folks. You've all been a great help - I've learned a lot.

Thank you fellow mates.
Darren.PS - I still haven't bought my motor , but I want one....just don't want to buy the best one for the boat. I believe I mentioned my boating
will be from about 4 feet to about 15 feet of water ( pretty shallow....and often times it will be closer to the 4 or 5 feet of water .

 

[Sea Rider]

Darren, what a bummer having split shaft recommendations. With either a S or L shaft OB boat will have propulsion, "will it be top one" ? Will depend entirely on water bed height lower tail deeps in to achieve best prop thrust while OB sits on transom, as this is a very under powered OB powering a small size boat with tremendous hull drag, personally would be incline for the L size. The difference is only 5" as in pic. Bear in mind that Tohatsu's lower legs are bit larger than any other brand.



This is a 2 strokes long shaft 3.5 HP Tohatsu powering a 3.20 Mtr Dinghy top inflated to reduce some V hull drag powering at medium throttle. It won't plane either, needs a 10 HP minimum. Being the transom only 37cm height when should be ideal 40 cm, with a 3.5 L performs great at just fast displacement speed at 1/2 to 3/4 throttle, more is useless, has a over pitched prop.



This is at 3/4 throttle..


The extra lower leg drag that will achieve will be bare minimum, lower legs on portables are less wider than found on larger HP-OB's, anyway sitting lower will compensate extra drag with better prop thrust if happens that the S size will sit too high and chopping transom down is not a real good option.

With a L size, there's still the option of installing a transom mount for OB to sit at the ideal height, can even go for a prop maximization (less pitch prop) to push boat better at fast displacement speed.

Can discuss this post with the ones that recommends S over L shaft lenghts for that particular BW model. Is it possible to post pics of both S-L lower legs to have a look ?

Happy Boating

 

[pvanv]

It Needs a Short Shaft. Period. Even Michael Carroll, who makes the boats, agrees.