Heinous to the max, the state of empathy in 2025, and in the “works for me” department…
The last few days I’ve been noodling with the conundrum of going EV with the Islander, switching to a small (6 or 8HP) outboard, or keeping the Yanmar 3HM raw water cooled diesel. It sorta/kinda makes my brain hurt.
The fact is that the 3HM, more than likely, needs some work and just the parts needed to bring it up to snuff will cost more than an electric propulsion setup (motor, controller, 200 amp hour battery bank). That said, I already have a 4-stroke, 6HP long shaft outboard, so there’s that.
Offhand, it sound to me that the outboard seems to have the edge with me being a cheap bastard and all that.
There are a few more advantages of going with an outboard in that it frees up a shit ton of available space taken up by the Yanmar, fuel tank, exhaust system, not to mention losing the weight of the iron monster, would be no bad thing. Lastly, I’m just not a fan of working on internal engines in cramped places.
Of course, in some perfect world, I’d come across a 2-stroke 8HP outboard with a long shaft but, who knows, I might come across such a beast in some third world port.
Just sayin’
I would use the diesel until it dies, if its already un-usable, the outboard makes sense, you already have it and only use it when needed.
How much fuel can you run through a 6hp outboard for the price of the electric motor, batteries and solar to charge it?