I'm moving my boat to a floating platform that really isnt sail-in/sail-out in all conditions, so I'm thinking about a small outboard and a bracket for the rear beam from Murray's.

Anyone with similar experiences to share? I'm not wild about the aesthetics, but if it gets me on the water quicker, I can probably handle it.

I have three friends with those set-ups. Two Getaways and a G-cat 5.7. They all like it and have had zero problems.

Check out the Seacycle unit at http://www.seacycle.biz/driveunit.html
Believe it or not, I designed this unit (Very sim.) about 16 years ago but never built because of cost. I obviously only looked at cats for a market . If your distance to go is not terribly far this is lightweight and could probably be mounted off the front cross beam and tucked under the tramp when not in use. Just a thought.

Clayton
S27, H16

I've used a 2 stroke, 2 hp Evinrude on an TheMightyHobie18 Magnum. It pushed the boat at 5.5 to 6 kts in flat water. Wouldn't want anything larger, weight's a real issue. You need a bracket like the Cheeta that can pivot the motor well above the water , and far enough aft to clear the tiller crossbar when tilted up. I have a 2hp Honda 4 stroke on my Supercat 20, and I love the quiet, but am looking to sell it and buy a 2 stroke to lose the 10 lbs.

Dave 509 276 6355

Dave,

Last time I looked into it I found that the 2 HP Honda 4 Stroke weighed 27 lbs dry (unless they lied) and the 2 HP Evinrude weighed 25 lbs. Did you find info suggesting a 10 lbs difference? Also, the new Hondas are air cooled so that may reduce the "wet weight" relative to the Evinrude. The Hondas also offer a centrifugal clutch which is a really nice feature which I don't think is offered on most other 2 HP outboards.

Jerry

Dave:
Know this is an old post. BUt Dn Berger said you made a bracket for your boat? Need one for Hobie 17, but Chatta is EXPENSIVE!! Outboards are bas enough.

Doug Snell
dsnell4@houston.rr.com

My Honda is probably 5 years old, and I was seat of the pants comparing it's weight to a much older 2hp Evinrude I was using on the 18 Magnum. You could be right that there's not much weight difference between current models. I certainly love the Honda, and from your description, it's improved over my model.
Even 25 lbs hanging off the rear beam bothers me. I can compensate by moving crew weight forward, but when it's blowing over 15 kts, the chop's big enough to douse the motor thoroughly, even when fully raised. It's always started til now, but I always wonder. So I usually only put it on the boat when there's a real threat of paddling home.

Dave

I have extensive experience in "high seas, offshore" conditions with outboards on beachcats.

Mounting Bracket:
First I tried my 1.5 hp Cruise N Carry (12 pound, 2 cycle, Shindaiwa weed eater motor head) on the rudder blade. I lifted the rudder and tied the casting so that it would not fall down. Then I applied a layer of suede leather over the rudder blade and clamped on the motor to the raised rudder blade. This worked pretty well (would be fine in a rare emergency) but caused excessive helm due to the motor being off-center.

Next, I went to a lot of time and trouble to build a mount. I won't bore you with the details since my findings were that my mount was not very good. When sailing downwind, it spanked every wave and sent a splash reflection onto the sailors' heads.

Then, I used a Cheetah Bracket and can not say enough good about the wonderful design of the Cheetah. Mounting an outboard on a catamaran is much more of a problem than the shear weight of the motor. The Cheetah is a very nicely thought out design. (except for the soft aluminum 1/4" block pivot part that needs to be replaced with a stainless steel bolt, immediately, upon purchase)

Engine:
The worst part about trying to use an outboard motor on a cat is that you have no transom in front of the motor, blocking the seas from striking the motor as you would on most boats. The motor not only gets struck by seas, but gets struck by the bow waves from both hulls. This causes repeated dunking.

I have run a Cruise N Carry 1.5 horse, a Cruise N Carry 2.7, a Gamefisher 2, and a Honda 2. Not being in the mood to type out all the details of my experience I can just say that the Honda won the contest.

The Honda is a whopping 27 pounds, nearly twice that of the 12# Cruise N Carry. But when your running motor goes under a three foot wave, 35 miles from the mainland, while trying to get to the shore of an island for dry comfort, you are happy to have a Honda on board.

Eventually my Honda's intake valve got stuck in the open position. When I rebuilt it, there was a lot of salt build-up in the intake port. But after going under water about thirty or forty times when it was running, this was not a big surprise.

Interesting facts:
The Cruise N Carry 1.5 gives me about two to three miles per PINT of fuel. The Honda has never failed to run when on the water. (gas mileage is about half as good)
The best container for either gasoline or pre-mixed gas with oil is a plastic coke bottle. I have tested them, even the older ones that had a rubber membrane liner in the cap, for 6 months in my garage. They tuck nicely into trampoline pockets and if you do not have gas inside your enclosed hulls, you don't have to have a fire extinguisher aboard. (USCG rule number lah dee dah).
The one pint size coke bottles fit in the fuel tank filler hole perfectly. You can invert the bottle in the fill hole, just like a race car, and never spill a drop.
A cavitation plate, made of Lexan or whatever you choose, added to the motor will increase your performance.
Falling off of a catamaran, when testing a motor, in the ocean, miles from shore, while alone, on a weekday when there is nobody around, while the propellor is turning, is a test of survival skills. If you find yourself dragging behind a boat that is driving at 3 knots into the wind you will learn new tricks. I learned how to steer the boat into the wind so that it would not capsize, then to operate the "kill switch" while having to pull myself dangerously close to an engaged propellor.
Tether leashes are ultimately important, when soloing!


GARY

Great input, Gary.
I'd appreciate a little more input regarding "except for the soft aluminum 1/4" block pivot part that needs to be replaced with a stainless steel bolt, immediately, upon purchase". Are you speaking of the aluminum block which pivots 90 deg to hold the motor arm up or let it down? I don't quite follow your recommendation or understand what the problem is with the current setup so I'd appreciate if you could elaborate.
Thanks, Jerry

http://www.seacycle.biz/driveunit.html

This is not an option. DAMM thing is $2900 and would be hard to steer and peddle at same time and where would you put it so you could peddle? I think Cheata and 2 hp Honda is best route.
Doug

Certainly! There is an aluminum block that is about 1.5 inches square and 1/2" thick that pivots to block the arm in the up position, or allow it to drop down into the motoring position. The pivot shaft for this block is soft, 1/4" alminum. It bends easily and once it bends, you might not be able to pivot the block.

You have to extract a small "allen" set screw from the block to get this aluminum shaft out. Since the allen screw is high carbon steel and it is embedded into aluminum, there is a probable chance that you will never get it out if you don't do it when it is new.

This soft aluminum part should be replaced with a stainless steel bolt that is 1/4" in diameter and the appropriate length. (about 4" ?)

GARY

I know what you mean by replace that piece right away... I bought a used Cheata Mount and that little allen screw is corroded so badly it might as well be welded right into place. Overall, the Cheata is a great design though and if this is the only shortcoming, I can deal with drilling it out and re-tapping the hole.

On another subject, any thoughts on those Weed Eater Outboards? Are they reliable? I'm planning on buying an outboard over the winter, but those 25-28lb - 2.5hp outboards seem like a ton of weight hanging on the rear bar of an H16. Seems to me it would really upset the balance of the boat.

Thanks for the clarification Gary!
I think on the more recent models they now use a SS rod (shaped like an "L" so there is a small "handle" at one end to rotate the block with). I'm not sure it's 1/4" though. It does use an allen screw in the block to hold it in place.
Jerry