2 Motors 1 Boat

I am new to the board, but I am trying to do something that may be nonsensical. We are building on a private lake that has a 16 foot and 9.9 hp maximum boat size restriction. We would like a pontoon boat for after dinner cruising, swimming and general goofing off on the lake. We have been looking for this specific boat for some time now without having to put $15,000-$20,000 on a new one.

I found one that is perfect, but it has a 50 HP Mercury 2 stroke. The owner is not interested in selling the boat only, but I am still interested. I then got to thinking about the benefits of using this boat on a bigger lake with the 50, but the primary purpose will be on the restricted lake. Can I have my cake and eat it too?

I believe some motors have the same controls, but I would welcome anyone's insight if they know of a 9.9 with the same controls as a 06 Mercury 50hp 2-Stroke 12 pitch 3 blade alum prop Outboard. Is that even possible on such a large variance in HP? In addition, can I buy an engine hoist and change these motors myself when I need or want to, or will I be utilizing a boat service everytime I change motors? Keep in mind, I am handy but no where near a mechanic.

I appreciate in advance you guys insight. I have read this forum for hours a day the last couple weeks. Amazing the wealth of information on here.

P.S. Due to abuse of the rules, the neighborhood no longer allows you to use a trolling motor and just not use a motor with more HP than allowed. If the motor is larger than 9.9, the boat can not be put in the water. So, that is not an option.

Re: 2 Motors 1 Boat

A 16' pontoon sounds small. But if you go that route, and since you sound willing to experiment, what about twin 9.9's? Is that "legal"? (In the late 50's they used to do small twins--like twin 18's).
A man can't have too many boats. Why not get a large pontoon with the correct motor for the other places, and a couple of jon's with 9's on them for the lake? No matter how you rig it, you aren't taking many people out in a 16' with a 9.9 in the first place. it maybe more fun with a couple of basic boats. You can get a jon with a 9 for under a grand.

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i think a 16' party barge with twin 9's sounds pretty sweet for a small lake.

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A 16 foot is small. The one I am looking at is rated for 7 people at right at 1,000 lbs. The primary use is more as a ferry to and from friends houses on the lake. My beautiful bride and mother of my boys wants a pontoon. We do have a good little aluminum fish boat already on the lake, but they can't get in and out of it for summer swims.

Also, the HP restriction is for levy erosion control. Two 9.9's is effectively an 18 under these restrictions and not allowed.

The dual use and second motor is really a way for me to rationalize spening thousands of dollars on a boat ferry and swim deck. If I can change these motors myself, I can store the trailer (boat will stay on the water at our pier/boat house), bigger motor and engine hoist at my storage unit. If we decide to go with our friends skiing, I would like to grab a buddy or two, take out the boat, go to the storage unit and swap out the engine. We would in this case mostly use it to hold some parents/kids on the water instead of on a public beach. They will primarily ski behind the friends ski boats. I just feel better about the purchase if it has this dual use.

However, it may be impractical. I was just brainstorming with no brain. I thought maybe someone here would have some insight. I appreciate your thoughts much.

Re: 2 Motors 1 Boat

Swapping out an outboard, while not a difficult job, is not something you will want to do routinely. You would have no problems selling the 50HP by itself.

Re: 2 Motors 1 Boat

ezmobee said:

Swapping out an outboard, while not a difficult job, is not something you will want to do routinely. You would have no problems selling the 50HP by itself.

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I wouldnt be so sure... After the first few times, swapping outboards is easy peasy. Due to the... "I will do what i want no matter what you say" nature of my inline 6, i have had it off the boat multiple times. I am very proficient at it now actually, i can remove/install in less than 15 minutes. So in my opinion and my experience, YES, get the correct lifting eye from merc for the 50 and get an engine hoist and i believe it is a very viable option. I have toyed around with getting a pontoon minus motor and using the same motor for 2 boats, depending on my mood for that weekend. Ski boat or pontoon. Heck the little 9.9 you could just unclamp and pull off without the hoist.

Re: 2 Motors 1 Boat

the question I still have is, will the 9.9 push a 16' pontoon with 7 people across the lake, against the wind? Do others on your restricted lake have these? Doesn't sound very fun or safe to me. But I'm not a lake guy.

Re: 2 Motors 1 Boat

Home cookin', I understand where you are coming from. It is not ideal, but it is only a 100 acre lake. There are currently 9 traditional "cruising" pontoons on the lake. All are obviously compliant, but I am not sure if 7 adults are the normal fare or a likely scenario for us either. The max capacity would be mostly tested with the bigger motor. My neighbor has a 15 foot gillgetter with a 6 HP electric motor. He takes his wife and three kids ages 9-16 for cruises often. It isn't fast, but I don't think it is unsafe.

Ezmobee and 1979checkmate, I appreciate your comments. I suspect I will do it less than I currently anticipate, but I am leaning towards giving it a try. As ezmobee says, I can always sell the 50 if I never use it. All I would be out is the cost of the ring and hoist.

Also, homecookin', a third boat would be a straight ski boat or a go daddy powered duck boat, but I agree a man can't have too many boats.

Thanks to all, and I still welcome any others insight.

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Gotta say, I've never seen a pontoon smaller than 20' and the idea of a 16' pontoon with a 50 is a little scary to me. Maybe it's OK. 7 people into 1000 lb means about 142 pounds apiece. I guess if everybody is under 5'8" and fairly trim that would work. The lake closest to me has tons of pontoons and a 10 hp limit. Most of the pontoons I see there are 24' or 26' and the 9.9s hump them along at about 7 mph. They don't seem to be affected all that much by wind.

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Would it be possible to hook the 9.9 up as a kicker and disable the 50 while it is on the lake? You could install a separate set of controls for the 9.9 and link the steering through the 50.

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I would try and hook up the 9.9 as a kicker motor off to the side and leave the 50 on there. Most places I have been allow a larger motor to be on the boat as long as it is disabled. The easiest way I have found that has always satisfied law enforcement is to remove the prop and leave it tilted up.

Re: 2 Motors 1 Boat

Lion hunter said:

I would try and hook up the 9.9 as a kicker motor off to the side and leave the 50 on there. Most places I have been allow a larger motor to be on the boat as long as it is disabled. The easiest way I have found that has always satisfied law enforcement is to remove the prop and leave it tilted up.

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Thanks to everyone for your insight. I got a commitment today from the neighborhood association president to bring up for a vote to allow larger motors trimmed up without the prop in the lake. They originally allowed larger motors in the lake, but you couldn't use them. Unfortunately, the rule was broken a number of times. They immediately banned all motors on the water above 9.9 as a reaction to the complaints. He thinks this may be an acceptable compromise, and it is a hell of a lot easier to remove a prop than switch a motor. My boat guy says he can install an auxillary motor bracket to my toon with ease, so this will be the way I go if the rules allow.

Thanks again. I am sure I will be back for advice on brackets and connector roads.

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is removing the prop a legal move or most law is just o.k. with it?

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In Upstate NY I Know the motor must be off the boat. We fish a restriced lake all the time and the woman who lives next to the public launch loves to monitor the boats and is always quick to call the DEC. Long story short even with the prop off of a 200hp Merc and planning to use the kicker and trolling motor my friend still got a nice warning. The officer said that the motor must be off the boat. Taking the prop off does not make a differnce. These lakes only have limits on the public launch tho. If you own property you can put whatever you want on the water so he said it would be easy to put the prop back on once in the water and it would be hard to tell from a distance if you launched in the public launch or your own.

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i'd check if there's room for a 9.9 kicker motor on your transom if you insist on one boat. all you'd have to do is drop down the motor you want to use for each lake,you'll still have the 50 if you need it.there might be a steering extention to steer the kicker motor from the main motor. i'd look into it.

Re: 2 Motors 1 Boat

04whitetb said:

i'd check if there's room for a 9.9 kicker motor on your transom if you insist on one boat. all you'd have to do is drop down the motor you want to use for each lake,you'll still have the 50 if you need it.there might be a steering extention to steer the kicker motor from the main motor. i'd look into it.

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If you would have read through the thread you would have seen that at this point in time, the OP is not allowed to have a motor over 10hp on the lake, whether it is being used or not.