Re: a newbie that needs guidance on motor size.
A 14' tinny with a 9.9-15 would be ideal. 15s usually weight the same as a 9.9.
thanks for the info!
My boat is a 14' aluminum V bottom (lake boat). I use a 9.6 hp outboard. It will put me ( 325 lbs) and my son (165 lbs) and all our fishing gear up on plane with ease. With a third person it does slow down quite a bit but still gets where I'm headed in good fashion. If we were confronted with river currant that would also be a factor. I'm sure my boat would push against a pretty strong currant but it may not do so very fast. If my boat was a jon boat or flat bottom boat it would be harder to push through the water because of the surface area and resistance. That is the main reason I like V bottoms. But there is most always a trade off. V bottoms usually aren't as stable as jons or flat bottoms. But at 325 lbs. I don't do a lot of standing up in the boat (there are enough whales in the sea already ). Another thing to think about is the waters you will fish mostly. Although I do fish the larger lakes in my area, a large portion of my fishing is done on smaller conservation area lakes. Most CA lakes have 10 hp. limits for you to run you motor wide open. Anything over that you must stay at idle or no wake speed. So for me anymore than 10 hp would just be overkill plus it's good for the motor to be able to "blow the cobwebs" out of it every once in a while. Hope some of this helps and am looking forward to reading some good fishing posts from you. God Bless. Dave
wow thanks for the great information! yeah ill be fishing either large lakes (guntesville lake) or rivers. and the only this im worried about is if the motor is powerful enough to push the boat up the river. and once i finalize on a boat ill be back here with all my pictures and fishing stories
as a matter of fact here's some pictures while I'm at it.
first and second fish are the same but it was a 2-4-1 deal
a little guy but i still had to take a picture
largest catch of the day, didn't know how big he was but he was a fun little fighter
also to note, this was in about 25-29 degree weather so it was pretty cold and i was just fishing off the bank if you cant tell
oh and these were all taken by my phone. lol pretty dang good quality if you ask me.
there's a safety factor for having a larger motor that is driven by where and when you use the boat. Our john boats are used duck hunting in the salt marsh, where you have strong currents heading out the ocean inlets, sudden storms, cold weather and guys in heavy clothing with gear. Sometimes you haev to cross open, choppy bays against the wind and/or current. A small motor working against those conditions could be fatal, as could be a slow boat ride with a wet hunter back to the house.
If it were just summer time use, or small confined waters such as a municipal lake, it wouldn't be a factor.
yeah, thats why i would want a larger hp motor, however i cant seem to find one that is in my budget. i dont live on the ocean so like i said above i would only be taking it to lakes and rivers. but i sure do appreciate your input and it gives me something to think about.
