F-Ribs And Sibs - Inflatable Boat Community

I have got a portabote that I use for pike fishing, that I use with a 3.3hp mariner 2 stroke. The main use is trolling at low speeds (fast walking pace).

How well would the T38 (or T32) go with a smaller engine? I know it wont plane, but that wouldn't matter until I buy a bigger outboard...

Hi and welcome to the madhouse.

Although not a two stroke we have a 3.5 Mariner and on a good day it’ll push the T38 along at around 9 or 10mph flat out....solo with kit. On the river we got 8mph upstream and 11mph downstream at a noisy full whack. Half throttle still gives 6 to 7 mph and a much quieter ride.

Wouldn’t venture too far out to sea with it though.

Would be slow moving rivers or lakes with that outboard. Would save up and get something a bit bigger for the sea...

It'll push it along no problem, but it won't be fast.

I tried out my old 5hp 2 stroke on my T38 and it could barely muster 3 or 4 mph, although it was into a very fresh breeze on the Thames.

If your trolling you need to move at around the same speed of a slow moving rowing boat.
A T38 is much bigger and will be more susceptable to the being dragged by the wind at slow speeds.

If your only pike fishing then presume you will only be fishing in freshwater ponds, where your gunna get much more shelter.

The problem with trolling is doing just that, with one hand on the tiller and trottle handle and fish at the same time.

Therfore a much better way is to bolt on a small engine to get you around, then put on a trolling motor that has either, foot control, or one of the new sat nav versions that uses an app on ya mobile phone. This allows you to make waypoints ahead of fishing, presetting your trolling speed, and turns. Some of these also have an anchor button, so that when you press it, it keeps ya boat in the same position, and stops the wind blowing you in the wrong direction. Great when ya get a fish on !

A US version is about 3-4k, but there is a chinese copy for about £300-350. 12 volt decent leisure battery required.

This fits on the front of your inflatable and requires some DIY work at the bow.

Minkotta are the US versions but be warned these are over engineered, and very heavy. Haswing is the chinese copy. You might have to do a Google Europe search for the sat nav version. There is a UK supplier but last time I emailed them they dont do this model. From memory you can get it from a Netherlands distributor, or try Amazon.

Certainly sounds interesting - I will look into them.
I'm quite used to trolling with the rod in one hand with my current setup.

I would probably end up selling the 3.3 - Just a shame as it is so light and picking up bigger 2 strokes is quite tricky now...

Would a 6HP be enough to go out to sea with? I know that 10HP+ would be better, but they start to get really heavy...

6hp would be ok on a good day, but don’t expect to be able to get up on the plane unless you are very light.

I know the bigger engines are heavy, but there are techniques involved in moving them which makes them quite manageable. It boils down to “don’t lift it if you don’t have to”

Hmm, I suspect I will end up with a suzuki 20HP, but trying to resist it!

Also think a 6hp will be ok in good conditions. Lightly loaded, one up plus kit, then should just plane ok. Add more payload and it will be marginal.

Selva make a single cylinder 9.9hp (piranha) four stroke motor which weighs in at 30kg. Won’t have as much torque as the normal twin cylinder 8/10hp motors but it’s at least 8kg lighter.

https://www.selvamarine.com/en/products ... outboards/