Re: New Guy-first outboard?

[20mercman]

As for small motors, you now have several good suggestions. I have several of the motors mentioned, so I have some experience with them. I would also have to make a call for the 11 cubic inch Mercury motors. These are the 9.8 and 6hp versions. Later updated to 7.5 hp. These run like a dream, idle and troll well, and sip gas. The 9.8 may in fact to too powerful if you are alone and in a very light boat. Our 1963 9.8 with just my son Kevin in his 14′ car top Lund will do about 25 mph. My 1966 6hp is on of my go to fishing motors as it is just so nice to run and quiet. These motors are actually pretty simple to work on. You will need to make a tool to remove the bearing carrier if you need to reseal the lower unit, but not a deal breaker by any stretch. Aligning the shift shaft when reinstalling the lower unit is the biggest issue, and once you know what you are looking at, it usually goes on fairly easily. Most of these, 63 and later have the modern Phelon ignition system that usually only needs clean points to work. They also usually have a 3 gallon tank, so you don’t need a larger pressure tank in the boat. (The 4 gallon OMC pressure tank is a good trade off in you decide on a 5.5 hp. from the 50’s) It all comes down to what is in your budget and what is available at the time. Most of these motor choices can be picked up for reasonable prices, and with a good thorough going over, will deliver dependable service for a good long time.

Steve