I cruised with roll-up dinghies and 3-1/2 hp outboards for almost 20 years. The dinghy sat nicely on the cabin top under the boom. For ocean passages it was rolled up in a cockpit locker.

The Tohatsu, Mercury, Evenrude, Nissan (all made by Tohatsu) little engines weigh 30 pounds and are easily carried in one hand. They are simple engines, easy to fix - the only problems I've ever had were their cheap fuel valves and carburetor dirt. Simple to take apart, blow out and put back together. The built in gravity feed tank is good for 45 minutes at full throttle. Gravity feed means no fuel pump to repair. A two gallon gas jug is enough to go for many, many hours.

The dinghy is easily lifted on the main halyard by one person. With a flat bottom they do not plane and motor a little sideways when only one person aboard. It may take a few more minutes to get ashore but I had a lot fewer problems than others with bigger engines.

I never had a desire to go bigger.