What outboard engine on Sun Cat?

[Robert T]

After selling my 31 ft. sloop, the Sun Cat is in my short list of boats to downsize to, but I have a couple of questions.

1. The side decks look very narrow. How do you owners get from the cockpit to the bow when anchoring?  Are you able to navigate your way up to the bow walking up the side deck while hanging on to the handrail? Do you sit on the cabin top with your feet on the side deck and kind of "scootch" your way forward?  Or do you simply walk up the cabin top while carefully balancing yourself?

2.  What hp. outboard motor do you use?  It looks like 4 - 6 hp. would be ideal, but they weigh around 60 lbs.  When trailering the boat do you leave the motor on the mount?  It seems like having 60 lbs. bouncing around back there would not be good. Do you transport the motor in your car, or simply leave it mounted on the boat?

[Renae]

I'm not at all a small or particularly coordinated person, and I have no difficulty getting forward to drop anchor. 

As another option, the PO of my boat installed an aft chain locker (i.e. a bucket wedged between the rear of the cockpit and the transom).  Honestly, I've never used it, but I think in larger waters, anchoring from the cockpit might offer some security to buy time to get forward at leisure.

As for outboards, I use an ePropulsion Spirit 1.0, which is about 3 HP and 40 lbs.  It's more than enough, and I have the older version with about 25% less charge capacity than the current.  I use he the bluetooth remote version and I love it.  I just made a keystone-shaped tray out of King Starboard on which to mount the throttle and a couple of drink holders.  This replaces an identically proportioned cushion in by cockpit.  I'll probably post some pictures of it as I complete the project in the next couple of weeks.

The near silence of the electric motor is pure bliss.  Conversations in the cockpit are totally natural at speed (about 4 knots).

[Renae]

Oh, and I do leave it mounted to trailer since I'm only going a few miles, but it would take 5 seconds to remove the battery for transport.  That's easily half of the weight.

[Jim in TC]

Our Sun came with a variety of mostly ill-informed modifications, but one that worked out is shifting the boom gallows to the cabin top. After moving it back to the original position I left the pieces holding it in place and they make a perfect handhold (photo attached, if all went well). Otherwise, I am confident I would manage the passage with care using the handrail.

We, too, use electric auxiliary, Torqueedo in our case, also rated to be about 3hp equivalent. We use a remote throttle (wired) that works great for us.  We have had adequate power in serious chop and headwind for dousing sail (though little by way of excess capacity) and can get plenty of speed when leaving and returning to harbor. The boat came with a way oversized 8 hp (as I recall) that Hutchins firmly advised not to leave on when trailering (when we picked up the boat). Once here, we are within a couple miles of the ramp, and keep her in a seasonal slip, so the Torqueedo comes off only for winter storage. 

[mikehennessy]

I use a trolling motor (55lbs) to leave and return to the dock.  Took the grate off the stern and put the battery where the gas tank should go. 

Only mistake was buying a Walmart battery.  Forks suggested it would last two years which it did!

No problems going to the front for a reasonably balanced person.  But I only sail and never anchor.

My biggest improvements to the stock boat:  Lazy jacks to catch the gaff boom and a main down haul accessible from the middle of the cockpit.  Everything falls quickly and neatly.

[Andre]

I really like my Honda 2 long shaft which I swap back and forth between my PC and HC. Overkill for the PC, more  than adequate for the HC on a lake. 29 lbs, no impeller, 1 hr run time on internal tank, I throw it in the back of my Outback every time I use it.  Noisy as hell but I only use it if the winds are contrary, non-existent or way too strong, and as a backup docking aid.

Andre

[Joseph]

Sassy, has a Tohatsu 4 HP Long Shaft 4-stroke 2010.

This year I notice some hesitation in the stream of the water refrigerating the engine and I decided to have the water pump replaced. The rubber pump was still in place but some of the leaflets had warped. Apart from that I take the engine for a tune-up every second year.

The trick for keeping it in good working conditions seem to be to a) to use new gas every year, b) use only gasof high quality (no ethanol), I use Shell V-power, but there may be similar fuels in other brands,  and c) use a good fuel additive (I use SeaFoam, but again, there may be others).

Four years ago I had some trouble with the piece connecting the fuel line to the external tank as it was letting air in, causing the engine to stall (very annoying...). Eventually this was solved by replacing the part: https://thewakesileave.wordpress.com/2017/04/28/new-tank-fittings-at-hoses-end/

The 4HP model comes with an "integral tank" that I never use (the valve for switching tanks in the port side of the engine is always kept horizontal).

The engine weighs 27 Kg (57 lbs), which at 76 I can still lift unaided to the bracket at the stern (on land...).

I believe that Tohatsu also makes the equivalent Mercury and Nissan outboards (which is good if you need parts as they are interchangeable).

J.

[Robert T]

Joseph

Do you leave the motor on its bracket when trailering your boat or do you remove it and transport it in the car?  I'm catching up to you in age, and don't relish the thought of mounting & removing a 60 lb. motor every time I trailer the boat.  Glad to see you have got launched.  Fair winds...

[Jim in TC]

When we were transporting our SunCat home  from purchase (around 80 miles) with an 8hp Yamaha, Hutchins, when asked, was very clear that it should not be on the motor mount. I suspect very short distances will be less of a problem, but still hard on the hardware if bumpy...

[Robert T]

Jim:

Thanks for replying.  I see that the Yamaha 8hp motor weighs 89 pounds, which exceeds the stated capacity of the motor mount.  I can understand why Hutchens said not to trailer the boat with that motor attached.  The Tohatsu 6 hp weighs 57 lbs, but that is still a lot of weight bouncing around back there.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a motor with the capacity to have a remote tank that weighs much less.

[Renae]

A Suncat absolutely does not need an 8 or even a 6 HP motor.  My 3 HP ePropulsion pushes it at 4 knots and weighs 42 pounds with the battery on.  If I wanted less towing weight I could remove either the battery (18#) or the whole thing. 

And, if I did decide to remove it, there wouldn't be any possibility of oil or grease soiling the car.

[Jim in TC]

True, that 8 hp Yamaha was WAY over the top but I agree with Renae that 6 remains more than necessary (but maybe not over the top). I would be interested in other experiences or advice on transport with motor on or off the mount; a conversation with the friendly folks at Hutchins might also be in order. They have been very good for us on those occasions I needed parts or advice.

[Renae]

Whether gas, electric or nuclear powered, I can't imagine any real need for more than 4hp on a Suncat.

[kickingbug1]

   4 hp 2 stroke johnson, remote tank  36 lbs

[Bilgemaster]

I got one of those little Tohatsu 2.5 hp 2-strokes with my Com-Pac 16/3, and later found a near-identical but newer Mercury-badged one that was practically new on Craigslist for just $100 as a non-runner. Its carb was merely clogged with fossilized ethanol snots from just sitting around for years, but took all of 15 minutes to get running tip-top again. Just for the record, dried ethanol snot in a carb bowl closely resembles that Sugar-in-the-Raw or demarara brown sugar they have in coffee joints, though it might make your latte a little more pungent than you'd like. I scraped a couple-few tablespoons of the stuff out of the Mercury's carb, shot through the jets, etc. with some spray carb cleaner, and she fired right up. A good dash of SeaFoam or Marvel Mystery Oil in the fuel will really help ease out any residual crud.

They ain't fancy, but a little Tohatsu or Mercury 2-stroker would definitely do the trick for a Suncat. One Japanese madman used one to travel from Basel, Switerland through the French canal system to and through the Mediterranean, crossed the Atlantic to Barbados, then carried on to Miami and New York using one on a sort of homebuilt yellow lozenge (See: https://www.tohatsu.com/marine/na/news/seiko.html).

They're super popular in the 3rd world, having been sold as "2.5 horsepower" for taxIng purposes, but only needing the simple removal of a little stamped steel "constrictor plate" in the carb manifold to instantly increase it to just over 3.5, and the tax man need never learn of that extra pony.

In short, if you spot a nice used one you could do worse. It weighs in at just 26 pounds, and while it doesn't really have a reverse gear (you just easily pivot the whole motor), neutral, or one of those centrifugal clutch arrangements like a much pricier Honda or other 4-stroker, I've never had an issue pleasantly getting back to dock. At slow idle it barely ticks over with minimal thrust. It's also just the ticket for a dinghy, like my old inflatable Intex Mariner 3. And being a 2-stroke, maintenance is almost negligible--not even oil changes. They're kind of "3rd World Ghetto Fabulous".