Attn: 14' skiff owners

[UndertheRadar]

I am thinking about switching my 15 Johnson 4 stroke from a 1442 flat bottom jon boat to a 14' or 15' Carolina Skiff or something similar. I like the open floor plan of the skiff and the stability, however I dont want to lose a lot of speed in the process. Right now I can hit 24-25 mph all day long. I know I'd lose some speed but dont know how much. Anyone on here have a 15 hp on a 14' or 15' fiberglass skiff? If so, what is your top speed?

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Attn: 14' skiff owners

The easiest way to tell what your motor will feel like on a glass skiff would be to find out the weight difference and see if you can add that much weight safely to your aluminum boat and try it? It won't be exact if the hull size is different but it'll give you a pretty good idea.
Any time you ad weight you lose speed and acceleration . Just keep in mind that you want to be within 10% of the rated HP for any hull.
If your current boat is rated at say 20hp, and your running a 15 hp, and going maybe 23 mph?, and your new hull is rated at say 50hp and weighs twice as much and is a foot larger in all directions, I'd expect a pretty big loss of speed.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Attn: 14' skiff owners

not necessarily. The Carolina skiff j series is perfectly flat and light and floats so high it's practically on a plane sitting still. You can get away with a lot less motor on one.
Ask around the mid atlantic region--you don't say where you are--and you should find your set up.

 

[UndertheRadar]

Re: Attn: 14' skiff owners

Im in Suffolk, 25 min from you.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Attn: 14' skiff owners

ask around on tidalfish.com
Of course, what difference does a couple of MPH, one way or the other, matter? and anyone else's performance figures will have so many variables, you won't know. So I'd just ask around generally about a 15hp on a J-14--and see what other sizes they make or made in 13 or 15.

 

[cwhite6]

Re: Attn: 14' skiff owners

I have a Carolina Skiff J16 with a 25hp on it. Not the boat you are looking at, but it hits right at 28mph GPS with me in it and 25mph GPS with me and a fishing buddy. To me, the stability and solid feel of my Skiff is way better than the aluminum jon I had. I have run it into some pretty big underwater logs that you could not see at a decent speed and the boat handles it extremely well. No marks or skuffs on the boat. Look at all of the accessories and decks you can get for the boat and it is a no brainer.

 

[UndertheRadar]

Re: Attn: 14' skiff owners

Btt

 

[Capt'n Chris]

Re: Attn: 14' skiff owners

I am thinking about switching my 15 Johnson 4 stroke from a 1442 flat bottom jon boat to a 14' or 15' Carolina Skiff or something similar. I like the open floor plan of the skiff and the stability, however I dont want to lose a lot of speed in the process. Right now I can hit 24-25 mph all day long. I know I'd lose some speed but dont know how much. Anyone on here have a 15 hp on a 14' or 15' fiberglass skiff? If so, what is your top speed?

You're going to find that bringing a flat-bottomed boat, particularly a heavier CS to plane, takes more initial power than you realize. Flat skiffs like those, run at speed with less power than a comparably sized V-hull, but getting it from rest to plane is more of a task. Without knowing the condition of your motor or the weight you carry, I would say that performance would be disappointing at best with a 14 CS J or DLX.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Attn: 14' skiff owners

True dat. I have a 19' with a 50HP and often run it loaded with gear. It can take have the trip to get up, with lots of trimming and moving folks around. I run over shallow water to brnig it up.
But I think a 14' would do fine if not too loaded.

 

[UndertheRadar]

Re: Attn: 14' skiff owners

I think I'm leaning more towards this http://alumacraft.com/jon-boats/mv-1648-ncs-2.php

At 310 lbs which is still 200+lbs difference on a fiberglass boat, I should still be able to maintain most of my top end speed, get the enjoyment of the modified-v, and I'll get 2 more feet of boat and 6" wider with 3" taller sides. Keeping in mind I mainly fish small lakes, and occasionally venture out to tidal creeks and rivers.