Motor

I recently bought an 82 H16 that came with the motor mount. I'm looking to put some type of motor on the boat - I'm currently torn between a cheap trolling motor / battery setup, or a 2.5hp gas motor. I'd love to hear what has or hasnt worked for you on this boat. The gentleman I bought it from had a 2.5 gas motor. My concern would be flooding a gas motor in a capsize -

Also, something in my soul feels wrong about putting a motor on a cat, but I have 3 kids and I don't want to scare them away from sailing by tacking 68 times trying to get out of a creek and into the lake. Or slow roasting them for 6 hours waiting for a breeze to get us back. All of which happened to me as a child, yet wasn't near as bad as my dad telling me to test out the trapeze while the boat was on the trailer at a public boat landing - the hook was inverted and as i traveled towards the black asphalt I kept waiting for it to catch, which it never did, leaving my on my back, no breath, in front of about 50 people. Good times.

Thanks

I have a paddle for my H16, it works well. For my H21SC I have tried both a trolling motor and the smallest gas outboard I could find. The trolling motor worked fine, but lacked range for extended (more than 1 mile) trips. My gas outboard works fine on my 21SC, but I don't flip the boat. On a H16 I would be worried about spilling gas and flooding motors.

I think the best outboard option for your H16 would be a torqueedo, but those things are pricey. They are waterproof, clean and start every time. Don't discount the paddle though, as it is also waterproof, clean and starts every time.

I had a Hobie 17 when my kids were little, no motor. I now have a Hobie Getaway with a Torqeedo motor. Makes the sailing more fun for the passengers, for just the reasons you specify. My wife said, when we first got it, "why the hell didn't we have a motor 20 years ago?!"

If you want to challenge yourself, you can always not run the motor when you are alone and want to tack 68 times to get back to the pier!

The Torqeedo is a nice setup, but pricy. Search the forum, there have been a lot of threads on the subject. I like the electric motor personally, so I don't have to worry about gas, spillage, dunking the motor...

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks