Hello all, I have been trying to come to terms with the power issue on my M-17 as well. I have the original 7.5 Honda 4 stroke that came with the boat (I imagine) way back in "19 hundred and Eighty Four" (add old codger voice here). I have read thru quite a few mailings on this issue and it seems like the 17 more often than not came with 6hp + and quite a few had the 7.5 honda. I bet Jerry had a good reason for the pairing. With that in mind (although I have seen a few with the 2 or 2.5hp as the power plant) my opinion is, anything less than a 3.5 is too lite for other than light to medium conditions. I'm looking to replace the honda 75 with something in the 4hp range for several reasons.
Ext fuel tank: Most 4hp 4cyc's have external fuel capability (nothing under 4hp does. I don't want to have to try and fill up that little tank at the dock or under way. F-N-R: many smaller motors don't have reverse. Noise & Vibration: If you have to use the iron sail for extended periods of time, you want it to be a quieter rather than noisier experience. A motor that has to work a 3/4 power is much noisier than one that can do the same at 1/2 power. (every outboard rep I have talked to has said that the honda 2 is the noisiest 4cycle out there when you have to do more that a 1/4 throttle.) Over all ability: I am on the SF Bay. I was out with my wife and my 5 year old on one of our maiden voyages last year when the wind just died. We were miles from Marina Bay harbor in Richmond and it was getting quite late and we needed to be back. I knew from the tide chart that we were coming up against a 3.8 flood. It felt good to know that I had the power to get back. That said, we still got tired of the noise during the 1:30 trip back in. In Summation: I want the quietest, most reliable, F-N-R, lightest, 4hp (or maybe five) On the market. Yamaha, Merc, Honda, ???? Which is it? I don't know, but, that's my criteria. Hope it was helpful. As far as the electric outboard's go...For me, the technology/price point is not there yet. And I'll take any advice on the quietest 4hp...any opinion's? I love reading this list,...so thank's to you all for being around. Michael Ray Wisely The "Meg" M-17 #383 SF Bay _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
