2 stroke or 4 stroke

J

Jimmyboy

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I'm not sure if this is the proper forum to ask this question,but here goes. I am in the market
for a dinghy, and want to put a 9 or 10 HP motor on it. I was wondering if any of you have experience and/or preference in a 2 stroke or 4 stroke motor. I know the 4 stoke is heavier,but what other things should I consider when trying to decide. The dinghy is going to be 11 footer.

Thanks!
Jimmyboy
 
For me, 2 stroke.

Lighter.
Cheaper to buy.
Cheaper to maintain.
Easier to get repaired ( 4-stroke outboard mechs are rare in my area. )
Likely more tolerant of abuse ( it is small and will likely get kicked around a bit. )
In my area no special regs ( ie: you must use 4 stroke in Lake Tahoe, I think )

Your Mileage May Vary.
 
on larger permanently mounted engines I prefer 4 stroke but in that application a simple old style 2 stroke is better. They are lighter easier to store and with proper care indestructible.
 
Guys unless ur looking at used, u cant get a nice light 2 stroke anymore... everything is 4 stroke.
been so for awhile now in the small hp's

Rob
 
i have a merc 9.9 4-stroke and it is so heavy to move around I almost want to get rid of it. on a positive note, it starts on the first pull every time and is a dream after you actually get it on the boat.
 
The good old fashion two stroke outboard is no longer sold in the USA, at least for horsepowers under 50. They were outlawed in California several years ago and starting in 2006 it went nationwide.

I believe that "Direct Fuel Injection" two strokes are still allowed, but they haven't been very popular and my impression is that if you want reliability they are not a good choice.

So, if you wany to buy new, the choice is pretty simple, its either 4 -stroke or nothing.

Rod
 
What about Yamaha or Johnson 2 strokes? They have them on there websites.
 
I note that Johnson only sell two models of the two-stroke; they may not be around much longer.. IF you can find one it may be what you want.
 
The gasoline in California has so many additives that the 2 stroke oil doesn't seem to lubricate very well anymore. I had a 2 stroke Johnson seize. The local pier boat operation was blowing up their 2 stroke Tohatsu motors. Chevron came out and did some tests and told the owner not to use Chevron with his 2 stroke motors. I guess the Techlorine additive breaks down the lubricocity of the oil.

The good news is that Honda and the others are making lighter four stroke motors. Shop around, some brands are not so light. Try lifting the model you're interested in before you buy it.

In many ways, I don't miss the 2 strokes. We had a guy crank one up at the ramp last week. The cloud of blue smoke completely obscured the ramp. A sheen of unburned fuel spread across the water behind his boat.
 
I own a 8hp Evinrude 90's model. Great engine... it's never had a thing done to it in five years. I got a great deal due to it not running. I found the kill switch circut was bad, disabled the switch and it's been runing ever since. I have never washed the salt off it and it just keeps going and going. We live on the bay the kids run it on our hard bottom right off the beach WFO all day long. We also use it as a tender for our Chris Craft. Light, strong, simple and reliable... the person I bought it from replaced it with a four stroke. He has since talked about fuel problems, hard starting and weight. Also, the postion the engine is stored in maters on the four cycle. Oh, one big improvment was the 100/1 fuel to oil ratio, keeps it running clean compared to the old two smokers.

Good luck.
 
I got rid of my Yamaha 4 stroke for a 2 stroke. The 4 is heavy and not as powerful. The newer 2 strokes are very quite and dont smoke
 
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