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TopHat 25 Mk2 said..
Old 4 cyl Cats yes, my fav outboard chrysler, but Johnson's and Mariners make best under 15 hp motors, have both Chrysler 115 and 140 , Johnson 70 on my glass boats, still hunting for a lil longshaft thing for a Tern.
8 or 9.9 Yamaha 2 stroke. Best little outboards. Yamaha make the best outboards I reckon (only used a few different brands though)
Anything under 50hp get a 2 stroke. Anything above, 4 strokes are gold. Quiet, not smoky. I once had a 6hp Yamaha 4 stroke that came with shanty's dinghy It was a prime piece of sh!t compared to the 2 stroke that replaced it. The 4 stroke did this compression whip back of the cord that killed your arm and leaving you say " Do that again motherf_cker and your a new addition to my mooring". Gutless: had zero power compared to the 2 stroke, put 3 people In the boat and you wouldn't plane. Had a tiny prop as well.
The 6hp 2 stroke yammy on the other hand, was one nice piece of kit. I don't reckon it was any louder than the 4 stroke (4 stroke sounded like a lawn mower). Maybe a tiny bit more smoky and HEAPS more power. 2 cylinder as well. Better still if you buy a 6hp 2 stroke, a quick swap of the carby will get you a 8hp. Same goes with a 9.9 2 stroke Yamaha.
I have played around with a 3.3hp Mercury. Not all that fantastic, if you leave the fuel on. Don't even think about starting it without a major hassle. To be fair most small 1 cylinder outboards are like this. Played around with a 5 2 stroke as well as a buy and sell type thing. I reckon they are all right although I only did 40 minutes using it. Made 60 bucks out of it anyway.
Have used an old jonno 30hp with my mate for a weekend when I took a wooden motor boat to the "Bribie Classic Boat regatta" with him in 2016. Started first pull every time (outboard belonged to his dad and so did the boat).
Dont get yourself a Parsons though. My mate got one to replace the Johnson mentioned above. Needless to say the jonno was back in the transom of his Kellick a month later.
My Haines has a 175hp Suzuki 4 stroke which I like.
Well sorry for the book but if you could I reckon an 8hp 2 stroke Yamaha will go perfect on "Tern". For a little more power go a 9.9 or 15. I doubt you would need this much for a 2.5 ton boat though.
PS wtf did Australia get rid of 2 strokes being made. What a pain in the arse. Oh well back to rowing I suppose.
Cheers,
Mick