Corpusfishing.com

seanu21 · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 10:45 am Post subject: Zodiac Motor Questions

So things seem to FINALLY be coming together for me and I'm in the market this year for a Zodiac. Think I've got the inflatable research done and narrowed down to 2. The motor however is a diff story and that's what I'm here for. The inflatable, 11'10", I'm leaning towards of the 2 says it can handle up to a 20hp w 15hp being manufacturer recommendation. The other inflatable is a little shorter, 10'2", and can handle to 10hp with 8hp being the recommended. I've talked to a few people and this is what seems to be general consensus on motors to boats:

*On bigger surf days, sitting in the guts waiting for a break, when gassing the motor to get through the calm, the small motor picks up a little slow. So on days where swells don't have long breaks between this could be an issue (and why I'm leaning towards bigger motors).

*Time it takes to get places. This Zodiacs main duty is to be legal on PINS. Outside of that, my wife likes taking trips with me so when she goes, it's second duty would be to run us around back in Yarb Pass to the Landcut\mouth of Baffin\Graveyard and also down at the PM jetty to just go exploring around the back of the island and the LLM. It will also be used as a mother ship to cart the kayak around to offshore rigs, I'm thinking out to 7 miles or so on good days. I would like to get there quick but more importantly, would like to get back quick in case of sudden emergency\weather.

So, is 15hp overkill for a 11'10" inflatable? Is 10 hp good and just enjoy the ride in a 10' inflatable? Most of the Zodiacs I've seen seem to be under-powered with 6-8hp motors on them and I want to steer clear of that. I think the length of boat is a little big for just running baits but it will be used for more than that so I want the stability of the bigger Zodiac. And my biggest concern, is one manufacturer better than another? The engines I'm looking at are 4 stroke so I'm willing to sacrifice the pickup power of a 2 stroke(if they even make them, I don't see it as an option for ones I looked at already) for the fuel efficiency, longer engine life, and not having to do the fuel\oil mix on the 4 stroke. I'm eyeballing Evinrude, Honda, Mercury and Yamaha 10-15 hp w 15" shaft. Anyone have any advice relating to the above? The engines are about $3k new so I'd like to only have to buy one and not have problems w the engine all the time.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
Sean

STEVEBAIT2 · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 11:50 am Post subject:

I HAVE A 10'2" ZOOM WITH A 15HP TWO STROKE.

WORK'S GREAT !
THE BOAT CALLS FOR A 10HP !
BUT THE 15HP AN 10HP WEIGHT IS THE SAME (2 STROKE )
I KNOW SOMEONE THAT HAS A 35HP ON A 12' !
AS LONG AS IT IS A TWO STROKE.
THE 4 STROKE WEIGHT IS ALOT MORE.
HOPE THIS HELP'S.
GOOD LUCK

_________________

(CATCH A BIGUN )

STEVE.BAIT.TWO@GMAIL.COM

texasbeachmaster · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 2:30 pm Post subject: zody

I ran one for a number of years some on pins mine 11"2 mk !! with 25 johnson
was great uhtill boat came a part delaminated glue wouldnt hold. remember to always have floor in when using the motor.

ceejkay · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:06 pm Post subject:

drunk swimmer runs an inflatable i believe its 11'2 ish.. hes got a 9.9 tohatisu(sp) and with 2 guys and gear it runs pretty good.. im sure he will chime in sooner or later

ironmanstan · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 3:11 am Post subject:

Had a friend with a 12 ft he ran a 25 hp. Got us from the beach to the rigs a little faster. The extra power always comes in handy. Don't go under a 15hp.
_________________
I LIKE MINE FRIED.

seanu21 · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:29 am Post subject:

Thanks to everyone for the replies and info so far. It's helping a lot. To those that posted so far with engines, is yours a 2 stroke or 4 stroke and what was deciding factor for the one you went with?

Thanks
Sean

scarey · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 8:07 am Post subject:

About 5 years ago I was looking at something similar, and remember reading about a 10HP limit on motors. Am I just recalling incorrectly, or was there once an engine size limitation for inflatables to launch from beach? I went back thru and read the regs, no longer see any stipulation on engines.

ironmanstan · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 9:57 am Post subject:

2 stroker always.
_________________
I LIKE MINE FRIED.

topdog15 · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 9:57 am Post subject:

San Martian · Pony Mullet Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Posts: 52

seanu21 · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:46 pm Post subject:

Johninaustin · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 1113

Just bought a 2011 Mercury 15hp 4 stroke. Academy up here is Austin is clearing them out for 2K.

Great motor. So quiet I'm not sure it's running. Very Happy

The drawback? It weighs 111lbs. The 9.9 2-stroke it replaced weighed 68.

I have it on a 15' aluminum V-hull, I think I need to have the transom reinforced for trailering, (all the bouncing)

It pushes that boat with myself and the wife too fast to be comfortable really, I haven't put the GPS to it but it's pretty speedy. I'd feel just fine with it on an inflatable.

As far as fuel usage, I ran that boat from Marker 37 to Humble, then to the boat hole, then around the long way out into the bay and back to Marker 37 and I still had about 1/2 of the 6 gallon tank.

ceejkay · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:32 am Post subject:

last time i went out with drunk swimmer i think he has a 2.5 gas tank, we left the beach at 9ish ran out to a little rig and tied off for a bit.. motor still running.. then ran over to a bigger rig a little further out.. left motor still running. then ran back to the little rig agian still running.. then ran back to the beach and hit dry land around 5 ish.. from the looks of it we still had over 1/4 tank.. his is a 4 stroke 9.9..