I recently bought an 18' zodiac MarkIII. I hope to be able to store this boat deflated and transport it that way as well. Thus im looking for a motor that i can carry. My concern is getting to small of a motor and having a giant slug of a boat. Is a 30HP big enough to push this boat with two guys and gear?
Thanks for your time.
Lifting anything bigger on and off regulary will hard work if you can or use 2 strokes where you are (limited in the US there are some light weight 2 strokes with more guts but once you go past 25/30HP your into 3 cyclinder engines and 65kg+ (150lbs)
Do you know exactly which model you purchased? A mark 3( grand raid, Futura) would be a 15' model and a Mark 4( Heavy Duty) would be an 18' model. They also have different hull styles and there is a significant difference in the weight between the two sizes depending upon the model. We recently rigged up a Mark 5 with a Yamaha 40hp and I was rather impressed with how well she went along. By myself the boat planed without issue and handled quite well. I have also rigged many Mark 3 grand Raids with Evinrude 30's and they go very well with that power pushing them.
I'm not exactly sure what the model is. It's what I call an LGB, large grey boat. It's grey, 18 foot, inflatable keel, aluminum floor and rated for up to a 65 horse. I'm not near the boat so I can't tell you much more. Thanks for your info. I'll have more info once I get back home.
