Right you are. The estarter was very slugish with the 9.6 and the 400 But that was with the prop that came with it (10/6) ... we put a 10/8 on and the performance is much better. I agree the 3 lipoly are the way to go but the 9.6 works with the right prop, if you can't afford the lipolys, quite well...especially for the beginner.