Hello

[AllanWJ]

Hi all, just joined the forum. I ran across the boat forum searching Google for the age old question about gas powered hp vs electric thrust...very confusing. There seems to be a high concentration of pram owners here so it looks like trhe place I need to be.

Anyway, I just bought a 10ft Willie pram and want to try a gas motor. I've been looking at 5hp Hondas and 4hp Yamahas but after getting some indication of needed horsepower vs electric thrust, I'm actually thinking of going down to 2-3hp and saving some money and weight. It's a rockered hull so the actual effect is kind of weird, but basically I just want to eliminate the rowing to and from my favorite spots. I'm getting too old to keep rowing my pontoon boat a couple of miles against the wind.

Does anyone have experience with these mini-drifters and gas motors? I'm thinking primariliy stillwater trout and bass, and September tidewaters for salmon. Thanks for any tips and I already have a welder ready to beef up the transom.

Allan

[Tony Buzolich]

Hi Alan,

I've got an actual Mini-Drifter set up with an electric Minnkota and an Optimax battery and it works fine,,,,,,,,,,for a while. It seems to use up the battery faster than I like and I've tried to fit it out with a gas motor but 5hp was too much.

If I were to do this again I'd go to a smaller gas motor with an attached tank. Both the battery and or the remote tank take up valuable floor space.

Let us know what you end up with and how it works for you,
TONY

[OceanSunfish]

http://www.kiene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23455

Good replies at above link......

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

If you have too much rocker more horse power will just raise up the bow more and not really get you any more speed.

Honda has a 2hp - 4 stroke outoard that is 27# with a top tank.

Would be nice to try a 4-5-6 hp though.

[AllanWJ]

If you have too much rocker more horse power will just raise up the bow more and not really get you any more speed.

Honda has a 2hp - 4 stroke outoard that is 27# with a top tank.

Would be nice to try a 4-5-6 hp though.

Thanks Bill. I was looking real hard at the Honda 2hp today and your comment about the rocker is the same thing I've been wondering about. I'll have a chance to borrow a Honda 5hp in a month or two so I can compare, but I think I'm sold on the Honda 2...or the Suzuki 2.5...or the Nisaan 3.5...or the Yamaha 4...

Allan

[Rollingcs]

Allan, the honda 2 hp is light but thats because its not water cooled, there a great motor but not as quiet as the rest of the motors your talking about because there water cooled. I had a 3.5 mercury on my 10 ft. valco pram and it worked great and sipped fuel. Have a friend that had the honda and sold it because of the noise it made.

I think the 3.5 mercury and the nissan are the same motor just different decals!

Ken

[AllanWJ]

http://www.kiene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23455

Good replies at above link......

Thanks OS - I should have done more reading.

Allan

[AllanWJ]

Hi Alan,

I've got an actual Mini-Drifter set up with an electric Minnkota and an Optimax battery and it works fine,,,,,,,,,,for a while. It seems to use up the battery faster than I like and I've tried to fit it out with a gas motor but 5hp was too much.

If I were to do this again I'd go to a smaller gas motor with an attached tank. Both the battery and or the remote tank take up valuable floor space.

Let us know what you end up with and how it works for you,
TONY

Thanks Tony. I've got a friend with a Koffler 10ft pram and we've been testing out the electrics on his. Same conclusion about the battery life - it's not good enough for a 3 day trip with no way to recharge. Not to mention the general hassle of batteries. You either need to carry 3 of them, fish smaller lakes, or get a gas burner. We'll test that theory on the Willie I guess.

Allan