What do you think about HP?

[gregg52]

JEFFB

just curious what kind of motor do you have on that boat

is it 2 or 4 stoke

[Raider4ever]

A lot of package deals are lower HP because they want to get your attention with a low, low price. Once they get you in, you will see the yellow plate and ask what the max motor would do to the price, then they have you.

[17FishMan]

Is it just me or does it seem like the pre-packaged boat deals are a little underpowered? I know mine has a 75 max and came with only a 50. I am fine with the 50 and have always felt like I have had enough power, even in some pretty high winds and waves. I now wish I had more power, but only because it would be more fun.

Yes, I think retailers/dealers do that to price point boats low, and make them easier to sell. Don't think it does them much good, as consumers eventually figure out that they shuld have gotten the bigger motor.

But check this out, got the "New" 1750 Lund Fisherman last fall. Rated for 135hp, equiped with a 115 Merc/4. Hull on this boat is exactly the same hull under the 1750 TYEE and it's rated for a 150. I've been told Lund did this for marketing reasons. confussing to me...

[jigginjim]

I like the comment above about the 14' boat with the 35 HP motor doing 25 to 30 MPH. Gotta respect that effort! I once had a 14' Alumacaft F7 with an 18 HP Evinrude up to 29 MPH with a 14" two blade prop. Pretty much maxed out for top end. That motor met it's untimely end on a submerged stump. Too bad.

I have a 14ft cresliner w/ 35 johnson maxed out HP. It would do 28mph according to wifes, uncles boat.@yrs before GPS) Motor was junk after 6 yrs of hard running(Only time idled was to shift forward or back). I hung newer 30hp Yamaha, different hp rating to johnson(hub vs Motor), Raised motor to jack plate height bolt it to boat.(per former Factor mercury racing driver) It would do 32 according to my gps.

Ran it for 5yrs, sold rig for my 680t Ranger, I only gained 3mph. Ranger has a 60 suzuki, tiller run it at 6000+rpm. If only I could put the 115hp that the wheel boat have. WEEEEE! My best ride was in a tunnel hull Formula 1, 3.6ltr. V-8 on the river. 136 Mph talk about speed trolling.

[hydro]

Jim,

Now I'm jealous. Those F1 OMC boats were awesome.

[TUMBLEWEED]

I am with the majority.. MORE HP is always better

if one has a choice. It's not so important when

the boat is lightly loaded, (most mid powered set-ups

will perform just fine in most situations). Now load

up your rig with more folks, and cargo then see what

an under powered rig delivers for overall performance.

Dissapointing for sure. It depends on what you want to use

you rig for in most situations. Give me the horses!!

[fasternu]

I'll be in the minority here. 65 is fine for the highway, I have no reason to go that fast in a boat. I'll save the speed and hp for the track. Just my personal preference.

[Bandit]

Huh...Go figure I guess the name doesn't always say it all, not what I expected to read in your post fasturnu. LOL Sounds like I am on the same page as most of you. There is no way I would go smaller than my 175, when you get 4 guys and a boat load of gear in it, it has too work plenty hard.

[opsirc]

I got my folks boat several years back. they bought it with a 55hp motor, after that one blew up they put a 40 of it. it is way under powered, do not recall what it is rated for but more would be better.

[jigginjim]

I had fished some smaller tournies out of a 14ft. boat we didn't go as fast as the other with 150hp and up but still finished many in the top 5. It's all about what you need.

[TMF89]

I also have a Lund Fisherman 1700 with a Yamaha on the back. It's a 115 4-stroke. Now because of a series of bad/wrong propellers, we haven't been able to get the max RPMs out of her yet, but we're topping out now around 35-38 mph. When we first got her, she did a little over 40, I believe.

She's rated for a 150, and I do wish I had that. We've never had any problems with the boat, I just like to go fast! =P

[cold one sd]

I have an 1800 Fisherman with a 150 4 stroke on it and don't see a need for more hp.

[steffanf]

I think even smaller boats can benefit from having max HP. I have a 14' Lund with a 40 HP and it runs great. I also believe manufacturers try to sell their rigs with small motors as standard packages... likely for price considerations. When I first got my boat, it was equipped with a 30 HP (standard was actually a 25 HP). The dealer told me it would "scoot along just fine". I found the rig to be underpowered with the 30, which was actually 75% of the max HP, and made the dealer upgrade it to the 40. Personally it was well worth the extra $1250 or so.

[JeffB]

JEFFB

just curious what kind of motor do you have on that boat

is it 2 or 4 stoke

Its a Johnson 140 4 stroke made by suzuki. Johnson no longer sells them but suziki does. So far it has been a great motor.

[Blaze]

When I purchased my Lund Rebel 16 it was rated at 45hp. I didn't think there was a good reason to go that high so I purchased a used 25hp. I quickly learned that I would never buy a boat without maxing out the horsepower or coming close to it.

Words of wisdom right there.

I bought a 19' Crestliner back in 2000 with a 2 strk Merc 125. The boat was a nice boat, but that Merc was a gutless POS. They had a 150 or 175 on the showroom model, but we didn't have $$ for the extra ponies at the time. Major regrets on that one. As long as the boat was empty, all was fine. Load it with 3 or more guys, and she plowed pretty hard to get on plane. Same thing with water skiing. Kids were light enough to pop up early, but I would have to drag adults a long way before getting on top of the water. Lesson learned.

Now I have the exact same setup as JeffB - 1700 Fisherman w/140hp Johnson 4 stroke. Perfect compromise of size, power, fishability and fun for our family. Did I mention that I LOVE my 4strk? No more smoke, noise, and she starts beautifully every time.

[metro fisherman]

My dad is like the 90 hp guy. He says he will catch as many fish in our 12 ft ducker with my grandpas 4 hp evinrude as i would in a 620 with a 250 e-tec. But i always tell him that on Mille Lacs or URL (except in the tamarac) i can go out catch my limit come back and fry em before hes halfway out. For me power depends on where you fish, what you fish for and how you want to fish.

A 90 hp would be fine for a casual day out a little trolling and a slower cruise with the family. But a 175 would be for more serious get there fishing, skiing and intense tubing. But for me at least a 175+ hp motor constitutes getting a kicker. Because everyone knows more stuff=more fun.

[vikingmeatwad]

I lean towards good value and efficiency without being underpowered.

45 mph is plenty for me on ML, Lac Seul or the smaller lakes

[hanson]

After getting the chance to ride around in a bunch of tournament walleye boats lately, I'm all for more HP!!

I got the chance to fish for a day in a brand new Warrior V2090 w/ 225 Opti Tiller! Yes I said Tiller! I'm not much of a tiller guy but this boat darn near had a dancefloor in it and was told he's topped it out at 57mph with empty livewells and no passengers. Seriously... 57mph with a Tiller! Boat rode, handled, and ran like a dream.

[BobT]

I don't think it is necessary to get the horsepower for the sake of speed. To me, having the horsepower is a matter of safety and comfort. In my experience I wouldn't own a boat anymore unless I had the engine indicated for the boat's maximum rating. Any time I have gone with less I find that there are too many reasons to upgrade to full power. Rough water being probably the most significant reason but also for those times when I've had a full load in the boat.

My previous boat was a Lund Rebel 16 and I started with 25hp. Worked fine so long as I was alone or with maybe one other person. Get a day with some wind and rough water and it was less than adequate. Add more than one extra person and it struggled, especially on rough water. Once I upgraded to 40hp (45 rated) I learned very quickly how much nicer it was to know that I had the power when needed.

I now own a Sylvan Adventurer 1600 rated for 90hp and that's what it is powered with. I rarely use all the power but it's nice to know I have it when I need it and there have been times when it came in handy.

[solbes]

When you buy a new boat, you're paying good money for the hull design and manufacturing. If you aren't at least 80%, you're not using that to your advantage. I would never want a boat that has a tough time planing out with a full load onboard. I'd rather drop down a model or possibly lose a foot of length and max out.

I've owned two 16 footers and both were maxed out at 90 and 75. Both plane very nicely and both top out at ~ 40, which is plenty fast for your average fisherman. If you fish Mille Lacs, main water Leech, LOTW, etc then I could really see the benefit of being able to clip along at 50+ mph.

[ricqik]

i can't complain, i have a 300vmax on mine

[Muddog]

Quote:

I think more is better, being under powered sucks. I have a friend who thinks guys with lots of HP are just showing off. I have a 175 on a 1900 pro v , he thinks I should have a 90. I tell him he is nuts and that I will put a 200 on it when the time comes. What do you think, am I the one that is nuts??

Yea and I'm getting a Suburban. No, a Super Duty. No, a Peter Built. Yea, a Peter Built to haul it around with. As I say; there is no such thing as to much horse power. When that 200HP is on back you can pull 3 skiers or 2 spoonplugs.

I put 5gals of fuel in my boat 3 fishing trips ago. I'm now down to a 1/2 tank!!!

[riverrat56]

I put 5gals of fuel in my boat 3 fishing trips ago. I'm now down to a 1/2 tank!!!

And he pulled it there with an Impala!

I run the same set up that BobT talked about, 16' Rebel with a 40hp (max rated at 45) When I'm by myself a 25hp would be fine, fully loaded out catfishing with 4 guys and a cooler full of bait, the 40hp doesn't get us on plane.

Whenever I can afford a newer boat it will be maxed out, there are plenty of times you don't need full throttle, but when you do it's nice to have it there.

Hanson-That Warrior 2090 would fall into the dream boat category......Big Tillers are the only way to go IMO!

[hanronson]

I heard long ago and I think it is still applicable,10hp per 100lbs. So you need around a 75hp motor for a 750 lb boat and so forth. If you have less, you can still get by going with a less pitched prop. If your motor calls for a 13 pitch prop, try a 11 or a 12 and so forth. Just make sure your RPM's don't exceed max for the motor. Also, a hydrofoil on the lower unit will also help alot.

[wayne123]

I think if you fish big water and are really concerned about safety you should have two motors on your boat. Maybe two 50 HP instead of the 100 horse. That way when one fails you can the other one is still available.