22" shaft motor instead of 15" good or bad?

[sashko1]

Hello,

I have a 12' DuraNautic (DN-12) aluminum boat with a standard transom. I've been told by the original owner that a 15" long shaft motor is good for this boat. What I have though is a 22" 1980 Johnson 4.5 hp. (J5RLCS)
Can someone advise whether it's still okay to useiton my boat please?

Thank you,
Kuy.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 22" shaft motor instead of 15" good or bad?

No such animal.

Shaft lengths are 15, 20, 25 or 30.

Yes you can use a 20" shaft but it is best to build a riser (jack plate) to run the motor off of.

Look at this post for a home made one

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=321432&highlight=jack+plate

You can run it the way it is and you really will not hurt anything. The performance change will be minimal with a 4.5 motor

 

[Solittle]

Re: 22" shaft motor instead of 15" good or bad?

I run a long shaft 75 9.9 in my 15" transon 12'er. Not ideal but works just fine.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: 22" shaft motor instead of 15" good or bad?

On a 4.5 HP, I wouldn't loose any sleep over it. A moot point. And on actual lengths, Bob my friend, what about the early OMC engines that had to have room for their water pickups or irregular transoms. They were a tad longer than 15"...BTDT.....www.oldomc.de.com. Check out the pictures.

Mark

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 22" shaft motor instead of 15" good or bad?

I've heard that long shaft motors on short shaft transoms are great rock and stump finders.