And most will concur, with on a Monty 15 with adjustable motor mount a short shaft is more than enough. Sent from my iPad On Sep 16, 2011, at 10:53 AM, ndorf@surfbest.net wrote:
I run with a 1994 Yamaha 4hp 2-stroke; it weighs in at about 43lbs. Only because its what was part of the boat/motor/trailer package that I bought a few years ago from the previous owner and since it runs fine there was no need to drop a grand on a new motor.
I think that about half the time it's more hp than I need and I wish I had the lighter weight of the Honda 2hp on my transom.
That said, the other half of the time I'm in some part of San Francisco Bay or the Sacramento River delta / Carquinez strait and when having to motor against the currents and also sometimes with a headwind, I am really thankful to have the extra "ooomph"
I think 8hp is definitely overkill though.
One more thing...I have truly become spoiled to having a forward, neutral, and reverse on the motor. On the Honda 2hp, you have to swivel the thing around 180 degrees to go backward. I have found that having a neutral and reverse is hugely helpful for getting in and out of tight places such as slips in some marinas.
Neil Dorf '85 M15 TwoCan Northern California
_______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
When posting, remember that there is no privacy on the Internet!