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Welcome to the special section “BAM 35 Years.” We are presenting “cult” articles from the Motor Boats archive, starting in 1990. A journey through time among stories unobtainable today, even in the great sea of the internet! A dive into the world of epic moments in motor boating. We begin with one of the stories we were most passionate about.
From Boats to Motor 1990, No. 6, August, pp. 87-93.
There are for every taste and every pocket, outboard motors have invaded our seas changing the way many people sail. Whether small or large, they have the virtue of being easily transportable and storable in winter. We present a guide to buying the ideal outboard with money to spare: 24 models for a safe choice.
With money counted, two issues ago, we put ourselves in the shoes of those who, before the summer, are in the difficult situation of having to choose in a sea of different models of inflatable boats, and to help them, we selected four different market ranges. But another problem of choice arises in the purchase of the engine, both for the inflatable boat and for other types of boats. In this article, we will cover outboard motors included in three distinct market ranges: 800,000 to 3, 000, 000, 3,000,000 to 9,000,000, and 9,000,000 lira and up.
In order to offer as broad a panorama as possible, we have looked at the entire range of engines from the smallest of 2.5 hp/1.8 kw. to the most powerful of 300 hp/220 kw. leaving out the 30 and 40 hp, which in Italy, because they are too underpowered to justify the hull registration and driving with a license required by exceeding the 25 hp threshold, have virtually no market. The best sellers, however, remain the 25 hp followed by the 20 and 15, which are cheaper and ideal for small and medium-sized vessels.
Most inflatable boats and a great many small and medium-sized hulls are born to accommodate on the transom exclusively outboard motorization, so the choice becomes necessarily forced. Others, however, can choose between outboard, inboard or inboard motorization. The reason that has undoubtedly made the outboard popular is the ease of installation on board, the simplicity of transport, and the convenience of being able to store it indoors during winter storage.
Of course, large displacement engines, although they retain some of these qualities, require hoists for removal and installation so they lose some of their practicality. Another point in favor of the outboard is the power-to-weight ratio, which with the exception of some 25 hp large displacement but choked at the intake, is always very favorable. The outboard thus proves to be the ideal powerplant for dinghies and small displacement hulls, open planing sportsmen, spears, mid-size day-cruisers, sailboats, tenders, and as an auxiliary engine even on inboard-powered boats.
By Roberta Limardo
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