Outboard non-starter – should I go electric?
Q
I’m a reasonably active and fit 68-year-old lady who has recently returned to sailing. I’ve bought a lovely 16ft Shipmate Senior called
Huffler with a view to sailing within Chichester Harbour... maybe even venturing as far as the Isle Of Wight!
However, the 18-month-old 3.5hp Tohatsu outboard which came with the boat is beyond my capabilities to pull start. A male friend can manage it but apparently I lack the necessary ‘explosive power!’
My question is whether the outboard can be adapted to an electric start – or should I invest in an electric outboard suitable for pottering within the tidal harbour?
I have Googled both options, but would really appreciate any advice you can offer. Nola Start by email
STU DAVIES REPLIES:
Your Tohatsu will be a 4-stroke and starting these little 4-stroke engines can be a pain. I am assuming that the difficulty lies in the strength required to pull the engine over compression?
I’m fairly confident that an electric start option is not possible.
I know that if the starting instructions are not followed then the compression can be difficult to overcome.
For motorcyclists of our age era (and I am a bit older than you) we learned that the kick starter had to be used to place the piston just before top dead centre on the compression stroke and then full power on the kickstarter could be used to get the engine to spin fast enough to start it. Similarly the outboard should be set up the same. So use the pull starter to move the engine until the compression resistance can be felt, then allow the pull starter cord to go back in all the way before giving a firm, full blooded pull on it.
It should then start. If you still can’t manage it then one of the other options is to look for a second-hand 2-stroke engine – these are much easier to start with much lower compression to overcome. They come up quite regularly on the PBO forum For Sale section. You could also offer your 4-stroke for sale there and get a good price for it.
The other option you talk about is an electric outboard but again this has its drawbacks, the biggest one being its cost and the weight of the battery required to run it.
My best recommendation would be to source a good second-hand 2-stroke motor.