I would reccomend initially ignoring the desire to go fast and getting an outboard with a Tecumseh-made air cooled powerhead. Having something simple and easily understandable is a lot more fun than being angry about troublesome complicated designs you don’t understand. My suggestion would be to start with a real simple motor and if your son’s interest continues, then you can move on to something harder. If at first he faces designs that are tricky to work on or confusingly conplex, frusteration may result and then no more interest in outboard work.
