Outboard Suggestions

[kickingbug1]

   tried the non ethanol fuel, removed, disassembled and cleaned the carb numerous times with little or no success. all I know is that all of the two strokes I have owned including a 40 hp mariner and the 1989 80 hp 2 stroke triple on my bass boat do (not) require special fuel or constant fiddling to run. they just start up and run. im done with a 4 stroke

[MGS]

Thank you all for the helpful advice.  I found a Mercury 5 HP 2 stroke 20" shaft for $500.  I really wanted a 2 stroke for the above mentioned carb concerns.  I'm looking forward to spring to try it all out.

[Jim in TC]

Still very happy with my Torqeedo 1003, but I do not reach hull speed, and only use in tight areas.  It is an acquired taste.  Love the simplicity,and the lack of gas can...

Should have it, and the extra batteries, paid off this decade or next...

I, too, am very happy with Torqueedo (on a SunCat) so long as I don't think about what we paid for it. Quiet, reliable. Need to consider range, of course, which can be extended with extra battery, solar panel or both. We can easily hit hull speed on this smaller boat, and we have had to fight significant wind and waves at times, without issue.

[Jackrabbit]

Curious about electric propulsion: if you were out on an extended cruise and depleted your batteries (say, if you had to hightail it to a distant anchorage), would a solar panel (e.g., 60-100 watt) be capable of fully recharging your lithium battery in couple of sunny days  or so while you are out?

[Jim in TC]

Curious about electric propulsion: if you were out on an extended cruise and depleted your batteries (say, if you had to hightail it to a distant anchorage), would a solar panel (e.g., 60-100 watt) be capable of fully recharging your lithium battery in couple of sunny days  or so while you are out?

I don't have direct experience with this (yet) but have started to look into it. With Torqueedo's solar panel, which is expensive (hey, it is from Torqueedo) -50 watts at 12v - I am given to understand (by someone who has tested it out) that you can run direct from the panel in good sun at low power - if memory serves, 1/4 power - if the battery is exhausted. I have a 12v power cord that I can run from a small battery bank direct to the motor and have hooked it up just one time, with the battery still around 50%, and it seemed to increase my potential range; these batteries would be easily topped off with a modest solar array (I think, in my case, 50 watts would do fine). I need to try that out next season with a low battery...To top off the Torqueedo battery via solar should be easy enough, too but I don't have the specs to offer timing; but the techs at Torqueedo are pretty responsive to questions and I bet they could offer very specific advice (which, of course, might be to buy their pricey panel).

[Finbar Beagle]

I looked into the panel a little bit, but the size of the Torqeedo one pose challenges on my 19.  I also thought most high wind days for me are overcast.  The thought of deploying the solar panel in a heavy wind will probly result in poor crew moral, and split rum.

A second battery is best security, in my humble opinion.

[Jackrabbit]

The notion of electric auxiliary propulsion is very compelling, perhaps more so as I just read that your Prez is now mandating E15, which spells sure doom for small gas engines.  Here in Canada we generally have 10% EtOH, though I've no doubt our environmentally-obsessed Prime Minister will eventually follow suite on E15.  Already I have experienced carb issues with ethanol fuel using regular gas, stripping & cleaning the carb now being an annual ritual, and up here the only place you can get ethanol-free gas is Esso, though you have to buy their high test gas, which is really not what the manufacturer recommends for my trusty Merc 6 HP 2-stroke.  Sigh...

Fortunately, my main cruiser, an Aloha 32, has a venerable Westerbeke, though even diesel is coming under attack these days, and I'm sure our politicians will soon have those engines on the ropes before the next decade is out.

Looks like its soon enough gonna be electric for us all, me laddies...

Oh, dear, how will I ever cut my lawn in the days to come?

[Jackrabbit]

Although, I suppose another alternative would be propane outboards, Lehr comes to mind.  Anybody out there have any experience with those?

[Jackrabbit]

I will further add that up here in the Great White North the only advantage of Ethanol gas is that we no longer have to add gasline anti-freeze in our car tanks, though that's small consolation indeed for the boating imperative!

[Bob23]

Jack:
  Nothing wrong with Hi-test in your motor. I use it in mine as well as generators and chainsaws. I've been using a product called  "E-Z Zorb" which somehow absorbs the ethanol in the gas...or something like that. All I know is I never have outboard motor or small engine problems since I've been using it. A marina owner turned my onto to this and because it's so concentrated, a bottle goes a long way, unlike Gosslings Black Seal rum which seems disappear quite quickly around here!
Bob23 in NJ

[Jim in TC]

<<<Oh, dear, how will I ever cut my lawn in the days to come?>>>

I am happy to report that the first mate loves her little electric mower, best purchase I have made in recent years. I only need to make a gesture toward cutting grass and she takes over! Ours is small, for a modest yard but I am seeing more, better and bigger battery mowers (which I consider way better than the corded ones, since running down the cord at some point seems inevitable).

[brackish]

...... I just read that your Prez is now mandating E15, which spells sure doom for small gas engines.

Not sure what you've read but "mandate" is not an accurate term.  Here is what is actually happening:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenrwald/2018/10/09/trumps-new-ethanol-rule-wont-change-your-gasoline/#2c6faec07d96

It is not even available where I am, however there are three stations within 5 miles of me that sell non ethanol fuel. I'm sure they will continue.  And that is all that my Marina sells. And that is all I use in my outboards and small engine lawn equipment.

With regard to Lehr, I have heard nothing but bad, not because of propane but because of quality of build and parts availability.  As I mentioned earlier in this thread, Nissan now offers propane in the Sail Pro model.  I would have no qualms about going in that direction.  In fact I'm hoping they will come out with a conversion kit.  Very few parts to change for that.  Carb off, propane mixing device on and the cylinder head has to be replaced. I think they also add an inlet solenoid valve for safety  I may just try to do it with service parts depending on total cost.

[Jackrabbit]

I saw it recently as a news item on my Google feed.   Guess I mis-understood it, though in my neck of the woods most gas has 10% EtOH, and its hard to avoid.  In any event, would a propane conversion kit only work with 4-stroke engines (because they have an oil sump to provide lubrication)?  I really love my merc 2-stroke 6 HP, it is the most reliable, smooth running outboard I've ever had.  Starts on the first or second pull every time, even at the first try after Spring  launching.  I guess the reason I've experienced  trouble lately is because I seldom run the engine in the Summer as I now spend most of my time with my Aloha.  The Compac 19 sits idle in her slip much of the Summer, with only a few jaunts out on the lake after work now and then, and I barely go through one 3 gallon tank the entire season.  Also, I really only ever need the motor to get in and out of the harbour.  A Torqueedo would make a lot of sense for the way I use the boat, though the price tag is so staggeringly high, that I guess for now I'll just keep to the routine of cleaning the carburetor every Winter (last two seasons the problem I experienced near haul-out time is that the engine runs on idle but bogs down when I open the throttle) .  I do disconnect the gas line from the tank and run the carb dry if I know I'll  be away for an extended period, though I don't know if that really gets rid of all the residual fuel that might dry and cake the jets.

This EtOH thing is going to make carburetor experts out of all of us!

S.V. "Restless"

[brackish]

I do disconnect the gas line from the tank and run the carb dry if I know I'll  be away for an extended period, though I don't know if that really gets rid of all the residual fuel that might dry and cake the jets.

I do just the opposite.  I never disconnect the gas line from the tank and never run the carb dry. Water(from the air) condenses in empty cavities with temperature changes.   I don't have carb problems due to fuel.  Now dirt daubers in the engine cowl, that's another story. That is some really fine dirt.....

[Reighnman]

My neighbor goes to the airport and gets aviation gas for all his lawn equipment and 9.9 kicker outboard used if his main engine dies offshore.

I always run stuff with Stabil, even in the summer. Knock on wood, I haven't had any issues but do run all of my lawn equipment most of the year. In the winter, I just run them for a few mins every month. For the Diesel, I use a stabilizer and biocide.