Hey guys, I need some help here. I have a 15' River Hawk with a 10hp longtail Mud Buddy. It originally came with a 9hp Robin and that engine pushed the boat relatively well considering the boats weight. However, something let loose in the engine and my stepdad didn't want to fix it. So, I told him to get a larger HP engine, he did, but only by 1 dern HP. He picked up at 10hp Briggs and Stratton from a lawn mower place down the road. It was brand new at the time. This took place about 3 years ago. I've now moved to Louisiana and took the boat with me. It's now gettin some attention, but this engine sucks. I've only ran the boat down here once and that was last Sunday. All together this engine might have 2 hours on it.

The boat weighs around 250 or so. There was 2 guys in the boat and together our weight is probably 310 and one girl who weighs only 100 pounds soaking wet. It just seemed like the engine couldn't get the RPMs up, almost as if it had a restrictor plate. Out of the water with no load it ran fine.

That 9hp Robin I used to run could out perform this Intek no problem. SOO, my question is: what could be wrong with the engine? I don't have a tack so I can't pinpoint what RPMs it turning, but this thing should be equivilant to or better than the Robin when it comes to pushing this boat, right?

Any tips on what could be wrong or to look for?

One can only do so much with 10 hp...

All that weight adds up, thats alot of wieght in a short boat boggin that motor down.

well a quick ? to ask urself is u said u came down to louisiana from where(how high of altitude) cause that could be ur problem or motor been sittin up and carb is dirty!!!!!!

I came over from Georgia. I'll pull the carb off and clean it when I get back. Im in Illinois right now for meetings so that will be the first thing I do Friday. Also what gas would be best to run? 89? or should I go for a higher octane fuel?

that a matter of prefrence but all that's required for that comppresion is 89!!!!

How much weight have YOU gained since running the robin? Tell you what, I used to run a lil jon boat with a 7.5 johnson on it. When I was 12-13, it would cruise pretty good, but got slower every year... If you were a young teenager when you started driving it, just the weight you've gained could be the difference. Doesn't take much extra weight to make a big difference when you're talking about such a small motor.

89 is fine. You only need to run high octane if your compression is high.

It only takes a few pounds difference to be runnin on step, and plowin water...

I can put two people in my rig and get on plane, throw in shotguns waders and 2doz. decoys and it plows the water like a sob.

Distributing your weight mo betta can help too.

Bigger engine is probably the best option. Do a leak down test though and go from there. You may be able to get a lil more out of your motor. At least what you were getting out of the lil robin.

well the new Vanguard 11, 13 and 15hp have the same bolt pattern as ur intek 10hp!!!

Do a leak down before buying a new motor! May be something as simple as needing a valve job...

Throw the girl overboard!

You can re-build your mounting plate and get new u-joints to fit any motor to that frame.

well go this route then http://www.brandnewengines.com/359447-0113.aspx

well i buy mine from napa (roger's for parts) where in La are u? If u want 20 or so hp i would go with the 23 Vanguard!!!!! And just to let u know the link i gave u that's a 18hp (13.4 KW) u looked at that wrong my friend!!!

this is some specs for a 18 hp vanguard all the way to a 35hp vanguard the mountin foot is all the same!!!!!
http://www.smallenginesuppliers.com/htm ... 80400.html

Thanks for the link!

Why do most people on here run the Vanguard? Are the Robins and Hondas not very popular or reliable engines????

cant say to much about the robin's but i buddy have 1 in a mud boat 25hp and its a weenie and the honda's have to turn alot of rpm's to make power another buddy has a 24 honda in mud boat and he turns in the 5 grand range thats scary to me!!! But briggs have been around for ever and are easier to come buy so go figure!!!

For the price go with this engine. it is a Honda clone. I have an older model pull start and it runs fine.
http://www.maxtool.com/us/products/XP16HPE.asp

23 horse vanguard.

http://www.brandnewengines.com/386447-0201.aspx

the only problem i see is that the 23's get priceyyyyy!!

Well here are a few crappy pictures of my boat below. I've been comparing engine dimensions and diagrams with the 23 vanguard and the 9hp Robin. Everything should bolt up with some minor tweaking. My ONLY concern at this point is the extra weight at the rear of the boat and on transom.

The Robin weighs 46 pounds while the 23 Vanguard weighs in at 87 pounds. So I'm looking at an additional 40 plus pounds of weight. Will this be too much weight for my transom? The boat is rated for a 15hp outboard, but with the engine + longtail frame I'm looking at well over 100 pounds.

Any input on this?

What is that contraption on your grab bar? BTW she's pretty!!!

How wide is that thing at the bottom?

Sure.

Not sure. I'll measure it when I get home. I think the middle of the boat is 60" but it tapers as u can see at the transom. I'll have the width this evening.

Bump.