Hejp in choosing right fishing boat/motor

Hope to get some help from you all. I am a beginner so bear with me. I would like to buy a used, or maybe new fishing boat 16-17' deep v for use in California lakes and reservoirs, maybe even in some bays in Ca on good days. I am trying to determine the proper motor HP for the boat I should get. I have seen a Tracker Pro Guide V16 (beam 88", max wt 1150#, transom 20") but it has a 40HP Merc 4 stroke. Boat max rating is 75HP. I have heard conflicting info about whether one should opt for the max engine size and avoid underpowering the boat. I am told the 40HP should push the boat 20-24 mph max on flat water. I don't really know if this is good enough for my applications. Any thoughs? I plan to troll medium size lakes in CA but occasionally go to San Luis or other larger reservoirs, Lake Tahoe maybe?

Re: Hejp in choosing right fishing boat/motor

Welcome to iboats

The advantage of underpowering a boat like that would be the ability to troll using the main motor.

Otherwise I agree, you will want more power to get in out of lightning storms, etc.

That 40hp would probably barely plane the boat out with 4 people aboard. Tracker is notorious for underpowering boats to keep the entry price as low as possible.

I'd recommend getting a used aluminum boat cheap, and fix it up exactly how you would like it to be. Then you can save the cash for a bigger motor too. I'm partial to older Starcraft aluminum boats myself.

Re: Hejp in choosing right fishing boat/motor

Thats kinda what I'm hearing and you're right cost is a factor for me - so I cant just run down and buy a new Lund for $25,000. The price is what is attractive about Tracker but I've heard some some problems with quality. I do see a lot of Tracker boats for sale too which tells you something right there. Most of the fishing I do wont require a perfectly matched boat to motor. But I kinda feel I will be limiting where I can go if I opt for the cheaper route and get a underpowered boat. Thanks for the feedback.

Re: Hejp in choosing right fishing boat/motor

I did a gps test with my starcraft supersport16 w/84 johnson 50 yesterday top speed 30.2 trimmed up trim down 28.2 slowest I could get to troll was 1.9 that was straight in wind I have 4.5 horse kicker but didn't test that, That was with just me in boat 3 batteries 4 gal gas. boat is rated for 85 hp just giving you the info so you have idea not sure of pitch on prop as i just thought of that most of my fishing will be done on inland lakes and detroit and st clair river not realy planning on making to many 20 mile runs on it

Re: Hejp in choosing right fishing boat/motor

Welcome to iboats.

Keep your ear to the ground and see if CA is determined to outlaw 2 strokes on many lakes. You would probably be best served getting a 4 stroke