Our dinghy outboard motor was getting a bit temperamental and we wanted something dependable and easy to use. All it took was one sales ad from Honda to purchase a new outboard now.

The outboard motor that came with our boat is nice little Evinrude 4hp motor that was made in Belgium back in 1986. I like how simple and light it is and it easily fits on the back of our boat.

It’s a great little motor that I’m sure worked really well in its day but we started having issues during our time at Toronto Island. Kids went out to explore but the motor would only run for 5 minutes before slowly sputtering to a stop.

Also had a few other minor issues that were bothering me with this. It would leak fuel from the carb, even with the fuel shut off. The throttle is a lever on the engine and takes two hands to operate when docking. The fuel mixture/choke knobs didn’t really seem to do anything. Could be we just didn’t have them set right. And finally, it’s a two stroke, so it required mixing oil with the gas.

We found our new motor

We were planning on waiting another season, but winter blues kicked in and a sale price pushed us over the edge. We stumbled across the “Honda Get Onboard Event” and saw this:

It checked all the boxes for what we wanted. Something simple, lightweight and dependable that is easy to operate. And price was just under that $1,000 threshold.

  • only weighs 30 lbs, it’s lighter than our existing 2 stroke outboard
  • no gear lever, has centrifugal clutch and spin 180′ for reverse
  • air cooled, no water pump
  • four stroke, no oil to add and environmentally friendly
  • easy to store, fuel shutoff, carb drain and blocks to stabilize on side
  • shallow water, no water pump to pick up gunk
  • transistorized ignition and no water pump, means less maintenance
  • transparent oil level window, means easier maintenance

We found our local authorized Honda marine dealer here in Peterborough, Cameron Cycle. They were fantastic! Quickly responded to my e-mail to see if they had one in stock, they did. When we went in, they went over the motor with us and said we were in luck, Honda is offering an additional two years on their warranty, for FREE. They offered extending the warranty another year, to six years, for approx $200. We declined. Final price, with taxes and two extra quarts of oil and good ‘ol government HST was $1,153.71.

And here’s our trip home with the motor.

And here’s some pictures at home.

It’s going to stay in storage for a little bit longer. And now it’s just another reason why we are excited for summer!

What about our old motor?

Not sure, will probably clean it up and sell it on Kijiji or put it up for sale at the marina. Not sure how much it would be worth, I think it needs the carburetor to be cleaned and possibly the water pump replaced.

Leave a comment if you have any suggestions!

Additional info and specs on our new Honda outboard motor

Mostly for my own reference later… You can find the owners manual online here.

Break in period, for the first 10 hours, run the outboard motor at low speed, and avoid full-throttle operation. After 10 hours; change gear case oil, engine oil, check carburetor linkage, check idling speed, check all bolts, check prop cotter pin and lubricate parts with grease.

  • 0.25 L of Honda 10W-30 FC-W outboard motor oil.
  • 0.05 L of outboard motor SAE90 hypoid gear oil API service category (GL-4).
  • 1.1 L of unleaded gasoline 86 octane or higher, no more than 10% ethanol
  • 30.0 lbs (13.6 kg) dry weight
  • 2.3 HP (1.7 kW) rated power
  • 16.1″ x 11.2″ and height of 38″

Things to check before starting

  1. Secure all bolts
  2. Fuel level
  3. Check engine oil colour and level
  4. Check propeller

Starting the outboard engine

  1. Attach emergency stop switch lanyard
  2. Open fuel cap vent
  3. Turn on fuel valve lever
  4. Twist throttle grip to START position
  5. Pull choke knob to the ON position
  6. Pull starter grip lightly until you feel resistance, then pull briskly
  7. As engine warms up, push chock knob to the OFF position and twist throttle grip to SLOW position

Stopping the outboard engine

  1. Let engine cool with throttle grip in SLOW position for a few minutes.
  2. Press the red button where the emergency stop switch lanyard is attached.
  3. Turn off fuel valve lever.
  4. Close fuel cap vent

If the motor is to be removed for extended period you can drain the fuel using the carburetor drain screw.