And last weekend, when I tried to start the outboard, I couldn't get it going.
Well this morning I set out to make things right in the dinghy world. I got out my tools and put the dinghy down into the water so that I could delve into the outboard. But before I turned a wrench, I gave a diagnostic tug on the cord.
No compression.
At. All.
You could just barely feel some resistance in the pull if you pulled rapidly.
*sigh* It's plum worn out. Replacing the piston and cylinder would cost more than the motor is worth (I only paid $100 for it, many years ago), and that would be if I could even find the parts for a 30+ year old motor.
So, once again, I am on the hunt for a dinghy outboard. The primary criterion is minimal weight, since it spends its life on the dinghy hanging on the davits, and since I have to hoist it up there by hand. The Evinrude 2 weighed about 24 lb., which was suitable.
And it should be cheap... because I am cheap. Like with the Evinrude, I am willing to be a motor's last stop on its way to the graveyard.
In the mean time, we are back to having a human-powered dinghy - not necessarily a bad thing.
(If you are into coincidences, John Vigor's post today also treats with outboards.)
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3 comments:
I wish I could tell you of a new 2-stroke you would love, but I can't. I would look for a newish 2-stroke that someone has ditched for a bigger motor. Perhaps it would be only a dirty carb. Or perhaps the new Merc 3.5 is good; I've heard good things.
I good reminder for me to take good care of my 3.5 Merc 2-stroke.
A Tohatsu/Nissan 3.5HP 2-stroke might be worth looking into. They probably stopped making them 2 years ago.
Good sugestions both. Now I just need to wait patiently until something shows up on craigslist...
bob
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