Recycle Your Boat - reuse the unusable

What's that? An old Honda 9.9 4 stroke running unlike the one I purchased yesterday in Louisville, KY.

I've hit the local Lakes like Caesars Creek, East Fork, and Brookville; I've had fun on those unlimited hp waters. All very nice and well maintained.  But, I think my little boat would be better served as a 9.9 fishing boat.  When selecting a different outboard - I looked at all brands out there and this one seemed to be a good choice and within reach - pun intended.  The Honda 9.9 4 stroke only weighs 96 lbs, getting about 30lbs off the stern compared to the 40 hp. Additionally, the major benefits of 4 stroke technology which are low emissions and quiet. The low emissions are seen with oil being reused over and over unlike the 2 stroke burning off oil that's entering the firing chamber causing exhaust smoke. It also uses less fuel, 4 strokes compared to 2 stokes per firing. It's also what I refer to as a recycled item ready to run on its next cycle that is once I get it running. She's a green beauty but looking more like a lemon at the outset. Hopefully, I can find a good lower unit gearcase and a drive shaft before spring hits. Might not be a bad idea to go ahead and tune it up prior to first fire.

I was also missing a propeller. That might help to have one of those, so I got a cupped 4 blade 9 1/2 8P which I'm betting dollar to donuts is the best all around preforming propeller.

For my application - here are the variables I considered: weight, hull type, stroke, purpose and hp measured at the prop. With the boat being Super lightweight do to the thin fiberglass and primarily having an outer fiberglass hull - I knew I needed a lightweight outboard.  One factor most boaters do not have to deal with is the bottom blueprint, too. The Waterwonderland has a lifted keel design that flattens out 3 ft from the transom like an opened ended hook.  The reasoning behind this is to get the boat on plane, quickly. This eliminates the stern from holding up the bow from coming down onto plane. The issue with this is ventilation. The prop can no longer bite the water, this was often found when turning and riding over small waves. After trying several outboard heights leading to a transom revision, it now runs efficiently with a smaller diameter, higher pitch, cupped, stainless steel 4 blade prop. And, of course the rule of thumb is to read your rpms at WOT(wide open throttle) when factoring in your prop diameter and pitch.  I'll do exactly the same once I get the 9.9 on the back of her.