Outboard Motors 20hp and <?

R

Rob_F

Active member
So, I've been patching together for 25+ years a hodgepodge of motors and boats and trailers that seem to always get me home, somehow. But as I grow older I have found I'm starting to yearn for things that require less work, less thought, and focus on my enjoyment of things I enjoy....

It started by having a local garage pack bearings/hubs for me a couple years back..... the feeling of writing a check and driving away was EMPOWERING. As a "sandwich" generation taking care of my kids and my parents and work and etc. the time to be handy isn't there and it's cutting into my already short time of actually hunting.... so I started looking at NEW outboards.

Likely a 20hp....

But no one makes a new 2 stroke anymore in 20hp or less?

I feel a bit like Rumplestiltskin.... but my research to this point is that 2 stroke can be found in higher HP.... but in the "portable" market, it's antiquated and obsolesced.
 
So, I've been patching together for 25+ years a hodgepodge of motors and boats and trailers that seem to always get me home, somehow. But as I grow older I have found I'm starting to yearn for things that require less work, less thought, and focus on my enjoyment of things I enjoy....

It started by having a local garage pack bearings/hubs for me a couple years back..... the feeling of writing a check and driving away was EMPOWERING. As a "sandwich" generation taking care of my kids and my parents and work and etc. the time to be handy isn't there and it's cutting into my already short time of actually hunting.... so I started looking at NEW outboards.

Likely a 20hp....

But no one makes a new 2 stroke anymore in 20hp or less?

I feel a bit like Rumplestiltskin.... but my research to this point is that 2 stroke can be found in higher HP.... but in the "portable" market, it's antiquated and obsolesced.
Click to expand...


When I was looking a few years ago (maybe3?) Evinrude makes everything from 2 hp on up. the 15 comes in fuel injected and non FI and the 25 I bought was a FI 2 stroke.
 
I would look for a good used 2 stroke Johnson/Evinrude, they are simple and almost indestructible. And good ones are becoming more valuable by the day.
 
Like Carl, I would prefer a 2 stroke in the smaller sized motors. I like the weight and the way they run. But the problem now is that the newest 2 stroke you are going to find is 7 or 8 years old, and that means the available inventory is depleting every day since nothing new has come in for all of those years. I think today I would do 1 of 2 things:

Buy a new 25 Etec if I wanted a 2 stroke
Buy a new 25 4 stroke, whatever brand you think is good.

If you are going to be out on the water in the cold weather, there comes a time when you need a really reliable motor, and a new one is the best chance at that. I have a used 9.9 that I bought last year, and it is a great motor, I completely trust it, and am glad I have it. But I had the exact same year and motor that I had bought new before it was stolen, and I knew exactly what I was getting. I also have two other motors that I have bought new, a 140 Suzuki for an obviously bigger boat, and a 25 Yamaha that was bought with less than 10 hours on it, and that was new as far as I was concerned because I knew all about it. They run great and I never think about it.

You will also likely have a motor that you buy new for 15 years at least, if not more, and you can take care of it, know it, and learn how to run it the way it wants to be run. Peace of mind is worth a lot, especially as you get older. Messing around with a motor that doesn't run right takes away from hunting time, which is probably limited, is a royal pain in the butt, detracts from your outing, and then hangs in the back of your mind every time you use the thing.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck!
 
Oddly, it seems to me, you can get a 15hp Evinrude High Output 2 stroke in a kicker, but not in the portable.

They are making it tough for a guy to set his heart on something :)
 
There are NO new 2-strokes available for our duckboats, anymore! If someone knows of any please share.
The Evinrude E-Tec 15 H.O. is a joke of a motor....it weighs 181 lbs minimum! Not usable... http://www.evinrude.com/en-us/engines/etec_ho/etec_15_ho
I just drove 1 1/2 hrs each way, to buy a used Yamaha 15hp 2 stroke.....2009, the 2nd to last year they made 2-strokes. It only weighs 80 lbs. The new 4-strokes are 50% heavier, and much bigger!
The EPA, and this whole environmental craze needs to stop! They NEVER should've banned standard 2-stroke technology for small outboards. The amount of so-called "environmental impact" from these tiny engines is NOTHING!.
As you can tell.....I'm passionate on this subject.....and disgusted by the politically-motivated EPA.


Use the following website to find out the last year a mfr made a 2-stroke.
http://www.nadaguides.com/Boats/Outboard-Motors
 
I drove a couple hours each way to find my 2007 15 yamaha two stroke a few years back and even at that time I was the first of a dozen duck hunters calling to try to buy it.
 
I'm seriously thinking of buying another...just to store it for future use.
I'm getting to love the smell of 2-stroke exhaust......smells like freedom.
 
Don't know if some of the older boats can take the added weight on the transom. When I redid my southbay I beefed up the motor mount on the inside with backing plates and s/s Large washers. Didn't think of the recesses that Steve put in for the clamps. Might be a summer project after the season.
Steve, are you going to put in a shelf in the southbay project? Box of shells, thermos, flashlite or gun rack?
 
"smells like freedom...." :)

"I love the smell of 2 cycle in the morning..." is a common phrase I use. Best mornings have a bit of fog and a bit of chill and a little breeze.....
 
Well this thread is making my store of 9.9/15 OMCs look better and better. I really do miss the old simple reliable 2 strikes. My motors are 1978 & 74 and I dread the day they crap out.
 
Good morning, Rich~

I will be sewing a "shelf".....

Bill hunts sitting sideways, with his feet beneath the side decks. So, I will be making a long (~ 45") canvas pouch to hold all the little stuff you mentioned. It will be hung via snaps (actually Common Sense fasteners) and so could be moved from side to side. I will probably get to it later this week.

BTW: I just bought a 1980 Evinrude 15 hp.....

All the best,

SJS
 
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