Henry Rifle Forums

I like to fish out of my Radisson canoe. I like the electric motor for fishing larger ponds. It takes more than that to cover distance. My girlfriend wanted to go to Upper St. Regis lake and visit all the inter-connected lakes from there, namely Spitfire and Lower St. Regis lake. Last month, we started out with the canoe and the 2.5 hp Tohatsu 2 cycle outboard. I had done a lot of work on it. It died after 5 minutes of use, only to resurrect later for brief periods. I rowed most of the time. It wasn't the best outing. She offered to give an early Christmas present if I found a new motor I liked.

I had been looking into the Lehr motor since getting the Radisson. It runs on propane. No ethanol issues and reliable starting, what's not to like. At the end of August I found them on sale at a place on the internet. A call to the place I got the Radisson revealed a sale as well. It was just about the same, so I went to pick it up on my lunch hour. They prepped it, adjusted the carb and showed me how it worked and how to maintain it. I purchased a carbon fiber tank for long use. It also accepts the 16 oz camping bottles.

This past weekend, I took the Radisson out with it's new engine.
It performed flawlessly. We went around the lake on Saturday, it was damp and drizzly. On Sunday, it was sunny and warmer. We headed for Upper St. Regis. I launched and advised her that if the motor quit, it was likely the small 16 oz tank was out. I had four spares. It quit about the same place the Tohatsu had last month. This time, a quick cylinder exchange and we were off. We made it all the way to Lower St. Regis where Paul Smith's College sits. I fished a bit here and there, but not much. I ran mostly at the mid level. The literature says a 16 oz cylinder gives about one hour at full power and 2.5 hrs at mid level. As we were just getting back to the landing, it stalled. I got about 1 hour 45 minutes with mixed operation, mostly midlevel, but some flat out. It's no speed demon, but it will do a nice job of getting you there. It's quieter than the Tohatsu and it has a neutral and forward transmission. It's 4 cycle also. The 2.5 is the smallest outboard Lehr makes. I need to get the new tank filled. Then there will be no cylinder changes.

very interesting indeed .... I'd never heard of a LEHR brand outboard nor of a propane powered one .... please keep bringing back your impressions as you gain experience using it

I love the lakes in your neck of the woods. Thanks for taking us along.

JEBar wrote: I'd never heard of a LEHR brand outboard nor of a propane powered one ....

Me too. It sounds like an interesting engine. How does it compare for running costs against a small petrol outboard?

I'll keep this thread active when I use the Lehr. I have video, I just haven't figured out how video on an iphone gets to the net.
I'll have to purchase some more propane cylinders and get the larger tank filled. I have no idea what propane costs. '

I will say I bought the motor mostly based on the fact the propane won't have issues that ethanol fuel will have, and fuel in general. It always started great.

Pretty cool. Keep us informed. I've heard mixed reviews of these motors. But no personal experience.

Propane is cheap. I was startled a while back when I topped off my 2) 10 lb tanks in my camper and the bill was under $5. They didn't need much but it was still cheap.

I love a canoe. Still have my solo. Sold my Tandem a while back. Kinda looking for a square back Discovery to put my old 4hp Force on.

Awesome. Probably a little more efficient than my dad's 1958 18hp Evinrude....just like this one. Wow, memories. Thanks DD.

Hey well if it breaks down you still have the oars

That's exactly why they are there.

This motor didn't break down though, like the other one.

I follow the rule of the Adirondacks. Two is one and one is none.

The set of oars and the paddles actually have oar locks too.

RanchRoper wrote:Awesome. Probably a little more efficient than my dad's 1958 18hp Evinrude....just like this one. Wow, memories. Thanks DD.

Man RR that brings back memories of my childhood days. Those Evinrude motors back then were solid as a rock. I spent alot of time in front of one on them in middle seat of a 12 ft mirro craft alum boat wide open running up and down Puget Sound . It was only a 10 hp but we though we were so cool.