Buying 1st Boat, Need Some Advice On Motor HP

[12eal1ty]

So I'm taking the plunge and am planning on buying my first boat this year. Planning on getting probably a 16' or 17' boat. I don't plan on fishing tournaments but obviously getting from point A to point B faster is always a plus. Is 35hp too low for a boat that size? Also the lakes and rivers I'd be fishing would be pretty small. Any advice would be great! Thanks.

[Javelin200]

Rule of thumb is to power up with the maximum rated HP for any given boat.

[NBR]

Javelin has it right. Go for the rated HP or you won't be happy with it in the long run.

[Goldstar225]

Don't underpower the boat.  I assume that you're looking at a tracker or G3 style with console, live well etc...

If that's the case go at least 80% of the max rated horse power.  With minimum power you'll have to run WOT and work your engine hard.  In the long run the extra expense for the larger motor will be worth it.

Now if you're looking at a basic 16' jon boat design (stripped down) the 35 will move it at a good clip, probably in the 30 MPH range.

[Carrington]

i currently have 115hp on my 17' bass boat, but that is the max that the boat is rated for so i would never add any more then 115.

[done]

put it this way, I have a Tracker PT175txw and I put a 60 hp on it. That will get me about 45 mph by myself. If you are not familiar with that boat, it is an aluminum hull.

I would never go with a smaller motor than that on my boat.

[Nitrofreak]

I agree with all the info these guys put out there for you but there is also one more factor you need to consider.

You said your only going to fish small rivers and lakes, Well this boat is going to open you up to a whole new world of oppertunities and I would be willing to bet that you will want to try newer and larger waters so go with the safest and largest amount of horsepower you can get for the application you are looking at and you wont regret it.

[Tpayneful]

I did a lot of research regarding fuel mileage before I purchased my new boat.  If you go to the the engine manufacturer's website you can see top speed and MPG for the boat you are interested in.

I was concidering a Stratos 285XL (18'6") with a 150 HO Etec.  It gets its best MPG at 2500 RPM, 27.5 MPH, 4.1 MPG.  It gets 3.8 MPG at 56.2 MPH.

The Stratos 294XLE (19' 6") with a 200HO Etec gets 4.5 MPG at 4500 RPM and 55.4 MPH. 

The 2OO HO on the 294XLE gets better gas mileage than the 285XL even at 62MPH.

It seems kind of crazy but the larger boat with the larger engine gets better gas mileage.  If you translate this into the same boat, you will get better gas mileage with the bigger engine most of the time as well.  It will get on plane faster and get better gas mileage at top speed.

[12eal1ty]

Thanks for all the replies... looks like someone will be saving up more money before he picks up his boat.

Oh well it will be worth it in the end

[Goldstar225]

Thanks for all the replies... looks like someone will be saving up more money before he picks up his boat.

Oh well it will be worth it in the end

I believe you've made a wise decision. Wait a little longer and get a boat that you won't regret. It's more expensive to power up later than to get it right from the begining.

[unageo09]

We have a 40 hp on our 16 ft monarch bass boat which is similar to the g3 and basstracker boats and with 2 of us running almost wide open i clocked us at about 25 mph with my gps. I think the boat is rated for a 50 or 60. With it being our first boat and being in our price range we could not turn it down. Now that we feel comfortable with boating, the next boat we will buy will have a bigger motor with a few more bells and whistles. Its also easier on the pocketbook when we go to the pumps. We can get several trips out of one tank.

[kikstand454]

in a related note... save yourself some money and time and dont get an etec. esp not the h.o.

the local mechanics said if it werent for all the etecs coming in last summer.. their business woulda went under.

now the saltwater etecs are ok.......but thats quite a bit of money difference.

yamaha.

[senile1]

You might utilize this formula used to determine the maximum horsepower for a boat. Keep in mind that some hulls may not be able to support the horsepower calculated by the formula and the manufacturer may indicate a lower rating on the boat.

(2 x Length x Width) - 90 = Max HP

Example: My bassboat is 19' 6" long and the beam is 93." (2 x 19.5 x 7.75) - 90 = 212.25. I'm running a 200 HP motor on this boat.

[basspro215]

mine came up to be max hp of 65 and im running a 60hp it gets me up to 27mph on a 15.5 ft strat does that sound about right

[senile1]

mine came up to be max hp of 65 and im running a 60hp it gets me up to 27mph on a 15.5 ft strat does that sound about right

That is difficult to answer without knowing the weight of your boat, the pitch of your prop, and the RPMs your engine is turning. The easiest way to determine if your prop is operating at optimum efficiency is to check the RPMs you are running at full throttle. Your operator's manual should tell you the optimum range of RPMs for your motor. If you are within that range at wide open throttle and you are running 27 mph then you are where you need to be. However, 27 mph sounds a bit slow to me with a 60 horse motor, though again, I know very little about your boat and motor. Below are the rules of thumb for testing your prop.

RPM is below optimum range at W.O.T. - Reduce pitch.

RPM is above optimum range at W.O.T. - Increase pitch.

RPM is within recommended range - No change.

The diameter x pitch should be notated on your prop. Pitch is the number of inches the prop travels through the water with one revolution, so the steeper the angle of your blades, the lower the pitch and the higher the RPMs you will run at a given speed.