Looking for some advice.

[Dan93]

Hello all, I’m about to purchase my first inflatable a Honda honwave t27.

My question is would a small outboard 3.5hp 4 stroke mariner be acceptable for sea use, short distance on calm days or would it be a problem with the tide. I do not intend to go further than 500 yards approx or so from shore to begin with just plodding about. I’d also like to keep the boat and outboard light as possible as will be beach launching.

Any advice much appreciated thanks

[jarno1975]

For sea use I would go for something a bit bigger. At least a T35 or T38/T40 with a minimum of 10hp.

I have a T35 with alu floordeck and a Honda BF20. It all can be fitted in my car (with 1 bench flat) and also launch it from the beach.

[ShinyShoe]

It does depend a bit on which bit of "sea" and what you mean by plodding...

Yachts would use that combo as a tender without any issues and some will do a mile from a jetty to their mooring. But... That is likely to be a sheltered mile around moorings not a mile in surf. They are also happy to be going at little more than rowing speed. Which is one man's plodding and another's crawling...

[Dan93]

Appreciate your advice.

Can one beach launch a dinghy from shingle shores with launch wheels or do I need to lift the boat into the water .

[jarno1975]

I think that's no problem but don't go for too small launch wheels.

[billows]

I would get a 6hp four stroke with remote tank
Manageable at 23kg and you could get a trolly if your don't want to carry it long distance
I would launch from a slip until you get some experience of boat and engine as launching from a beach into waves can be difficult
Also with 6hp you should be able to plane in flat water if you are alone

[Fenlander]

Welcome to the forum Dan93. Need to know a bit more to advise fully. Are you new to boating as well as SIBs? Where is your proposed launch area. Is it just you or you plus one?

[Dan93]

Thanks for the advice so far guys. Yes new to boating in general. I live down in deal which is by Dover. I plan to launch from the shore which is shingle. Will be two people most of the time certainly to start with.

What is the advantage to an external flue tank vs a intergral one. Are external tanks easy to use ?

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Dan93

Thanks for the advice so far guys. Yes new to boating in general. I live down in deal which is by Dover. I plan to launch from the shore which is shingle. Will be two people most of the time certainly to start with.

What is the advantage to an external flue tank vs a intergral one. Are external tanks easy to use ?

If you have two people an 8 hp would be spot on, external tank has more capacity

[Mikefule]

I used to use a 3 hp 2 stroke on a bigger heavier SIB than that. I did many miles on the sea, inshore, with diving gear. It was easily big enough to push the boat at maximum non-planing speed.

Very roughly speaking, a boat has a maximum speed that it can go through the water. The only way to exceed that speed is to use enough power to get it up "on the plane" which means skimming across the surface rather than ploughing through the water.

Therefore, for the specific use that you have described, you would be OK with the small engine.

However, there are many variables to take into account.

One is the price, of course. Another is the weight to carry when setting up or putting away the boat.

Another is noise. A 3 hp at full throttle will be louder and more intrusive than a 6 hp at half throttle.

A heavily laden boat (crew/passengers/fishing tackle or dive gear) will sit lower in the water and require more power to reach maximum speed than an empty boat. And so on.

The only problem with your choice as described is that it would limit you to that. If you genuinely want to do nothing except motor half a mile to your yacht, or to a fishing spot off the rocks, or use the boat as a sun bathing platform or swimming platform in a sheltered bay, a smallish engine will do the job perfectly well.

If you might want to spread your wings, go a little further, keep your options open, cope with worse sea conditions etc. then it would be wise to build in some reserve by buying a bigger one.

Then the choice becomes between the biggest you can get afford and carry an integral tank (takes up less space in the hull) or going up a step to a 9.9 or 15 with a remote tank.

Faster and more powerful is not always better. It depends what you personally want to do with the boat, how often, and how much you want to invest.

I've had some of my best days out poddling about with an egg whisk of an engine, taking the time to watch the wildlife, admire the scenery, and enjoy the trip. There are many merits to having an engine you can easily carry between the car and the slipway.

[The Gurnard]

+1 Mike.
No need for me to add more.. IMO ..you have covered all points very well

Only thing I could add is .. with small OBs ..like the kayakers..learn to use the tides to get a faster landspeed than displacement speed. Example if a 2 knot tide and you go in same direction and your boat top speed is 5knots ..you are flying almong at 7 knots relative to the shore..fight into it though and you are only doing 3knots relative to the shore. If its a 6 knot tide ..then you have to wait until it turns if you want to go against it...but go with it..you feel you are almost planning at 11 knots :-D