Outboard Motors

Motors can either be in something or out of something. Sound vague? It really isn’t, the problem is in normal parlance people often conceive a motor as something under the hood of a car, or something powering something enclosed in a case. This is true for a lot of reasons, safety being first and foremost. But motors don’t need to be enclosed to function, and while they will always have some sort of casing, the outboard motor – one which is a propulsion system for boats – is a great example.

Small watercraft need to be agile and powered efficiently. Unlike a traditional inboard motor, the outboard motor can be easily transported, moved, adapted, you name it. The small ones will get you up to 15 horsepower, give or take, and are latched on with boat clamps to the end of the boat. Small outboard motors of this kind will use a manual start system and the real small ones can weigh as little as 26 pounds. Large outboard motors on the other hand can rev up to 100 horsepower and will feature 2, 3, and 4-cylinder models. Lately there’s been a lot of modification on large outboard motors, so it is not uncommon to find some crazy hybrids fetching north of 500 horsepower.

The first known outboard motor made its grand debut in 1870. Patented and produced by American Motors Co., gas-powered outboard motors quickly grew in popularity and reached some high sales numbers (25,000 plus) by 1914. When shopping for an outboard motor, the first variable to consider is whether you’d like to go with gas or electric power. Gas are understandably the most used, while electric use the jet drive over the propellers to power the vessel. On the gas side there is a common choice between 2 or 4 stroke engines. The former produces lots of power and are popular with the racing circuit. The latter provides for a cleaner ride, produces less smoke and remains cool for extended periods of time. It is likely that a 4 stroke will also consume less gas because it will never rev and perform at the level of a 2 stroke.

Want to know what a fisherman’s dream is? A quiet motor, and guess what motor doesn’t scare fish? You guessed it, an electric one. Electric outboard motors are also emission-free and have low maintenance costs. One of the major limitations however, like electric cars, is the limited range due to batteries being the principal power source. Long fishing trips are not possible, and the weight of lead acid batteries could compromise speed/performance. Newer battery technologies however do exist, lithium to be exact, which are much lighter but also harder on the pocketbook.

This is a fascinating area to do some additional research into. While we cannot recommend electric, odds are the entire industry is moving in that direction.