what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

king salami

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hi im new to iboats so if this is in the wrong thread help me out to where i should post this but, i just bought an old 15ft fiberglass starcraft boat. not sure of the model or the year the reg says 0000. i have the vin from the reg but there is no plate on the boat indicating the capacities it has been removed or painted by the previous owner. so my question is " what size out board can i put on this boat?" if there is anyone with a similar boat or if you used to have one of these please help me out.
 

gm280

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Jun 26, 2011
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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

hi im new to iboats so if this is in the wrong thread help me out to where i should post this but, i just bought an old 15ft fiberglass starcraft boat. not sure of the model or the year the reg says 0000. i have the vin from the reg but there is no plate on the boat indicating the capacities it has been removed or painted by the previous owner. so my question is " what size out board can i put on this boat?" if there is anyone with a similar boat or if you used to have one of these please help me out.

First of all welcome to iboats :welcome: Great to have you aboard...

It is pretty hard to say for certain being how there are so many 15' boats out there. Could you take a few pictures from different angles and repost? That way everybody can size up your boat and give a more definitive answer... Also measure the transom and the beam (width) of the boat so we can tell more about what you could use and what would be both over powered and under powered... :)
 

king salami

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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

thank you very much for a reply. the boat is down at the marina in dry storage. i will go down there right now and take some measurments and pictures. i have a picture already and was going to post it but since im new i dont really know how. i've seen on some other posts some people mention photobucket. do i need to start a photo bucket acct or is there a button or something im missing to upload it directly to iboats? thanks for the help.
 

blackhawk180

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Jun 14, 2012
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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

If you look at the Quick Reply box (that's where I'm typing now), the third icon from the right is "Insert Image". If you have transfered your pictures to your computer, you simply navigate to the photo and select it Best system I've used so far.
Good luck and looking forward to seeing your pics!
 

Texasmark

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Dec 20, 2005
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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

If no one gives you a number, a 50 hp is what you see on a lot of 14 and 15' general purpose boats for an upper end. Course back in the early '70's when tri-hulls were popular, a 15' would normally have a 60 hp loop charged OMC and was rated for it. Lots of 14' GP glass boats with 2 cylinder 40 hp engines back then. But they weren't all that lively. Good for GP fishing and that was about it. If you didn't have more than 2 people in the boat you could pull one light skiier on 2 skis fast enough to keep them from falling back in the water.......

HTH,
Mark
 

Chinewalker

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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

If its an American series (1970s era) 15 footer it'll be rated at 85hp.
 

king salami

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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

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here are some pictures of the boat. the last one is a pic of the bridge on my way back to the marina(lets see if any one can guess the area im in based on this pic. if you live in the area you would remeber this for sure.) anyway, i took some measurments of the boat. its 15' long, 6' wide at the widest, the transom is 64" at the top and 54" at the bottom. i think its a standard 20" transom. i have been looking at a 40hp 2stroke with controls but someone at the marina told me it would be to small if i was looking to do more than 15-20 mph. he said he had a similar 15' seaswirl of about the same era and told me he put a 65hp to make it go about 30-35 mph. can anyone verify this? would a 40hp be to small? i put a 15hp johnson 2stoke on it (from my 12' gregor), and though i would say its not advisable it was enough to push it a little past trolling speeds with 2 250lb guys, 2 ice chests with beers, several rods and other fishing gear, full 6 gal tank of gas, and a group 27 battery.(it was a very calm day under 10mph winds) i think the 40 hp would be ok based on the performance of the 15 but i may want to take it out in bigger water or on rougher days to get out to the sloughs. what do you guys think?
 

82rude

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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

If its an American series (1970s era) 15 footer it'll be rated at 85hp.
buddy had one a couple of years ago and i looked at the plate and it did indeed say 85 hp .
 

king salami

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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

so a 40 hp would be too small? i had one lined up to buy tomorrow afternoon for 500 with the controls( 80's 40hp merc oil injected 2stroke) but if its not enough i will obviously wait for a different deal. how about the weight capacity for the boat? how about the weight of a 40 vs 65 vs 85?
 

WIMUSKY

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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

Just an FYI, your attachments are not working......
 

king salami

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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

Just an FYI, your attachments are not working......

thanks, and im not sure why. i loaded them on the post with the insert image button on the quick reply. i just clicked edit post and reloaded them onto the same post hope it works.
 

belairbrian

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Aug 21, 2009
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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

Looks a lot like the runabout I had back in the early 80s. Had a 1963 johnson 35hp and it ran pretty good with 3 people on board.

If the 40hp Merc is in good shape you can't loose money on it. Worst case would be you weren't happy and you just sale it.

Oh, and your attachments are working.
 

Sea Rider

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Sep 20, 2008
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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

Will you be testing a 2 or 3 cylinder Merc ob, great difference punch between both. You can still play with prop pitch to optimize performance on that boat/engine combo. Will need a induction tach and know min-max rpm wot parameters factory stated for that engine.

Happy Boating
 

saumon

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Aug 2, 2004
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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

(lets see if any one can guess the area im in based on this pic. if you live in the area you would remeber this for sure.)

Absolutely no idea for the bridge, but the boat is registered in California...
 

king salami

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Apr 25, 2013
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Re: what size ob is a 15 ft fiberglass starcraft boat rated for?

so then a 40hp would work ok. thanks. i thought i would but wanted to hear some feedback first. as for the 2 vs 3 cylinder i dont know. its a 1989 40 hp 2stroke, i thought it was a merc but its an evinrude(i dont care what brand it is as long as it runs good. the guy told me he had it rebuil two years ago they did the piston rings and the bearings. is this something i should stay clear of? for 500 bucks it sounds like a deal to me. and how about the weight cap for the boat?

glad the pics are working
 
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