Some questions about inflatables and a motor

[Dave Bailey]

Now that my father-in-law is giving up his sailboat it looks as if we are about to take over his dinghy, a 10ft Zodiac, which means that we can now start covering more water than we could in the canoe. But I need some advice from all you more experienced boaters about what to do on a couple of points.

 

First of all, is it okay to lay down the outboard (8hp Mercury) for transport in the back of my station wagon? Or am I going to have a big oily mess on the floor?

 

Second, I have thought about getting a small trailer so that I don't need to inflate/deflate it constantly and stuff it in the back of the car. But it suddenly struck me that it may be possible to transport it on the roof. It's light enough to lift up and down, certainly easier than the canoe, and it's got about 75 zillion places on it to attach tie-down ropes. Thing is, I don't think I've ever seen anyone transport an inflatable on their roof, so maybe I'm missing something obvious (not unlikely I assure you! )

[skeeter]

As long as you make sure it is secure, you should be ok.

but the problem i can think of is, how will it hold up against rocks flying up and hitting it like they do with your windshield?

a box trailer that it would fit in would better protect it.

just my opinion!

[fisherman7]

If the motor is a 4 stroke you'll have some issues if you lay it down. You can lay them down on one side but check and make sure which side that is otherwise you will have a big mess and other issues. If it's a two stroke, just run the gas out and it should be fine. As for strapping the inflatable to the roof, it's possible but if you have a good foot pump it doesn't take very long to inflat. It takes me about 10 pumps per tube to blow mine up.

 

Hope that helps.

[DRIFTER_016]

I load my 8' inflatable on the roof rack of my Honda Pilot with no issues.

As has been said about the motor, 4 stokes can be laid down only one way while 2 stokes it doesn't matter.

[Governator]

We use to fish from a small zodiac and inflated it each time (We'd go a couple times a week). After pumping it by foot the first few outings we just opted for a small portable air compressor. Then you can pack the boat in your vehicle very easily and it's way quicker to inflate. It also lets you get the rest of your gear ready while it blows up.

[Dave Bailey]

Thank you gentlemen! I'm certain that it's a 2-stroke, can you even get a 4-stroke that small?

[EddieNorth]

We own 1 zodiac inflatable and just purchased a mercury heavy duty inflatable for our camp,the risk you take by trailering your zodiac is any road debris hitting it and puncturing it,I had a tire on my 4x4 truck punctured by road debris in the past.If you do transport it on a trailer I would look at getting or making some kind of cover out of a strong material.

 

Cheers,

 

Eddie

[DRIFTER_016]

can you even get a 4-stroke that small?

 

 

Sure can!!! And even smaller.

 

Mercury 4 Stroke Outboards

[John Bacon]

Thank you gentlemen! I'm certain that it's a 2-stroke, can you even get a 4-stroke that small?

 

To the best of my knowledge, all motors that small are four strokes... the brand new ones that is. Two stroke motors are no longer available in that range. Some of the larger motors are available in clean burning two strokes such as E-Tec, Optimax, etc.

 

It is quite recent that manufacturers stopped making 2 strokes in the 8hp range so your engine may be a 2 stroke... but you can't assume that it is a 2 stroke just because it is an 8hp.

[Dave Bailey]

Okay, didn't know that. This one's probably close to 20 years old, so I'm still guessing 2-stroke. Of course, I could just ask him...

[ctdd2006]

Okay, didn't know that. This one's probably close to 20 years old, so I'm still guessing 2-stroke. Of course, I could just ask him...

 

It's a two stroke...guaranteed.