Northwest Fishing Reports

Planning to re power my 13 ½’ aluminum fishing boat with a 4 stroke. Considering an 8 hp or 9.9 hp. Looking for a short shaft, and a tiller handle. Want a relivable outboard that that easy to operate with the minimum number of things that might go wrong.
I have been advised to go for the 9.9 as it has a better power ratio (same weight as an 8 hp) and will have a better resale value.
However I want an outboard that will troll 1 mph or less. Not interested in buying an electric trolling motor. Will troll with two people only, but may have 4 people on board if perch fishing.
Sometime ago purchased a 30 hp Tohatsu which turned out to be a very costly mistake. So I will not buy a Tohatsu or a Mercury. Purchased a 30 hp E-TEC which is a fantastic outboard but small E-TEC outboards are not available.
Have had 2 4 stroke Suzuki outboards in the past. They were very good outboards but were very heavy and somewhat poor handling was the result. Maybe that has changed.
A 25 hp 4 stroke Yamaha outboard left me dead in the water once a summer for 3 years straight. I think the outboard was badly abused by the previous owner.
Recommendations and/or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Well you have about all the brands covered for reasons you don't want one. If you don't want a Tohatsu you've eliminated just about all the small outboards on the market as they make just about every name brand out there.

So maybe you want an inboard?

Just make sure you dont buy a high thrust motor for a small boat. Those motors are designed to push weight. The motor dealership can coach you up on that. I havent heard how people are doing with the fuel injected Suzuki motors. I have a Yamaha 9.9 that fires up easy and runs great. However, its an electric start and I'm not sure I'd want the extra battery weight in a small boat.

Any of the FI motors will be very easy starting and running. They don't have the low speed, high speed jet problems and or clogging. My fishing buddy has a Merc with FI and it starts on the second or third pull every time. Squeeze the bulb and give it two short pulls, if it's not running give it one more. You never have to pull through more than one cycle. It just pops and idles for as long as you like till you twist the throttle.

If you change your mind about Tohatsu I have an 8 hp with only 4 hours on it for sale. I bought it and a West Marine(Kodiac type) 10' 6" inflatable for my grand kids to have fun with while vacationing on the Colorado river last winter. From what I understand you can turn the 8 hp into a 9.9 hp by simply changing the carburetor. If anybody in interested in the motor or boat and motor message me.

hewesbob wrote:If you change your mind about Tohatsu I have an 8 hp with only 4 hours on it for sale. I bought it and a West Marine(Kodiac type) 10' 6" inflatable for my grand kids to have fun with while vacationing on the Colorado river last winter. From what I understand you can turn the 8 hp into a 9.9 hp by simply changing the carburetor. If anybody in interested in the motor or boat and motor message me.

That's an awful nice motor and it would probably idle down 1mph trolling......

Bodofish wrote:Well you have about all the brands covered for reasons you don't want one. If you don't want a Tohatsu you've eliminated just about all the small outboards on the market as they make just about every name brand out there.

He sure has. Tohatsu makes all small outboards for Merc, Nissan, not to mention their own brand. He's also nixed Yamaha and Suzuki, so all that's left is a carbed Evinrude or Honda and Honda is now involved with Tohatsu.

Not aware of any FI outboard's under 10hp. My 8hp carbed Merc has never given me a problem, always starts right up and I've got somewhere around 400hrs on it 99% at trolling speed. Can easily troll at 1mph if I want.

Oars might work well but I hear you should stay away from the cheap ones as they break down often.

One word -HONDA-...

Well, maybe a few more words. I have 4 small Honda outboards and a 60 h.p. as well. Have a few E-rudes in the family and they are good engines too, but 2-strokes. One of my Hondas is over 40 years old and I have never done anything to it, other than change the plugs, oil, and water pump impeller when necessary,* and one carburetor gasket when I did a quick carb clean. My other motors are are 5-15 years old and just have needed periodic oil and plugs changed.

They all purr like kittens and are used almost entirely for slow, very slow trolling. For the run to and from the dock/launch I open up the throttle, or if they load up or run a little rough, revving the motor in neutral seems to smooth it right out.

I'm not saying that there aren't other good brands out there, but for what it's worth, my experience with Honda outboards has been great.

Good Luck with your search.

*Oops, just remembered, on my 1973 7.5 h.p., when they became available, I replaced the breaker style mechanical ignition points with electronic ignition. Not a repair or problem though, just a convenience. Anything newer will already be electronic ignition. The old 7.5 still starts on the second pull when cold and choke is required, and on the first pull when warm!

Thanks to all for your comments. After reading pages and pages of comments regarding “kicker outboards” I decided someone somewhere, at some time, has voiced some negative comments about every kicker outboard ever made.

Negative comments regarding his kicker made by my co-workers father-in-law were discarded. ‘Not my problem’ complaints were trashed. I don’t really care if your kicker doesn’t push your sail boat as fast as you think it should. I don’t own a sail boat.

Comments regarding your kicker purchased in 2003 were interesting. But I am going to purchase a new outboard so I doubt I will experience the same problems.

Neighbor was having problems with his kicker. I don’t think the outboard was the problem, the fuel was bad.

The complaint list continued to grow. But the comments were turning out to be not very useful. I was not able to talk to any of the many happy kicker outboard owners.

If I don’t make a decision soon, I will be stuck at this computer till Christmas. I decided to look at Honda and Yamaha. Listed 10 features that are most important to me. I will see how the outboards stack up and buy the outboard with the highest score.

ALL manufacturers of current 4-stroke outboards are good. Pick the brand where you can get reliable local service, has the price you're willing to pay, and the most warranty. I've owned two 4-stroke Mercs (2005 6hp & 2009 8hp which I still have) and wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

Tohatsu 8hp - $1,699/82lbs/carb/5yr warranty
Tohatsu 9.8hp - $1,899/82lbs/carb/5yr warranty

Mercury 8hp - $1,998/84lbs/carb/3yr warranty
Mercury 9.9hp - $2,238/84lbs/carb/3yr warranty

Suzuki 9.9hp - $2,400/97lbs/EFI/3yr warranty with option to purchase additional 3yrs

Honda 8hp - $2,341/92lbs/carb/5yr warranty
Honda 9.9hp - $2,627/92lbs/carb/5yr warranty

All 2017 models, all short shaft (15"), all with free shipping, all with price match guarantee, all with no sales tax except in TN. All direct from Onlineoutboards.com

If you want a Yamaha or Evinrude you'll have to buy from a dealer.

I have a Merc. 9.9 I bought it new Sept. 2008. Runs great. start is easy as I have elect start. Run down the battery? Also has a pull cord. No winding a cord in the fly wheel. Wife too weak to tilt the motor? Power tilt makes it easy. Bad back? Even you can do it all.

Starting this outboard is super easy if you follow the decal on the cowl. one step the manufacture forgot to tell you about, before trying to start, disengage the shift from the motor by using the Neutral only button on the Stbd side. After going thru all the other steps, give the throttle a couple of twists. leave the throttle slightly advanced.Only time my motor didn't start first pull, I flooded it by pumping the throttle too much, or had bad gas( forgot to winterize it properly.

In case you should think I am pushing Merc, I'm not. I have experience with Merc. because I worked for a Merc dealer. I've also worked for a Johnson dealer . Ive been retired for 6 years.

Yes Electric start does cost more, but it is worth it. Merc also has more dealers than most.

Search ended! Purchased 8 hp Yamaha in excellent condition.

well, what are your impressions? used it yet? twin cylinder 4 stroke?

F8? Or an older T8?

I'm in the market for a kicker too and am always interested in the banter. When I finally get the motor it will have electric start and very likely power tilt. This helps to limit the choices :-) I've not looked at Tohatsu to date and had no idea they were so involved in the industry. So thanks for that info. I sure wish there was a 6hp 2cyl 4 stoke with all the bells and whistles. As it stands now, Honda 8hp with elec start and power tilt is my favorite.

I have the 2015 Honda 8hp with power tilt and ele. start I love it , no problems.