Boat Motor

[Crunchy]

I am boat hunting, will be for the next few months.  I am looking for a 17-19 foot boat Alumaweld/North River style boat.  Ive notcied different sized motors.  I want an outboard but confused on what size I should get for this sized of boat.  Thanks for the help.

[huntnphool]

Prop or jet?

[cohoho]

Bigger the better unless restricted HP rivers, but not too big....  17-19, if Jet which is probably what your getting since you stated sled...  I would go with 90 E-Tec for a pump, great low end power or a 90-130 Honda or Yamaha.... All the motors now days are good, but E-Tec will run like a raped ape on a pump, props they'll all be similar in performance....  check the motor manufacture specs and see what they tested the boat on and then compare what Wooldridge does with thier boats tests on same motors.... 

[fishcrazy]

E-Tec!!!! the 90 with a pump is a good motor.

Willie Boats has some barn burner prices right now!!! They got a big pile of metal really cheap from one of the other boat biulders and are passing the saveings on.

Kris

[Crunchy]

It would be a prop, I dont do much river (any) so dont see the need for jet.
Never heard of Willie boats but will take a look.

[PolarBear]

Willy boats are awesome!  The way I go about it is find a boat, figure out what hp motor it is rated for, beef up the transom and slap on a motor with 10-15 hp more than is recommended.  If you don't want to get that involved just remember ALWAYS go with the max that you can get away with.  Go with an E-Tec or Yamaha. 

[Crunchy]

Am I a little crazy for wanting that style of boat and I dont river fish???  Want something for the sound, and lakes, nice option would be bow mounted seat/trolling motor for lakes.  Dont want any carpet crap in the boat which would be ruined on the first salmon fishing trip.  

[fishcrazy]

Sounds like you want a bass boat. it will ride better in chopy water but is going to heavy compared to the metal boats. If you are going to run a prop I would say YAMAHA.

First thing to do is figure out what you want to do with it.  Then the budget. Then start shoping.

Kris

[lokidog]

I've got an Alumaweld Stryker 19' with a Honda 90 Hp.  With a 1200 pound payload, plus myself there is plenty of get up and go.  I wouldn't go any larger as you will be adding more transom weight for unneeded power = poor fuel economy.  I have a 10 hp Mercury kicker and 35 gallon tank.

For Puget Sound, the Alumaweld is great.  If you can afford it, I highly recommend a Hewescraft as they have a higher freeboard and , I think, are built a little tougher and have a better design for the walk-through windshield.  Aluminum is awesome! 

Hope this helps.

[Rick]

Am I a little crazy for wanting that style of boat and I dont river fish??? 

What kind of boat do you want? You've named a couple manufacturers,but didn't specify the style of boat.

If you're not running shallow,theres no reason to get something with less than about 12-14° of deadrise. The more deadrise (vee) the better it'll run in deep water.

As far as power,I'm a firm believer in maxing out the HP. You'll NEVER hear a guy say he wished he had less power. You hear guys all the time wishing they had more. The quickest way to be unhappy with a boat is not to buy enough HP.

There are a lot of marginally powered boats on the market. Most dealers put the smallest engine they can get away with on their boats. A smaller engine means a smaller payment. Smaller payments mean they sell more boats.

[alanger]

On a 19' boat no less than a 125 hp. trust me you wont regret it. got a 135 hp on a 19'. gets up an goes like no other.

[lokidog]

Drag racers get up and go too, but do you really need to burn that extra fuel to drive down a 1/4 mile strip?  Yeah, it's fun to go fast.  But, a cruising speed of 19-24 knots is as fast as conditions allow, most of the time, in our waters (for a 19' boat).  I have a 150 on my 21' trophy walk-around cuddy, which has a cruise speed of 24.  It is a much heavier boat than the aluminum 19' and I pay for it with about 3X as much fuel burned for distance covered.  Also, when I repowered my 21', the engine weighed about 200 pounds more than the old and I had to  change scuppers as the stern was much lower in the water.  More power, generally means more weight as well.

There is such a thing as too much power, unless $3 to $4 a gallon gas doesn't mean a thing to you.  If that is the case, fill my tank and I'll take you fishing anyplace any time....... 

[BLKBEARKLR]

20ft bass boat with a 200HP, great for the lakes!!!!!

[Crunchy]

Well the bow mounted pedistal seat and electric trolling motor is a must.  I have seen some boats that you can move a seat to the bow to fish from.  I enjoy bass/perch/crappy fishing too much to not factor that in for lake fishing.  Salmon fishing on the sound is also a must to consider, so I want a boat that fits both.

[h2ofowlr]

If it is a 18' boat I would throw a 115hp - 150 hp.  Both good motors for that sized boat.  The 115 seems to be the standard model on most of the boats in the 18'-21' size then go up from there.