What is the difference between a sailboat outboard motor and conventional outboard motor?

Answer 1

An outboard motor made specifically for sailing has 3 major differences. First, the lower section is built to a much stronger standard, and typically can be seen because it will be much wider as compared to a powerboat outboard. The reason for this is that a sailboat outboard is built to not "kick up" so it must be able to withstand minor strikes without damage. The second reason, it has no "kick up" - this is because a sailboat motor has to be able to power fully in both forward and reverse, and powering in reverse with a powerboat outboard will result in the motor lifiting the propeller up and out of the water becuase it is allowed to kick-up. Third, the sailboat outboard will allow the motor to go up in speed just as much in reverse as in forward, while in reverse on some powerboat outboards are limited, to prevent kick-up. So, the lack of kick-up is the key difference in features, with the other changes necessary because of that.