Which Motor

M

MikeeH

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6342
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I have a 16' Aluminum jon boat that another RO graciously gave me. The boat is heavy (more than 150 lbs I figure) with a narrow beam. It has no capacity plate, no HIN. I plan on using it to run a trot line for crabs in out creek. I have no idea what size motor I should hang on this thing. It would be nice to be able to get a little speed out of it but I won't be pulling any tubes or skiers with this thing. What say you guys and gals?
 
Sounds about right....probably can get away with less if its just crabbing in slow water.
 
I'd guess max of around 35hp for a 16'er "v" hull in very good condition, and considerably less should be plenty and much safer. The older it is and weaker the rivets the less HP that would be wise. How are you going to get it registered without the HIN?
 
Personally, on a 16' aluminum jon boat I wouldn't go any bigger than a 10 hp motor.

Bob
 
Mike, I had a 1994 Alumicraft Jon Boat with a 30 Evinrude. I think that was the max hp on the certificate plate. Had another 14 footer with a 15hp, no issues either.
 
"wouldn't go any bigger than a 10 hp motor." -- rnbenton

Hmm. Y'all ain't from 'roun hea. Personally, I would choose 15 to 20hp. 10hp will "make it go" if you are patient. I see 16ft'ers all the time w/ 25s.

Best to try to calc the max using the posted formula. Then use common sense. If the transom looks weak, then go down to a 3.5 hp.
 
Mike ... 20 -25 HP ... remember, just 'cause you have it .. 'ya don't have to use it all. A few extra HP never hurts when ther are 2 people in the boat!!
 
Usually a little more HP is better than less. I agree with the 35hp suggestion, especially when you see that thunder and lightning storm coming and you want to be someplace else, fast!

Peter

How's that "Mission Accomplished" working out for you????
 
Using the formula and adjusted per the notes for a flat bottom boat it looks like 10 HP.
 
I have a 14` Starcraft aluminum, 1969 vintage, (heavy). I use a 15 h.p. Merc on it and it moves along nicely. It has no problem planing off with three adults, lots of boat "stuff" and one slightly overweight yellow lab....don`t tell him I said that.
 
That is what I love about this forum: a prompt response to a challenging question!

And the answer: somewhere between 3.5 hp and 35 hp. [:-bonc01]
 
I totally with RnBenton and RbMitchell on this one. The 14' wide body Lowes I had and the 16' Lone Star aluminum boats handled very well with 9.9 to 15 hp motors. Tried a 25 on the Lowes and it got a little squirrely. Just MHO.

As an aside, there a few lakes around here that only allow 9.9 or smaller motors,,,

Fred
.
 
My 15' Jon is wide and heavy and has a 25 Mariner. My 12' narrow, light weight, Jon had a 9.5 Johnson. Both would fly and neither gave me any un-safe feelings over the engine.

Mike I feel sorry for you or me. I cant tell which. You don't fix things with your hands, So you can never take advantage of some old relic and make good use of it. You should buy new! No worries that way.
But me, cursed with no money and some pretty fair mechanical talents, can pick up hulks just about anywhere and have them working well.
Jeez which one of us is better off?

Get a 20 to 25 for your boat and fly!
The 20-25 and tank will be about 140Lbs. About the same as your wife, only the Engine can paddle faster longer.

and some options....how far you gonna go? Do you need a motor?
I rowed my boat. Lake is two miles long and plenty of shore line. Never used a motor. With a boat that small you don't need a motor of any kind.
Without a motor, you don't have to license it.

With an electric trolling motor you can be out for 7-10 hours.
 
Around the lake this is what I see: 12ft=10hp, 14ft=15hp, 16=25hp roughly. We used to have a 12ft fiberglass boat with a Merc 9.8, it would run about 20mph - porposed with one person in it. I think anything less than 15hp would not be enough.
 
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