Is a 60 hp enough motor to plane four adults in an 18' jon boat?

[tmooreZ06]

I finally bought a boat. After endless searchs on craigslist, ebay, boattrader.com looking at bass boats, jon boats, and bay boats, I decided on a 2003 Tracker Grizzly 18' center console welded jon boat with a 2003 60 hp Mercury. It seemed to be the best deal for my criteria utility-wise and budget-wise.

I plan to use it mainly for me and my step-son to fish on the lake and occasional bay fishing as well and some pleasure cruises on the lake with my wife, step-daughter and step-son. The 2003 60hp Merc is very clean and starts right up. I did a compression test and two cylinders were right at 125 and the third cylinder was at 120, so I'm confident the motor is in good shape.

My main concern is about the occasional pleasure cruises with 4 adults on board. My step-son and I are both around 220 - 230, my wife is small at 120 and my step-daughter around 150.

Is 60hp enough to comfortably plane the boat?

 

[JB]

Re: Is a 60 hp enough motor to plane four adults in an 18' jon boat?

For satisfactory performance you need at least 70% of the boats Max HP rating. Tracker is infamous for underpowering rigs to get the price down.

Look at the plate that lists the boat ratings for HP, passenger count and weight load. If the MAX HP rating is over 100HP you don't have enough outboard.

Good luck.

 

[Lyle29464]

Re: Is a 60 hp enough motor to plane four adults in an 18' jon boat?

If the boat does not perform well with the load you carry I would go with a bit less prop on those occasions. Just watch the tach and make sure you don't exceed the correct RPMs

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Is a 60 hp enough motor to plane four adults in an 18' jon boat?

I used to rent boats and once on lake Tawakoni in N. Central Texas I rented such a boat, an 18' wide beam Lowe Lake John.
I had a 9.9 hp McCullough. The John is one of the easiest of all boats to plane as it has a flat bottom and lots of it. I weigh 250 and with all my gear and all, it had no problem pushing that boat at a "fun" speed. Having a rented boat and small engine I obviously had no instrumentation, just experience, and it was a fun ride.

I'd say go for it.

I rented a Caroline Skiff once down in Lafitte, LA. and it was a 17' boat with a 60 Merc 3 cyl, around a 2000 year model. I have no idea as to the prop size, but with my wife (not a small gal) and I with gear and all it would blow out of the hole. It was probably shallow pitched so as to do that. Since it was being operated in coastal marshes where depths are usually measured in inches, you want to get your prop out of the soup as soon as possible so a fast planing rig was the order of the day. Even with that at WOT the engine was screaming but so was the boat.

HTH,
Mark

 

[pootnic]

Re: Is a 60 hp enough motor to plane four adults in an 18' jon boat?

Like mentioned above,sometimes(most times) 2 props are better then 1.
Use 1 prop when going by yourself and the other when loaded down.
That being said a 60hp should do fine.
Do you use a tach?

 

[tmooreZ06]

Re: Is a 60 hp enough motor to plane four adults in an 18' jon boat?

No, unfortunately there's no tach. I wonder how much $$$ it would take to install one.... I might consider doing that.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Is a 60 hp enough motor to plane four adults in an 18' jon boat?

That boat/motor should do great!...like mentioned, jon boats plane easily. Mine is an 18' Express jon with a 90HP Yamaha and I rarely use all the power....you may be pleasantly surprised at how well your boat runs!

 

[tmooreZ06]

Re: Is a 60 hp enough motor to plane four adults in an 18' jon boat?

Thanks everyone... Now I can't wait to get it on water!!!

 

[BonairII]

Re: Is a 60 hp enough motor to plane four adults in an 18' jon boat?

Installing a tach is pretty simple...and should cost $75. A tach is well worth the investment and will help you prop your motor correctly.

Lugging and/or over revving your motor will hurt your motor.

 

[babbot]

Re: Is a 60 hp enough motor to plane four adults in an 18' jon boat?

A tiny tach is like $50 and has an hour meter on it. Very easy to install.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Is a 60 hp enough motor to plane four adults in an 18' jon boat?

your rig should be fine. flat-bottom boats need less motor. A friend has a similar boat with a 50 that does great for duck hunting and I run a 19' carolina skiff work boat with just a 50, and a 17' semi v with a 70.

A tach may be good to have but IMO not needed if you can tune by ear, or just go with recommended prop sizes. The info should be available.

If you are new to that boat, be careful at first; they really slide on turns and some slide then grab and can throw stuff around. Use your trim and keep the bow up to stay dry. Watch your stern wake on a fast stop. Best to go out alone or with a hearty crew to test this out; the ladies often don't like surprises.

If you are heavily loaded and hard to get on a plane, drive over shallow water and the pressure will lift you.

 

[tmooreZ06]

Re: Is a 60 hp enough motor to plane four adults in an 18' jon boat?

Thanks for all your tips, Admiral. I am new to the boat as this is my first boat. I think I'll take it out with my step-son for it's first outing. Once I think I have the hang of it, then take the wife out for some joy riding.

 

[tmooreZ06]

Re: Is a 60 hp enough motor to plane four adults in an 18' jon boat?

Thanks for all your tips, Admiral. I am new to the boat as this is my first boat. I think I'll take it out with my step-son for it's first outing. Once I think I have the hang of it, then take the wife out for some joy riding.

Oops, I meant thanks Home Cookin', for all your tips... and I thank everyone else for your input. This is my new favorite website!