what size boat for 18hp

ward cleaver

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Dec 15, 2007
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I've been buying and selling small boats, trailers and outboards for a couple of years now. Seems like a good way to learn about boating and also provide some financing for the proverbial "bigger boat".

A couple weeks ago I bought a short shaft 1963 18hp Evinrude - not sure why, but I wanted to mess around with it. Are there boats with a beam of no more than 61" (width of the gate to my backyard) that could handle this motor safely? My 12' aluminum is rated for 10hp, so thats out.
 

Drowned Rat

Captain
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Jan 20, 2004
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Re: what size boat for 18hp

Well, a bigger john boat. Although I'm sure there are some 12 footers out there that can handle an 18. inflatables are an option.
 

Silvertip

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

There are some pretty skinny 14 foot fishing boats out there. Just need to look.
 

kmk_7110

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

I have an 84 Evinrude that I love. My boat is a Fiberglass Mirrocraft and the trailer and all is probably over your 61 inch span by a quite a bit considering that I can barely see the side guides on the trailer from the mirrors on my dads '90 F150.
 

ward cleaver

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

I've been watching for 14'ers but even with the extra length I'm afraid the weight of the outboard, tank and me at 200#+s is going to be a problem. I think there are 14' aluminums that are under the 61" but like I said, all that weight in back bothers me.

Never been in a jon boat. They look a little weird with the blunt nose. How do they handle? Also seems like the are pretty shallow. Maybe not all of em.

Inflatables don't interest me at all. Maybe a one man two pontooner for transportablity but not with an outboard on it.

So I'm thinking I probably need a fiberglass boat since it is heavier and would likely balance out better. Problem there is they are alway more than 61" at the beam so hmmm.

So in order to get that bigger boat I need a bigger gate. Guess I'll have to spend $450k on a house with a bigger lot so I can store my bigger boat. Yeah, thats a plan.
 

SpinnerBait_Nut

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

Back years ago, I had a 14' Lowes with a 20 on it.
6 gallon tank.
Battery and trolling motor on the bow.
Worked pretty good and it was fast. :)
 

ztim

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Mar 19, 2004
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Re: what size boat for 18hp

You don't sound very serious about your inquiry but you are a fairly good writer. Now that gets me because all you have to do is widen your gate to suite your new boat. But then again you were just kidding. Right?
 

steelespike

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

If your moving boat and trailer into the back yard I think you should figure to widen the gate. I hade a 2 piece gate that was almost 16ft. If you are only moving the boat flip it up on the side.I think if your going to be playing with boats a wider gate is the ticket.A good "big" 14 footer will feel like a ship compared to little 14.It will also plane easier and carry a load better.
 

wbeaton

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

That motor should perform the same as a modern 15 hp. Pretty well any 14' utility will work. Fiberglass boats don't sell well where I am so I'd stick with aluminium.
 

ward cleaver

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

Problem with gate is three-fold: I could pull up one of the posts (and put it back later cuz I'm renting) but more problematic is the tree and shrubbery that I would have to trim back and, the side yard is barely wide enough to store my current rig and still be able to squeeze by. Believe me, I have looked at the gate in menacing terms but, I don't think so.

On the plus side, the wife and I sold our house about 3 years ago and started renting. Turns out we timed the market pretty good. So the hassle of not having a great place for my toys is turning out to be well worth the wait. But now that the market is souring looks like we'll have to wait another summer for the bottom to completely fall out. In the meantime, I have plenty to learn about smaller/less expense boats.

I see some 12' and 14'ers with remote steering etc. Would solve the balance problem. So would losing about 30#s.

I had a 10' Livingston for a couple of years at a different house -- bet it wouldn't have fit here. Very stable (good first boat) but very heavy and slow...not that slow is much of an issue since I have a 10hp now instead of just a 6hp I had at the time. One problem I had with it is sat so high up on the trailer that it wouldn't launch at even moderately shallow ramps. Thats because the wheel wells were under the boat instead of outside so that the boat could sit down lower between em. I prefer the aluminum boats.

ztim, your comment about my writing made me laugh. I was one of those idiots that wrote computer techno mumbo jumbo for many years. Not serious??!!, are you kidding me? Heck I'm retired. Through being serious. But thanks for the fairly good idea.;)
 

ztim

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

Very good. Knowing you rent makes a whole lot of sense and quite a bit of difference. Hard to put a tree back.
 

River - Runner

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

I've been watching for 14'ers but even with the extra length I'm afraid the weight of the outboard, tank and me at 200#+s is going to be a problem. I think there are 14' aluminums that are under the 61" but like I said, all that weight in back bothers me.

Look at Alumacraft. All older small semi-v Alumacraft's are narrow. Here's a pic of my narrow 14 footer.

FDrightside2PB.jpg


This boat and trailer will go through your gate. Boat beam is 55" and trailer width is 58". The boat only weight is 207 lbs. and rated for 40 hp. max.

Forget about a problem of rear weight and heavy motors on these boats and I'm always switching motors. My pictured 205 lb. tiller steer 40 hp. motor setup runs perfect. But my 25 hp. motor or smaller is more ideal for all around use, because of the power. From your earlier posts and like you, I have a 4 hp. Evinrude and 9 1/2 hp. motors, these also run very well on it.

With small light aluminum's, a narrow boat is better for ride and performance. This was sacrificed with wider boats.
 

ward cleaver

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

Wow River-runner thats fantastic!! Talk about clean and sharp looking. I notice the transom is full height not cut down like on the 12'er I have now. Is that a long shaft on that motor?

You've got me on the lookout for a 14' Alumacraft. I've seen a few advertised by havent gone out to take a close look yet. Interesting that starting on Christmas eve, the ads for boats and motors have really gone way up. Guess people are raising cash to pay bills.
 

bassboy1

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

Actually Ward, River-Runners boat has a short shaft - 15 inches. Also, if you look carefully, you can see that it does have a cut down transom. What I like about those, is that means you have a little more free board. My 12 foot Grumman has a level transom, meaning the free board can't be much more than 15 inches, as it doesn't slope upwards towards the bow much. His, on the other hand, has a good 4 or so more inches of free board, than does the transom. I haven't seen many 14 foot aluminums, with 20 inch transoms either.
Alumacraft has been making a great boat for some time now. I would love to have one of the older ones, to go next to the Alumacraft bass boat we are restoring. But then again, I would also love a Chris Craft commander, an Evinrude Zephyr, and a 115 Evinrude..... All on a 14 year olds budget (I am 14)
Oh man, the invasion of the pipe dreams.:cool:
 

ward cleaver

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

How old is older? I just found a 1997 Alumacraft 14'er about 100 miles away. I expect its too new since it looks a bit wide. No response from seller yet as to the dimensions.

And can you elaborate on the issue of free board?
 

bassboy1

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

1997 is almost brand spankin' new. Older is in the 50s thru 70s. Even so, if it were a good price, I would jump on it. I have yet to find an Alumacraft that wasn't a good boat. You will need to check the beam, as I believe they got wider, as time went on. Great for those of us that need a stable boat to stand up to fish, but not so good for people with skinny gates.

As far as the free board thing, lets see if I can clarify. Most any 14 foot aluminum is going to have a 15 inch transom. That is a short shaft. Therefore, at the stern, the height from the deck, to the top of the transom is going to be 15 inches. Now, Since the gunwale is the full height, it can't be anymore than 15 inches. But, if the transom drops down from the gunwale, it means the gunwale can be taller. Let me see if I can explain better, with some pictures.

transom001.jpg

Lets say that the transom is a short shaft - 15 inches. But, it is completely level at the top, and the same height as the gunwales. Therefore, the gunwales are only 15 inches high too.

But, look at this picture.
transom4.jpg
\
Now, lets just say that it is a 15 inch transom too (its not, but finding adequate pics was a pain). But, you see how it is dropped down for the motor? Where the motor is, it is 15 inches high, but the gunwales could be more than 20 inches, in this case. Therefore, it could take higher waves, and stay dry, than the first boat I pictured.

Does this help?

Now, for your case, it shouldn't really matter. I fish in 2 - 3 foot waves every now and then, in a 12 foot vee, with the straight transom (no extra freeboard) I don't ever take that much water over the bow, with that rig.

PS. Neither of these boats are mine.
 

tashasdaddy

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

this will help. both these boats have a 15 inch transom. but the black one can take a lot rougher water with the high gunnels, and splash well.




both these boats are late 50's early 60's both 14 feet. red one rated for a 18 hp. black one rated for a 50 hp.
 

River - Runner

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

Ward, Thanks for the boat comment. Come June I'll have owned it 40 years. I bought it new in '68, it's a FD model. All what Bassboy said about the boat is correct and the motors are short shaft on a lowered 15" aqueduct transom. Bassboy is an amazing kid, one can learn a lot from him.

If you're going to look for these narrow boats your most likely to find the models F and F7. The F7 is newer but very similar to the original F. These were the most popular and most produced boats ever for Alumacraft. The F and F7 boats are very desirable with rated horse power varying up to 25 hp. through the years. They have the same length and beam as the FD, but aren't as deep, don't have the aqueduct transom and are not as heavy duty built. If you would happen to get any F series boat, I don't think you'll ever sell it.

The 1997 boat is very nice, as are all the newer ones. I've used the new and my brother-in-law has one. It's a much wider boat with a square (hard) chine. I could look up the beam size.

Using them, I prefer the older narrow boats with the round (soft) chine, but that's me. They track more solid, ride is smoother, better cornering and will do very sharp turns. You can't beat the performance and they are stable. The down side is, more horse power is needed for the same speed and there's less room in them compared to the newer wider boats.
 

River - Runner

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Re: what size boat for 18hp

I just found a 1997 Alumacraft 14'er about 100 miles away. I expect its too new since it looks a bit wide. No response from seller yet as to the dimensions.

I could look up the beam size.

For 1997 Alumacraft had two models. Model T14S, 20 hp. max., 55" beam with a round chine and model V14, 25 hp. max., 63" beam with a square chine. (Chine is the intersection of the bottom and the sides.)
Model T14S is the newest version of models F and F7.

Looking at Lund boats for 1997, yet another high quality boat. Model A-14, 15 hp. max., 60" beam with a round chine. Currently this boat is the same and 15 hp. max., but now has a 61" beam.

It may take some time for you to find a rig 61" or less and for your 18 hp. motor.
 
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