Boat/motor question

[tomfromblaine]

I'm considering buying a starcraft 16ft with a livewell and putting 30H.P. four stroke on it, my question is what kind of top speed can I expect and will it be able to troll down nicely. most of the time it'll just be myself at 220lbs and my 12Y.O. son. thanks in advance.

[Surface Tension]

tom, a bare bones 16' with just a livewell and bench seats pushed by a 30 hp would get you to around 25-30 mph.
If you have a a floor, livewell, storage, rod lockers and casting deck you could still hit 25 mph or better depending on the weight and width of the boat.

[cheesehead]

I have a 16' Smokercraft Stinger with a 50 hp merc, full floor 23 gallon livewell 16 gallon fuel cell. With 2 people on board and a full tank I get 34 mph.

[tomfromblaine]

Thanks S.T. it won't floorboards or casting deck. do you think it'll troll down slow enough for walleye fishin'?

[Surface Tension]

It won't slow down enough to cover all your fishing situations. Add a trolling plate and that will slow you down plenty.

[cheesehead]

instead of adding a trolling plate you can drag one or two 5 galon buckets or drift socks from the bow. you might need to drill a 1 1/2" or 2" hole in the bucket to get it to tow properly.

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Say cheese

[tomfromblaine]

thanks for the input guys, at least I now know I'm on the right track for putting together a fishin' rig for my current needs. The info on this site is invalueable thanks again.