What to do, what to do...OB size

Mark J.

Cadet
Joined
Jan 15, 2012
Messages
19
Hello to all, and a belated Happy New Year from a new guy!
My question may be kinda broad, but I do have some specifics. I recently acquired a Feathercraft 12', I believe it is a Skippy. From what I can make of the tag it has a capacity of 690#, max 20 HP rating. empty weight is about 130#. It has no motor currently.

My intention is to use this as a car-top, because I camp with a hard-side trailer and wanted a boat that could do some serious fishing and still be manageable. I had been using a canoe. I am now looking for a small OB. I have another Feathercraft (Ski-Bo) with an Evinrude Lark III, but I have NO experience in the smaller OB's. I am looking for suggestions as to HP, trying to balance weight (constant mounting/dismounting and loading motor into back of truck) with having enough oomph. I was kinda surprised at the width of this thing at the rear (58 inches) and have no idea how it would do with a smaller 10-ish HP motor.

Your experiences???

Primary use would be inland lakes (Finger Lakes and Adirondacks in NY) 4 or 5 times a year, and I must admit that I am biased towards OMC. And age doesn't scare me.

I am also looking at car-top loaders, as the only way I could get my "First Mate" to go along with this was to promise loading it wouldn't be much more work than the canoe. :rolleyes:

I appreciate any advice I may get here.
 

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,771
Re: What to do, what to do...OB size

On that size boat a 9.9 or 15 would be very adequate and safe. 20 HP would seem to be a bit on the high side but I'm not familiar with that boat. You probably want a two-stroke just for the weight savings and performance. All of the manufacturers have engines in that range and all are very reliable.
 

Texasmark

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 20, 2005
Messages
14,899
Re: What to do, what to do...OB size

I had a 12' Lowe Line Lake John (not you regular john...wider and deeper) and ran a 7 1/2 Merc on it back when they power head rated engines...probably equiv to a 6 hp today. It ran out really well and the 7 1/2 2 cycle was light....a requirement bein I had to manually haul it from the truck to the boat and mount it. The boat could have stood a 9 then easily, but again hauling weight was the consideration. Suit yourself on the brand. I had likes and dislikes on 3 of them....OMC, Merc, and Chrysler.

A 12' boat is not an open water boat!!!!!!! Period!
 

Mark J.

Cadet
Joined
Jan 15, 2012
Messages
19
Re: What to do, what to do...OB size

Silvertip, thanks!

2 stroke was kinda a foregone conclusion. Here's a link to the Feathercraft.net website with some literature. Mine was even painted that same funky light green. The Skippy is listed as a 12 1/2, but I don't know where the 1/2 went...shrinkage???? Doesnt really list a year, but judging from the auto shown in the ad I'm guessing 1966-1967.

I would guess it would be pretty stable with such a wide tail. Can't wait to try it out!

http://www.feathercraft.net/image-viewer.htm?catalogs/196-/196skippy.jpg
 
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