What's with all the high HP bass boats?

[gonefishie]

Re: What's with all the high HP bass boats?

Well, those 225's and up are found on bigger boat, at least 19ft or larger. You need them to push those big boats. The advantages of those big boats are too much for me to care to list as compared to a small jon boat. With that said, that's why you see those big gas guzzlers hang on the back of BB. The boat in the pic you attached is not really a jon boat. It look like an aluminum boat but is designed just like a fiberglass and just as stable as fiberglass. The one in the pic is most likely no less then 19-20ft long with a 5-6ft beam. It might be aluminum but when you add all the accessories found on high price, high performance bass rig, you gonna need a 225 hp motor.

 

[Benny1963]

Re: What's with all the high HP bass boats?

yea spinner i like those mercs
i hit scream and fly every once and awhile .
i like to fish out of my little boat ,
but if i had the funds i wouold buy a gambler or allison
with merc and good lower with cone and pickup .
there real comfortable and like you said if ya have run 70 you probaly wont understand ,but of course that has nothing to do with fishing.
nice boat spinner im looking at a merc on scream and fly for my mckee craft
it is the old classic style 1979 , but im dying to put a 2.5 on it .
its set up with a rebuilt crossflow right know,terrible gas milage ,but oh well.

 

[kenji69]

Re: What's with all the high HP bass boats?

I can understand a lot of the opinions about the seemingly overpowered bass boats out there. I own a 16' Lowe aluminum with a 40 horse Johnson. But I also own a 20'6" Ranger with a 225 Mercury. If you are really into bass fishing there is no comparison between the two platforms.
You seriously have to have a motor this size to have it get out of the hole or else you will be looking up into the sky for around 5 minutes before you get on plane. Does the whole macho thing have something to do with buying this boat? Frankly, YES. But it is nice to have.
Most bass fisherman are pretty obsessive, probably owning 40-50 rod and reel set-ups if not more. A grand or two worth of tackle. They take the sport serious. Why be a hater, most of us have something in life that we don't skimp on. Fat people love food, gourmet people love expensive food, most women love expensive clothing. Golfers have golf clubs that cost almost a couple thousand dollars.
I don't know about most people, but when I buy a car or truck I try and get the biggest motor option within reason. If the car or boat is built for it, why not get it. These aren't your typical 12' Valcos. I love walking around my boat un-obstructed, tripping over crap. If I wanted that I would still fish out of my Lowe. I use that for soaking bait or trolling.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: What's with all the high HP bass boats?

As long as post like this continue to pop up. Spinner lives!!

 

[bassboy1]

Re: What's with all the high HP bass boats?

I posted before, and my views are still similar, but I do every now and then have the hankering for a little more speed. Usually that is when I am in my buddies Ranger at blast off, running WOT at 55 mph, and getting passed by the Allisons running in the 80 - 90 range. When you tourney fish big lakes, you need to go long distances in a short amount of time. My home lake isn't that big, but it isn't uncommon to run 30 miles in a day, depending on ramp launched from, and water conditions (they vary greatly here, and the fishing is very dependent). In some of the bigger lakes, especially the chain lakes, some people run 125 miles or so, in a day, and the Bassmaster Classic has been won on a spot an hour from the sponsoring marina. Plus, especially on my lake, run and gun is the best way to produce a bag. You hit points, or just the backs of creeks, etc, and you need to get from one point to another, or the back of one creek to another quickly, in a 6 hour tourney.

That Javelin is a 70 mph boat. Impressive. No way I would have had the cash for it at the time, and I still have another priority that comes before getting a bigger bass rig to replace my jon boat. I have decided that a tinny, something in the Xpress performance family would better suite my sort of fishing, than glass. Too much upkeep, and potential for damage. I would hate to have a boat that I had to be anal about scratches and other cosmetic maintenance. However, those new Bass Cats sure are sweet!

 

[mphy98]

Re: What's with all the high HP bass boats?

being a speed junkie myself, i can't imagine why i never thought of a fast boat. i think i will sell the vette and buy a fast boat. i cannot get a ticket for speed on the water!!!!!

 

[david_r]

Re: What's with all the high HP bass boats?

i will have to go back and read the rest of the posts but for now....


i have an old 16.5 ' -- '79 venture bass boat ,with a '79 115 johnson. i gave $400 for the boat, trailer, and motor.............yeah i had to work on it and it still needs some carpet and upholstery work...........but with all my gear and a buddy ,that weighs 260, i can run between 45-48mph------and thats with a crappy old worn out aluminum prop. when i first got my boat i thought it was a little slow........now that ive read some of the speeds from other posts i think shes pretty quick.......for $400.

i wouldnt mind having more speed nor would i mind having more room----but i dont think i could afford to feed something that burned from 22 to 30 gal per hour.

something else that doesnt make any sense is atking a $40-50,000 dollar boat through a stump field at 5-10 mph.........but ive seen it done.......i need to post the story in stupid human tricks---needless to say it didnt turn out well, and i told my 16 yr old son "thats why we use the trolling motor to navigate the stump fields.

 

[xxturbowesxx]

Re: What's with all the high HP bass boats?

I have a 18' winner fish n ski with a 175hp and it will run around 60. I must have an outboard and i like to wakeboard and ski so the more power the better. I also like to go fast from time to time but my setup is reasonably good on gas.

 

[mike64]

Re: What's with all the high HP bass boats?

Hm, my old posts keep coming back. Must be a lot of bored boaters, waiting for spring, going through the old threads.

That was something, going back through the thread and seeing SpinnerBait's posts again. Not that I knew him all that well, in fact this thread was my main interaction with him--think he pretty well set the record straight on high HP bass boats. I hope somewhere he's getting a refill on his martini and yelling "WOOHOO what a ride that was!"

...Why be a hater...

kenji, maybe you meant that for another poster in this thread, but if you read my original post, I said I'm not trying to put down anyone who has a high HP bass boat, I was just curious why I saw all these bass boats that looked kind of small and not really designed for speed, that had these huge HP motors on them. My thinking at the time was, I own an old Jeep Cherokee. It's been an incredibly useful vehicle. But I wouldn't put a Corvette engine in it to try to go 0-60 in 4 seconds. If I wanted to go fast I'd buy the Corvette (not that I can afford a Corvette, just sayin ). Not trying to restart the argument, just explain why I made the post in the first place.

 

[captharv]

Re: What's with all the high HP bass boats?

I saw recently one of those Yami 350s on a bass boat. He was idling thru a no wake zone (cop present). The bow was about a foot off the water, and the stern freeboard was only inches. I would guess its all about being the top dog ego trip....
I have a 6000# + cruiser with a 250 HP I/O, and I am happy with it.

 

[j_martin]

Re: What's with all the high HP bass boats?

Well, a modern bass boat is a performance hull, designed for speed, then toughened up so it won't break up if the going gets a little tough, and rigged out for efficient and comfortable fishing.

It is first, a performance boat. Most of them are "pad" hulls, which is like a shallow V hull with a relatively narrow pad in the back. They are also built so that the weight balances at that pad, often with the engine a foot or so behind the rear most edge of it, and at speed, the pad and the propeller are about all that is in the water.

The rest of the rear part of the boat is built fairly wide and fairly flat, so that it is stable when at rest. The rear edges of the outside corners are called chines, and just before the boat gets fully up on the pad, the chines tend to alternately kiss the lake, dragging the boat to that side, so chine walk is a side to side motion that can get violent if it's not managed. If you're used to it you can compensate with a slight motion of the steering and others might not even notice that you're flying the thing.

Driving a good bass boat is just like driving any high performance machinery. It's A THRILL.

It used to take me almost 2 hours and 2 gallons of gas to get the old fishin' boat with the ten horse on it to my favorite fishing area in Voyagers National part. Now that 12 mile trip takes 12 minutes and 3 gallons. If needed, I can slow down a bit and haul the whole fam damily and their camping gear in one trip.

just my 02
John