Propane Dinghy Motor?

B

BillinPA

Member
Oct 14, 2020
105
Boat Info
340 Sundancer 2005
Engines
8.1
Anybody have real usage accounts on a propane motor?

it will be used on a 3 person dinghy.

kind of pricey, but wondering if I have to carry 50 canisters and what particular brand?
 
I looked into them before buying my 3.5hp Tohatsu a few years back (for a Zodiak 310). For the way we used our dinghy I was never comfortable with the range. At the time they were only getting a couple hours of run time per canister under ideal conditions. I was assuming with 3 kids, a wife and a cooler it would be much less for my situation. I figured I'd be carting around 5-6 canisters in the big boat at any given time. Then dealing with getting them filled or buying new somewhat regularly (we use the heck out of our dinghy). I just figured it would be a hassle...

And for what it's worth - I could not have been happier with my 3.5hp Tohatsu. That thing was a champ for the 3 years I had it. I would highly recommend for a lightweight, reliable rig...
 
You could fill them from a big tank so you’re not constantly buying new, but then you have to keep a 20lb tank around

GasOne 50180 Refill Adapter for 1lb Propane Tanks & Fits 20lb Tanks, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077SP5BJP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_3M4PSZE0V0R10KHP9KZQ

I looked at them as well and at the time they had pretty bad reliability reviews and we’re just as loud as a small 2 stroke. I went with a 6hp used 2 stroke and was much happier (until I needed more speed and we upgraded to a 9.8)
 
Those Lehr outboards get really poor reviews. Lots of mechanical issues with them and their customer support is non-existent. I have a friend who sold his Lehr last summer due to all of the problems.
 
Strecker25 said:
You could fill them from a big tank so you’re not constantly buying new, but then you have to keep a 20lb tank around

GasOne 50180 Refill Adapter for 1lb Propane Tanks & Fits 20lb Tanks, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077SP5BJP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_3M4PSZE0V0R10KHP9KZQ

I looked at them as well and at the time they had pretty bad reliability reviews and we’re just as loud as a small 2 stroke. I went with a 6hp used 2 stroke and was much happier (until I needed more speed and we upgraded to a 9.8)
Click to expand...
Refilled 1 lb propane tanks can be very dangerous. I wouldn’t want refilled tanks sitting around. Especially on a boat.
 
Maggieiscrazy said:
Refilled 1 lb propane tanks can be very dangerous. I wouldn’t want refilled tanks sitting around. Especially on a boat.
Click to expand...

Why would 1lb tanks be any more dangerous than a refilled 20lb tank??
 
I have a friend that had one fall off his sail boat in the Clearwater harbor. He made a half hearted attempt to recover it but could not find it. I'll tell you he wasn't very upset to lose it.

Propane is for grills. Gas is for outboards!
Got it? Good........glad we had this chat.
 
The whole damn outboard!
And you know how cheap sail boaters are!

His woman is actually pretty awesome and a good friend of ours.
 
Why are you looking at propane vs gas?

Have you considered electric?

I have never owned a propane powered outboard but its speaks volumes that there are few of them out there and the lineup of choices has not expanded much if at all in all the years they have been out.
 
I don’t know what people expect from a dinghy. When I cruise it is the main way to explore and get around. Sometimes we go many miles. One trip to the backcountry Everglades we ran over 40 miles in it maybe more idk.
Last year the trip to the keys I had times were I was 5 or 6 miles from the big boat. A good dinghy is so important!
If you're puttering around with a propane, electric, or so small a motor that you can't get on plain and get somewhere just get a kayak. Lot less trouble and maintenance. Just my opinion from many years of cruising and 3 different dinghy builds to get it right.
 
Btw I don't buy into the electric enlightened crowd.
Show me its more environmentally friendly to manufacturer it and the battery's to run it. Its not maintenance free either. And how would you charge it? By running the generator? Ok solar panels.........but that's even more battery's and inverter to charge it.
What's the range of electric outboards? What about performance. Will it make my dinghy go 30mph?
I'm not into electric.
 
This is what I have. AB 9VL st crox helm 25hp 2 stroke and auto spring assist trim tabs. Usally lock the tabs up for max speed but help with rough water and heavy loads.
20200714_153416.jpg
 
kevin27 said:
I don’t know what people expect from a dinghy. When I cruise it is the main way to explore and get around. Sometimes we go many miles. One trip to the backcountry Everglades we ran over 40 miles in it maybe more idk.
Last year the trip to the keys I had times were I was 5 or 6 miles from the big boat. A good dinghy is so important!
If you're puttering around with a propane, electric, or so small a motor that you can't get on plain and get somewhere just get a kayak. Lot less trouble and maintenance. Just my opinion from many years of cruising and 3 different dinghy builds to get it right.
Click to expand...
A nice boat is like a Lexus, comfortable but a zodiac is like a go-cart, a lot more fun.
 
kevin27 said:
Btw I don't buy into the electric enlightened crowd.
Show me its more environmentally friendly to manufacturer it and the battery's to run it. Its not maintenance free either. And how would you charge it? By running the generator? Ok solar panels.........but that's even more battery's and inverter to charge it.
What's the range of electric outboards? What about performance. Will it make my dinghy go 30mph?
I'm not into electric.
Click to expand...
I have an electric Torqeedo. For me, it's more about storage. The whole thing weighs 30lbs (10lbs of that is a quickly removable battery) and I can throw it down in the cabin with no worry of anything leaking or smelling. But, we don't venture very far on the dinghy so it works really well for us. You go much further. That's why there are options - it's all about to each his own.

I do like the idea of a propane powered one in terms of not having to worry about gas going bad or a carb gumming up. But I haven't looked into them enough in terms of reliablity to be able to talk about that aspect one way or the other.
 
kevin27 said:
I don’t know what people expect from a dinghy. When I cruise it is the main way to explore and get around. Sometimes we go many miles. One trip to the backcountry Everglades we ran over 40 miles in it maybe more idk.
Last year the trip to the keys I had times were I was 5 or 6 miles from the big boat. A good dinghy is so important!
If you're puttering around with a propane, electric, or so small a motor that you can't get on plain and get somewhere just get a kayak. Lot less trouble and maintenance. Just my opinion from many years of cruising and 3 different dinghy builds to get it right.
Click to expand...

I was with you right up until the kayak comment :) We use the heck out of our dinghy. Exploring rivers, to/from the beach, cruise to dinner, it's our best boat accessory. We survived 3 fantastic seasons with 5 souls aboard a Zodiak 310 with a 3.5hp Tohatsu. I will fondly remember my kids lamenting the lack of horse power for many years to come. It's the journey...

That said...we're making the move to a 25hp center console this year. Primarily because I want to do some (low impact) water sports with the kids this year.
50938832971_4379ff5d35_b.jpg
 
Stee6043 said:
I was with you right up until the kayak comment :) We use the heck out of our dinghy. Exploring rivers, to/from the beach, cruise to dinner, it's our best boat accessory. We survived 3 fantastic seasons with 5 souls aboard a Zodiak 310 with a 3.5hp Tohatsu. I will fondly remember my kids lamenting the lack of horse power for many years to come. It's the journey...

That said...we're making the move to a 25hp center console this year. Primarily because I want to do some (low impact) water sports with the kids this year.
50938832971_4379ff5d35_b.jpg
Click to expand...
That looks like a very nice ride!
 
BillinPA said:
Anybody have real usage accounts on a propane motor?

it will be used on a 3 person dinghy.

kind of pricey, but wondering if I have to carry 50 canisters and what particular brand?
Click to expand...
We have had our lehr for about 7 years, wife insisted on it at boat show. At that time definitely bleeding edge. Plenty of issues first 2 years but Lehr (they are out of the outboard business and sold it to Mercury) was great to work with as long as you were patient. For last 5 years just change spark plugs every other year and runs fine. We never traveled far with it but got the 5# fiberglass tank and obviously never ran out of gas.
If you can get one cheap go for it but because of them being out of business I imagine parts will be impossible in the future. Why cant somebody make a 2 cycle 60# 10 hp????
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,120
Messages
1,426,612
Members
61,037
Latest member
wojozobl
Back
Top