I have a 14 foot john boat and I have a 9.5 hp motor I was planning on using for fishing creeks and such but I was wondering if the motor is going to be too weak. Any suggestions for a different motor or is this setup fine?
Good things come to those who bait!
quote:
Originally posted by BUFFered17I have a 14 foot john boat and I have a 9.5 hp motor I was planning on using for fishing creeks and such…
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>7HP would be the minimum I would use on that boat in the creeks to meet most conditions so, 9.5 is fine. 15HP will push one guy as fast as you you need to go. 25HP will push two guys and equipment plenty fast. More horsepower than that is just burning more gas.
We rode three people all over our lake with a 9.9 on a jonboat. Fast enough. 25 is much more fun. Not necessary, but fun. Just keep it at or under the rated HP. That should help your insurance!
Tidewater 196DC
Yamaha F115
Pungo 120I have a 5hp
Hunter P. Hames
11’ Tarpon 100
19’ Sea Fox 125 merc
25+ Underpowered boats leave no room for errors. About a month ago I was at kiawah island/stono beach when a surprise t-storm blew in. Lightning coming quick. Because my boat is at max power, I was able to beat everyone else back to the landing. I had my boat loaded before a lot of the others even got to the ramp.
I am not saying you need to fly everywhere, that just wastes gas, but extra power comes in handy more often than you think.
Hydra-Sports 22 Bay Sport
225 Rude
I would want a bigger motor but all I have right now is a 9 1/2 hp to run with so it will have to make it work for now. Great advice though.
Good things come to those who bait!
I have a 1970 Johnson 20hp on a 14’ duracraft and it is plenty fast(27mph gps).
Only thing is if you go new you will have to go with heavier 4 stroke(less hp possibly)
quote:
Originally posted by BUFFered17I would want a bigger motor but all I have right now is a 9 1/2 hp to run with so it will have to make it work for now. Great advice though.
Good things come to those who bait!
Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to that. The 9.5 will be adequate. Up in PA we could only run 9.9’s in most lakes. We would get a 15 and put 9.9 decals on them. My dad has a 16’ fiberglass bass boat with a 9.9 merc and while no rocket, it gets the job done. He can run all day on 5 gallons of gas.
Hydra-Sports 22 Bay Sport
225 Rude
Pretty sure a 9.9 and 15 are the same motor with different jets and tweaks . Check with Chris V here for price and keep the 9.9 decals for restricted lake use, just run at 2/3 throttle.
Back in the mid-late 80’s I had a 12’ jon boat with a 5hp. Evinrude. I used it in the ICW, inlets(every inlet from the St. Lucie in Stuart to Ponce Inlet in Daytona Beach, except Sebastion inlet), rivers, creeks and lakes all over east & central Florida. Pushed me, a freind & gear around fine.
Bob Van Gundy
Marine Designs,Inc.
Custom Aluminum Fabrication
803-727-4069
my friend has a 14’ jon he let me borrow and it has a 15 hp evenrude on it. I didn’t expect much from it but on that little 14 it was scary and dangerous. Don’t overpower a small boat your butt might get wet.
“I fish therefore I lie”
2006 Mckee Craft 185 Bay Classic 150 Yamaha
It depends on what the boat is outfitted with and are you going to have passengers when you go fishing. I have a 14’ crappie jon with a merc 25. My boat is a little heavier because it has carpeted flooring, bow mount trolling motor, 2 batteries, etc. Also I usually have a cooler full of beer and a buddy when I go fishing.
I would not trade my 25 for the world. Reason, it is the correct power for my heavier jon boat. Extremes of most any kind are usually bad and it is no different with boat powering. My boat will run 25-30 loaded or empty and it is great on gas. I have had four adults on board and can still plane off. (Rare, but it can do it in a pinch)
I have not fished much around here, yet, but my trip to Stono went great and I plan on many more.
Yea I know what you mean, the particular 14’ jon I spoke of was narrow and shallow a very small 14 footer
“I fish therefore I lie”
2006 Mckee Craft 185 Bay Classic 150 Yamaha
I’ve always had 25-35s on my 13-15 ft boats.