Largest Portable Engine for 12' Inflatable

[kestrel452]

After a whole lot of browsing around and researching 4-person inflatable boats, I've settled on the Zodiac Cadet 360 Fastroller. It's light, portable, and uses an air floor instead of those 100lb plywood or aluminum decks.

At any rate, I'm thoroughly torn between the 9.9 and 15hp engines. The boat is rated for a max 15hp engine, but I am going to have to be mounting and dismounting the thing whenever I want to use the boat. I have no trailer, or the space required to store the boat on a trailer. I am a younger male with decent strength, but by no means ripped. I am confident that I can move around the 9.9 in and out of my car trunk and onto the transom of the boat, but unsure how doable it is for me to do it by myself with the 15hp. Typical load for the boat would be 2 persons with a moderate amount of gear, or 4 persons with minimal gear. I'm thinking it shouldn't be too bad since I can just load the motor onto the transom with it right next to my car, since I can install transom launch wheels making it moveable on land while fully assembled, but a poorly balanced 115lb object might be too unwieldly for one guy.

What are your guys' thoughts on this???

 

[steelespike]

From reading on here as I understand it some inflatables become harder to plane as you add weight,even more so with a soft floor.
I've seen posts of 9.9 boats planing nicely with one aboard and not planing with 2 aboard.
It's my feeling you won't be happy with a 9.9 as you add weight.
If you can go an older 2 stroke the Evinrude/Johnson 9.9 and 15 are the same weight about 75 lbs. I believe up to about 1995.
If you have to do a 4 stroke Tohatsu I think is sleeping with everyone. Nisson,Mercury portables,Evinruide portables,And of course their own brand.
This should indicate a plentiful supply of routine Tohatsu parts from all the brands.15 hp seem to be about 115 lbs.