long shaft vs. short shaft

[akukulya]

I have a 13 ft' dell quay which had a 35hp johnson for power. can I outfit this boat with a 25hp long shaft johnson or will I need to do a build up on the transom? Is it worth it or even possible?<br />thanks!

 

[DJ]

Re: long shaft vs. short shaft

A long shaft engine (20") on a short shaft transom (15") will not do much except dig a big hole in the water.<br /><br />The transom has to be raised or get a short shaft conversion, for the engine.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: long shaft vs. short shaft

Just to be clear, a long shaft is 20", an X-long shaft is 25, and a short is 15".<br />Are you saying your boat has a 15" transom??

 

[walleyehed]

Re: long shaft vs. short shaft

Sorry DJ, we's a typin' at da same time...

 

[akukulya]

Re: long shaft vs. short shaft

my boat has a 16" transom. so a new 20" shaft engine is a no go unless I build an extension plate to hold the extra length/weight or convert to a 15"???????<br />right now my engine is toast and I can get a 20" 2003 johnson for little change. but is it worth it?<br /><br />thanks!

 

[walleyehed]

Re: long shaft vs. short shaft

Put a small jackplate on it and run the engine with the cav plate even with the bottom of boat.

 

[Jdeagro]

Re: long shaft vs. short shaft

Walleyehed has a good suggestion, assuming the long shaft price is low enough to compensate for the cost of the Jack plate.

 

[Solittle]

Re: long shaft vs. short shaft

All I can say is I been running a 1975 9.9 long shaft on a short shaft transom 12' al skiff for years with no problem. It doesn't fit the rules but it works for me.

 

[mallardjusted]

Re: long shaft vs. short shaft

I have been using a 5hp long-shaft and a 8hp long-shaft on a 12' Porta-bote for about 7 years, and they work just great. I would imagine a short shaft might get another 1 mph with slightly less drag .... But since I use one of these motors as my auxiliary on my 17' Lowe Roughneck, long-shaft gives me flexibility.<br /><br />The only thing I keep in mind is running in very shallow water. I just slow down and put the motor to a slightly tilted position.