Are there not any 14 or 16ft aluminum 15" transom boats with floors??

[Philippe12]

I have a 2009 merc 30hp short shaft motor and am starting to relize i have a very limited selection of a new boats to buy.

I was look at princecraft but there only 15" transom boats are utility, the one i wanted is a yukon dlx or springbok dl bt but 20" transom only.

I really like the alumacraft fisherman 145 or 160 but again i think they only come in 20" transoms.

Anyone know of another boat in this range thats 15" transom?

I could always put the longshaft conversion kit on my motor but i think there around 500$.

 

[1979checkmate]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

well.. i suppose you could get a bracket to drop the motor down lower on the transom.

 

[Philippe12]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

such a bracket exists??

Would another reasonable solution be to buy one of the boats i want and take it to a competent aluminum welder to modify the transom for me?

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

I think you haven't done you home work on boats.???

 

[steelespike]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 16ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 16ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

There aren't a lot but I did find some Starcraft models. 14'5" 68"beam,60" transom width
LS or SS 14 SF DLX was 22" deep 1100lb rated.
other was 19" 975 rated.both rated 35 hp your Aluma craft I think was 25hp.

 

[Fisherball]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

What you want is called a jackplate. Check here on iboats, I'm sure they have them. As with anything that has to do with a boat, I'm sure that are not cheap.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

While a jack plate can work a 5" drop may make the motor awkward to use and difficult or impossible to tip up.A transom cut down is possible but I think you should check out the Starcraft.

 

[1979checkmate]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

^^ not necessarily. since the jack plate or setback plate would probably set the motor back 4 or so inches, it would not need to be dropped as far. probably a 3 inch drop, so long as the prop shaft is about an inch below the keel.

 

[Philippe12]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

I had to adjust the transom when it was on my older boat. At exactly 17" it's perfectly trimmed. So really i only need 3" lower.

Will a jack plate not create problems when i want to tilt the motor out of the water? or make the tiller handle angled so steering would be harder?

I'm not sure i like that starcraft and there isn't a dealer close to me.

After looking at the jackplate pictures i could make one out of 4 pieces of angle 1/4" aluminum pretty easily. Set it in postion, drill holes and bolt motor to it.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Been there, done that. Buy a new motor and then decide next year that I need a new boat too. I looked high and low and in 2009 I settled on a Starcraft Seafarer. The FLSS model has it all - see the pic below.

Sadly, they discontinued that model after 2010, but the new Seafarer Deluxe and Pro Troller would fit the bill perfectly. They also upped the HP so your 30 would fit fine.

Legend Boats still builds the FLSS (Starcraft makes the hulls for them) if you can find a dealer. The biggest selling point (for me) was that the hull thickness is 0.100", while most others are 0.065 - 0.800. She rides like a tank for a 14 footer!

Also, I know for a fact that Starcraft will do a custom transom for you. My local dealer had a 20" model on the floor, and a customer wanted a 15', so the factory took it back and modified it for him. I saw the finished boat and it was a 100% factory job.

I can't say enough good about mine.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

It's worth checking the demensions but my little 5 hp hangs at least 4" inside the transom.
Then figure the tiller and swinging the motor left and right.the lowest part of the belly pan is about 2 1/2" from the transom.A 25 must be 6 to 8 " inside the transom and the pan maybe 5" above.I think I would cut the transom down and turn it into a jack plate so you can fine tune the height.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Rather than all the rigamarole with a jackplate or cutting down the transom, just get the leg extension for the motor if you can't find a proper boat that meets your needs.

 

[JB]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

You don't want a floor. Boats don't have floors. You want a sole, and you can make one yourself if it is so important to you.

It would be a lot easier to find the boat you want that has been preloved, or trade your Merc for a 20" shaft outboard.

 

[Philippe12]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

anyone know how much those leg extension kits are? does it affect the performance of the motor at all?

 

[JimS123]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

You don't want a floor. Boats don't have floors. You want a sole

Lots of terms used incorrectly, even by the best of us. E.G., Starcraft uses the term "floor" when describing their upgraded utilities.

Must have been the landlubber they hired for the Marketing Department!

 

[JimS123]

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

Re: Are there not any 14 or 15ft aluminum 15" transom boats out the with floors??

anyone know how much those leg extension kits are? does it affect the performance of the motor at all?

Back in the 1950's and 60's the difference between a short and long was the bolt-on piece between the leg and the lower unit. But now, when you look at Mercurys, the "legs" are different sizes. Is there even such a thing as a leg extention for a 2009 motor?