Evinrude 15hp&Alum. Boat

i bought a 12'Welded Alum. boat w/o a motor. looking at different hp(8-20hp) motors to mount. Boat will be used mostly for fishing, crabbing in saltwater. Boat is homemade and is pretty heavy(250-300lb.) i was wondering if a 15hp Evinrude would be a strong enough motor for this kind of boat?The motor that came with the boat is a older Johnson 20hp that runs but not very well

Re: Evinrude 15hp&Alum. Boat

That will be way more than enough power. Why not repair the older motor? I do believe ever a 15 would be too much power....... what is the 12' boat rated for?

Re: Evinrude 15hp&Alum. Boat

Boat has no hp rating sticker being homemade. Don't want to mess&fix(carb and gear issues) the 20 Johnson so that's why i'm looking at a 15-20hp short-shaft maybe elec. start more modern motor. I'v had my share of older pull-start motors that have given me sore arm, shoulder problems in the past. At my age(53) i just want to push a button and go fishing. I think a 15hp would be fine for this boat. Thanks for the reply

Re: Evinrude 15hp&Alum. Boat

We had a smaller 12ft flat bottom steel boat that with a 180 pounder in the middle seat popped on plane and ran close to its rated 12 mph with an old 5 hp Gale motor.The flat bottom should help get the boat up on the water.
If the 20 has good compression it probably could be made to run strong. Routine parts should be readily available.
If your going to be carrying a couple of big guys, you and gear I would stick with a 15 or 20.
A 9.9's ok with just 2 aboard if not 250 or 300 lbs.
A 10 hp would be able to make 18-20 mph lightly loaded the 20, 25-28 mph.

Re: Evinrude 15hp&Alum. Boat

Spike vg insight on those #'s. i will have a med. to heavy load of gear & myself(150lb.) So if i buy a 15hp 2-stroke evinrude can i expect to plane-out and go around 18-23mph? This is a flat-bottom rounded bow. boat and the po used it for duck-hunting so you know he had alot of gear hence the 20hp motor that was on it. I ck. compression and it read 90psi on both cyn. and after i cleaned the plugs was able to start it after a few pulls, water pumped out fine but when shifting gear into forward it died. I may keep or sell it if and when i buy a 15hp motor.

Re: Evinrude 15hp&Alum. Boat

Clean the carb and do a de-carboniztion on the motor That might raise the compression and clear up the problems. Sounds like it just needs TLC...... I would clean the points too. For a few hours of labor.....you probably have a great motor.

What's up with that transom ??? The wood looks rotted?

Re: Evinrude 15hp&Alum. Boat

Yes I would say easy 18-23.

Re: Evinrude 15hp&Alum. Boat

Bob_VT said:

What's up with that transom ??? The wood looks rotted?

Click to expand...

+1 on the rot. Fix that before you water test your motor.

Re: Evinrude 15hp&Alum. Boat

I remember as a kid a neighbor had a 14' rented alum boat that he put his 7 1/2 Wizard (Merc made) on and took 4 of us kids for a ride one day. Once we got the weight distributed properly he could plane it out and do 12 -15 mph....over planing speed two or three mph.

A 15 is heavy to carry around but if you keep it mounted it should be ok. Just because it is big you don't have to use all the ponies, but we both know that if they are there they will get used. Grin.

I had a 12' Alumacraft alum once with a 7.5 Merc and it would fly.....but deep down I wished I had a 9.8 to hang on it......never enough power. Human instinct or something. When I was a kid we would rent wood skiffs and push them on plane with a 10 hp Scott Atwater.

HTH,
Mark

Re: Evinrude 15hp&Alum. Boat

What part of Puget Sound are you playing in? If you go to Hood Canal, are you aware that Tacoma Power traded the powerhouse launch to the tribe & they are now charging to launch AND more to park. As you are probably aware, either of these waters can get choppy & nasty fro a small boat when the wind picks up.