Things that . . Not sure it works. . . Honda 2HP Outboard?

Small Outboard Motors.

We looked for a while for a small motor for our dinghy and ended up with a 3.3HP mercury.  The primary selection criteria was weight; at only 28lbs this 2-cycle motor won out.  Finding a lightly used one at a good price sealed the deal.  It is working well for us (except the stumbling at low speeds - which seems to just need a good carb cleaning, see prior post).  Looking at other options if we had been able to locate one of the older 2-cylinder small motors (like a Evinrude 3HP) that would have been interesting, even if they weigh 35lbs or so.

Another motor I was interested in was the 2hp Honda.  Given their reputation (and my experience with Honda) for small engines of all types it seemed like a great  candidate.  Being Air Cooled was kind of a plus, less to go wrong! Same 28lbs, plus a 4-stroke - no oil!   Well, we have seen a few of these motors being used and I have to say I am glad we did not get one.

Reason?


THEY ARE VERY NOISY!!!!!


I am telling you.  We were motoring in with another dinghy the other night about 100 feet from us, and we could only hear THEIR motor over ours!  That Noisy!

I am a bit surprised at this given Honda's reputation.  Myself, I think they missed on this one.

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Update Fall of 2016:  I noted a dinghy with a small Honda outboard, and IT WAS QUIET!  Looks like Honda has redesigned their smallest outboard for 2016 and addressed this issue.  Good to know.  (BTW, easy to spot these new outboards, the cover is more rounded in shape, and the gas cap is in the front of the engine)