Home › Forum › Ask A Member › New Guy-first outboard? › Re: New Guy-first outboard?
Lots of good ideas here, and based on knowledge. I’m going to respond directly to 1) your prior history of preferring human power; 2) your under 10 hp limit; 3) your being able to store the motor on the boat; 4) your interest in electric starting. I am a (small time) collector and a lifelong lover of the old motors, but unless cost were a primary factor, I would buy a later model electric start 9.9 4-stroke. (I have a 25 hp 4-stroke on my "everyday" boat.)
Four-strokes are heavy for their output but they do not smoke and are almost uncannily quiet and smooth at low speeds.
Electric starting: all you need is a motorcycle size battery, but you already have a larger battery for the electric motor.
Your 12 foot boat could handle the additional weight, but if you later upgrade to a beamy, deep 14 footer (e.g. a Starcraft Seafarer or a modern equivalent) you will gain a great deal of room and stability with little additional weight. You will probably also find that the 14 is just as fast, or faster, with the same load because of the additional planing surface. That has been my experience with the boats I run my old motors on.