[Rhodes22-list] Engine choice: Long Island sound

[David Huckabee]

Nick Kuzniarski wrote:
  
I would appreciate some advice;

I will be picking up a new Rhodes from Stan at the end of March & will be sailing Long Island Sound (for the 1st time) from Stamford CT. 

I am shopping for an outboard engine and like the Tohatsu 9.8 HP 4 stroke engines but don't like the weight at 86 Lbs for the 20" manual & 91 Lbs electric start. I would prefer a lighter engine.
The 8 HP is the same weight as the 9.9 HP so no pint in going with the 8 HP except for cost.
The 6HP is only 55 Lbs but I suspect that its to small for Long Island Sound? Those of you out there who sail the sound what size do you use?

A more general question; I can't seem to justify the electric start since:
1. It adds weight  (only 5 Lbs), 
2. Adds cost (~$200), 
3. The battery charging ability will be limited since when running it does not produce much charge and probably will use more for starting then it will produce for charging.
4. Its got to be wired in to the electrics - extra hassle
5. Manual start is simpler, no wiring, less cost, less weight.

     Nick might want to consider the Tohatsu's 8hp 2-stroke.  It weighs about 60 lbs.  I bought an 84 last year which had been sailed in LI sound for the past 5 or 6 years and moved it to Maine where I sailed in the Muscongus bay last summer.  Orion came with a  2-year old Nissan (Tohatsu) 8 hp manuel start.
   
  Once I got used to its idiosyncrasies:
   
   (1) change the plugs after the initial start after the winter layover (the fogging oil fouls them); (2) don't pump the gas bulb before trying to start without priming (you may flood the engine because it tends to hold a prime); and, (3) try starting without the choke because it often doesn't need choking);
   
  I found the engine to adequate for motoring in coastal waters.  It also doesn't stink too badly, nor is it terribly noisy.  (The latter observations should be taken with a grain of salt because my previous boating experience was with a 115hp 2-cycle Johnson on a Boston Whaler.)
   
  I took the engine to a repair shop for winterizing, and the mechanic said he often recommends the Tohatsu/Nissan 8hp 2-cycle to Maine summer camps because the engine is so easy to start and forgiving to neophytes.
   
   

		
---------------------------------
Bring words and photos together (easily) with
 PhotoMail  - it's free and works with Yahoo! Mail.