It's a gas! Super cheap 2 stroke outboard on my TI

It's a gas! Day 2 of my new 3.5 hp water-cooled outboard went well. This unbelievably cheap and light (about 20#) motor (and now on special on eBay Oz for an incredible $207 delivered, not a misprint!) pushes my TI along at over 5 knots, even in lumpy water (spray skirts definitely recommended if you want to keep your >shoulders< dry!).

Fuel tank holds a bit over 1 litre (I put in a measured 1 litre to start with, and trying hard to use it up, it took most of my first 2 days of use before it ran out).

I have come up with (what I believe to be) a unique motor mount, which is built into my pine haka, which sits on the starboard akas, with the motor literally under my elbow next to the front seat. This is an ideal location, as I can conveniently handle starting, refueling, tilting and rotating for reverse etc. This midships location ensures the prop is never out of the water in waves either. I have added 10mm thick closed-cell yoga mat material where the bench touches the akas, so another TI could fit this temporarily, simply after removing the paddle U bracket on the rear aka.


I am extremely happy with the mount, and cannot believe the motor. Sure its LOUD, and being 2 stroke, it consumes 30cc of oil per litre of petrol (but it takes over an hour to do it, so in the grand scheme of things is not much of an environmental vandal).

While my TI is a >sailboat<, and this motor is very much a back-up back-up (after sail>pedal>paddle), I definitely believe that having at least one of these in any group heading offshore will hugely enhance the safety of the whole group.

My local trailer guy made a neat mount for travelling with the outboard and TI, well worth the effort.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

I had (and broke) one of those Chinese motors. The pull cord on mine broke and it was impossible to rethread a new one. The springs came out. Also, you should mark on the throttle the "spot" for starting since if you ever take the throttle apart, you won't find it again. I also liked the price. But you do get what you pay for and I needed a reliable motor.

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R/Thom
SeaRail 19
Triak
BMW C600
Formerly Getaway with Custom Spinnakers
Formerly raced F24 Mk II

Tony I really like that setup. I'm a sails-only guy but that makes me reconsider a motor. Nicely done. Can't believe to motor weight. That's lighter than Betsy's great looking bamboo hakas.

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Greg

2016 AI - Spinn & Jib

“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.”
– Charles G. Davis

I hear you about the starter cord. That explains why they provided a spare assembly. I am still getting used to starting setup, but will definitely mark the sweet spot as you suggest.

I wouldn't rely on a motor like this as my sole propulsion, but as a cheap auxiliary, I am prepared to accept it as "cheap and cheerful", and at that price, I could even live with buying a new one every year.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

I've started using an ethanol free gas in multiple 2 stroke and four stroke non marine engines and it really keeps them purring. It's expensive but may be worth it in the long run, especially for something like an outboard.

http://trufuel50.com/why-use-trufuel/

Chris

Alternatively, you could run the carb dry after each use.

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R/Thom
SeaRail 19
Triak
BMW C600
Formerly Getaway with Custom Spinnakers
Formerly raced F24 Mk II

Looks good, Tony. What was the name of the motor? If you couldn't rely on this motor as your sole propulsion, how could you rely on it as an emergency back up, especially for offshore? I also like the price.

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Mark
Tandem Island- 2013
2 - Sports - 2014

Looks like fun.

I agree on running non-ethanol gas through small motors. I find a local station with a site like: http://www.pure-gas.org/ The ethanol free stores better and doesn't harm the rubber.
Sometimes, it is only the 93 high-octane that is ethanol free at these stations, so read signs and ask.

That pre-mix gas looks expensive. $24/gallon at home depot prices? http://www.homedepot.com/p/TruSouth-Trufuel-50-1-Pre-Oil-Mix-6525638/202532877

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H

Great idea in theory, but when the motor only uses one litre per hour on full throttle, fully emptying the tank may not bre practical.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

Good point. My personal experience with this motor is currently limited to a single tank full of fuel. There are quite a few haters of this motor on the internet (along with many positive posts), plus of course there is an underlying thought that it is "too good to be true".

The motor is a Hangkai one, BTW

I guess what I am saying is that if my motor was going to be the sole source of propulsion, I would probably spend way more money on a brand name outboard, but for my TI, I do not need a motor capable of running full-time for hours on end (year in year out), and I believe this amazingly inexpensive alternative will deliver the goods in the short term. Buying a new one each year is even doable... The noise is enough to ensure the motor is not used full-time!

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

Nice work Tony! I like your haka mount and I may have to copy your trailer bracket.
Yes, after many years of looking at outboards on the Islands with scorn, I too have become a convert. I've just returned from my maiden voyage with the Suzuki 2.5 fitted to my TI and I'm now a true believer. 32km and 6 hours of testing has convinced me that an outboard is a great tool for enhancing the Islands versatility.
I spent 2 hours running the motor in as recommended (idle only) then the next 4 hours a mix of motoring around at 1/4 throttle or sailing with the motor raised. At lunchtime I got hammered when the 25knot Southerly change came through. I was at the Northern end of Brisbane Waters. Heading back would have been a real battle into the wind with endless tacking and pedaling and would have taken the rest of the day. As it was I just dropped the mast and motored directly into the wind. At 1/4 throttle I was doing around 9km/hour, though it was a bumpy ride. I returned to my launch site with enough time to do it all again thanks to that motor!




At $207 your outboard was a steal. I paid $1150 for the Suzuki but I wanted a 4 stroke. It does come with a 5 year warranty though and easy starting and reliability were high on my priority list. I agree with you that a motor enhances safety but it also adds much greater range in any conditions to the Island experience that I can't believe it took me so long to come around. Funnily my wife took no convincing when I suggested getting an outboard. She has many memories of long and tiring pedaling back to our launch site when the wind has died.

Naw, just shut off the gas line between tank and carb, then start and run until it dies. I think there is a stopcock in line, if not, it is easy enough to install one.

BTW, while the motor is air cooled, the exhaust uses water that is pumped up by an impeller in the shaft. SO, while idling, the motor is air cooled, when actually driving through the water, the exhaust is being water cooled. I thought mine was broke when I didn't see water being spit out while idling, then figured out why that was.

BTW 2, when removing the motor housing, be careful, that kill switch is wired to the cowling.

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R/Thom
SeaRail 19
Triak
BMW C600
Formerly Getaway with Custom Spinnakers
Formerly raced F24 Mk II

Thanks for the tips.

I will add a stopcock, the absence of which was one of my few gripes with the purchase.

One of the reasons why I mounted the motor amidships was to enable me to (literally) keep a close eye on it while in operation. I appreciate that the motor operates as air-cooled until boatspeed exceeds about 2 knots, when water begins to splutter out of the outlet.

Ah yes, the killswitch... fortunately(?) I had the experience of watching a video of the motor being serviced, where I noticed the kill switch location. The video was the first time I have seen anybody cleaning slight petrol stains from the inlet filter housing using a cotton-bud!

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

Sorry if this fuel talk seems like a hijack of your thread Tony but it seems pertinent. I am also seriously considering an outboard and look forward to hearing more field reports about the merits of the various motors and mounting methods/locations.
This is a pretty good article about ethanol concerns:
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/ethanol-an ... ll-engines
It says that many manufacturers of 2 cycle engines have compensated for the different combustion characteristics of E10 fuels and changed to alcohol friendly materials in newer engines; but storage time of ethanol blend fuel should be kept to less than a couple of months. I just pour my old 2 cycle fuel in the car and mix a fresh batch when in doubt. This seems to be a widely accepted practice for fuel that is not otherwise contaminated or excessively old.

Chris

2015 TI
Stihl chain saw
Echo leaf blower
Echo string trimmer
Echo pole saw
Miller welder generator
Briggs wood chipper

Most petrol stations in Australia seem to still sell unleaded alongside E10, so it is easy for me to avoid ethanol so far. To avoid stale fuel, I just buy 2 litres at a time, pouring 1 litre at a time into the supplied mixing container along with 30mls of oil). This lot then goes into either the motor tank, or one of the 1 litre aluminium fuel bottles I bought. If going away for a trip, I can mix up to 9 litres in total (waaaay overkill that! )

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker