Kicker outboard???

[gregory]

I have a 16.5 ft runabout that I'd like to put an extra motor on in case the main 70hp dies. (total weight of craft is about 1500 lbs). What's the minumum size outboard that will get me home in an emergency against wind and waves. I don't want to put too much more weight on the back transom so smaller is better. 4 stroke engines seem to me more fuel efficient but 2 strokes are lighter. What is your experience? I also have a trolling motor but that will only go about 4 miles before the battery gives out.

[Wee Hooker]

My little 98 Mariner 3.3 HP would do the trick. It has more thrust than my old Johnson 4 hp , It will easily plane a 12' jon boat. A local dealer told me that these motors have more thrust than allot of new 4 hp units too. It is totally self contained, has a Neautral position AND weighs only 28#. Runs for up to 5 hours on a single 1/2 gal fueling. ( Nice to have a seperate fuel supply on a kicker in case bad fuel was your primary power problem!) Hard unit to beat at a brand new cost of less than $550. BTW, The Nissan 3.5, Tohatsu 3.5,Merk 3.3 and Mariner3.3 are all basicly the same motor . I just happened to stumble onto a great pile of leftover deals at Cape marine. They had a ton of em .