Any suggestions on putting 2Hp motor onto the MadRiver 14Adventure which made of polyethylene. To me personally, I really prefer gas motors rather than electric trolling ones -- the only thing questioning me is that the weight of gas motor if it would be too heavy for the plastic canoe. I always use this canoe for fishing in the bay area and i realize that 2HP would work better to scoot through the wind & current.
Thanks in advance!
2hp
– Last Updated: Jun-22-07 8:47 PM EST –
A 2hp outboard motor with gas isn't as heavy as a trolling motor with battery. does the Mad River 14 Adventure even have a hp limit? Is it recommended? Stay safe please.
Hate the smell of gas, especially
when a two cycle has to be hand mixed with gas and oil. But, for speed and cruising distance, a two hp motor may do well. Had a chance to buy an old Seagull 2 hp, wish I had.
Seagulls
may be viewed as colectors items but they are loud smoking smelly leaking pieces of crap. I think they use a 10 to 1 mix. Not something one would really want to use.
I’ve been seriously thinking…
about putting a 2hp on my Malibu XFactor, not for all the time, but for some really long trips, like the 2100 miles of shoreline on Lake Powell.
The only model I am considering is the Honda 2hp (the newest ones are slightly more powerful, 2.2 or 2.5 I think), and it’s absurdly expensive, about $900 for the deluxe short shaft.
It weighs 28lbs dry, it’s a 4-stroke, no premix. It is also air cooled, no impellor to clog or fail.
The best thing about that deluxe model is that is comes with a centrifigal clutch, when you release the throttle it takes itself out of gear, a HUGE safety feature in a kayak application.
Since it uses a clutch, there is no gear selecter, it starts in neutral, give it throttle and it’s in gear, there’s no reverse, the motor spins 360 degrees in its mount.
I would set it up with a remote tank (although that ruins the 360 degree turning thing).
Tiller handle extensions are available.
MIght work, but you still probably
wouldn’t get much more than 4-5 miles an hour out of the kayak. The hull isn’t designed for much more. The motor is fairly light, though a romote 3 gallon tank would weigh about 21 lbs. a remote tank is much better than having to fill the built in tank and carrying extra gas. All in all, its still lighter than a 40 lb+ battery and the trolling motor. I would wonder about vibration, though.
4-5 mph
I would be happy with that, it sounds like some easy 50 mile days.
I wonder if that little 2hp would have to be wide open to make 4-5mph.
I’m sure that motor is a lot louder at full throttle than mid throttle, I wonder what kind of speed it would make at mid throttle.
One drawback I imagine that with such a setup, with the motor pushing near the mid point on the boat, steering with the motor will be difficult at best.
I picture using the motor only on long stretches, doing the steering with the yaks rudder, and paddling in close quarters.
There are 900 reasons why I don’t know all this for sure.
Go Electric
the peace and quiet, plus all the photo ops go bye bye when you use a gas motor. The extra cost and weight is worth it.
The big drawback to electric
is range, there is just no way to have enough battery power for multi-day trips, I wanna gas set-up specifically for long trips (Great Salt Lake=10,000 miles of shoreline).
As I see it, range is the sole advantage of going gas, so in an application where the user is not staying out overnight(s), electric is the way to go.
my experience
I can speak from my experience after using an electric motor and an outboard motor for a few years in my both solo and tandem canoes. I have owned a Honda 2HP, Mariner 2HP, Mercury 2.5HP, Nissan 3.5HP. The Honda is 4 strokes and the rest are 2 strokes.
Electric motor: quiet, no smell, heavy battery, limited range, slower than outboard, power cable running inside the canoe.
Outboard motor: noisy, smell, lighter than the battery, very good for point A to point B crusing, not so good for position the boat at a fishing spot.
If you have to travel a few miles to get to your fishing holes, get an outboard by all means.
With an outboard, the max speed of my canoes is about 6-7 mph with 1/2 to 3/4 throttle. More throttle does not increase the speed unless you plane your canoe, which can be quite dangerously. Canoe is not made for that.
By the way, I don’t like Honda 2 HP because it is air-cooled. It behaves differently in different air temperatures. And it is noiser than others. Water-cooled engines run more consistently because of the cooling.
Mariner 2HP is the lighter or all. It weighs only 22 lbs! But it is also the weakest. It may push my canoe to 5 mph.
If you do get an outboard, pick a motor that is less than 30 lbs. Actually, pick something as light as possible. You will be glad you do.
The Mercury/Nissan outboards weighs about 28 lbs. By the way, they are made by the same manufacturer.
Good luck!
Really?
The 4stroke 2hp Honda is extra loud?
Maybe that isn’t the motor I want.
I thought air cooled was a good thing, but if it means more noise…
I can get a few bucks off on a Suzuki, 650 otd for their 28lb 2hp 4stroke, that means rigging it in such a way I can reach the shifter on the side of the motor, the Honda solved that problem.
Hmmm.
2 H.P. honda.
I have one on a 16ft Hobie,it will make about 6mph full ahead. and 5mph at 50%…
This motor does not like saltwater or spray! It is air cooled so the cover has lots of holes to let water in…I expected more from a honda.
…Danny
.
.
2 hp honda motor
Aloha,
I have a 16’ Hobie adventure and was wondering. How did you put that 2hp honda on your kayak? Can you post some pictures?
Mahalo,
Kauaiboy