Appropriate HP outboard for '65 Starcraft Mustang?

[John Schinnerer]

Here's a few pics from the ad where I first spotted it.

 

[racerone]

That boat would work well with a 33 HP ( 1965 to 1970 ) or 40 HP from the 60's.-----But if $$ are not an issue put a new motor on it.-----I am rebuilding a 1974 Johnson 40 HP for the grand son as it is a simple / reliable motor for occasional use.

 

[Gibbles]

It looks a bit like my 63 StarCraft JetStar, but in fiberglass instead of aluminum.

For that boat I had it running quite well with a mid 70's mercury 20hp.
Later I slapped a mid 70's merc 65hp model 650 3 cylinder on there.

It moved pretty well afterwards, but I did end up adding a little weight to the front by relocating the fuel tank up under the nose.

 

[flashback]

It's a good looking boat with the Johnson!

 

[racerone]

Boats like that were popular in the day.------Brother had a 14' runabout with a 40 HP Evinrude.------Lots of fun on a small budget !!

 

[John Schinnerer]

It looks a bit like my 63 StarCraft JetStar, but in fiberglass instead of aluminum.

For that boat I had it running quite well with a mid 70's mercury 20hp.
Later I slapped a mid 70's merc 65hp model 650 3 cylinder on there.

It moved pretty well afterwards, but I did end up adding a little weight to the front by relocating the fuel tank up under the nose.

Yeah I've been looking at the vintage brochures, many of the models look almost alike. The Arrow and Mustang in 1965 only differ in transom height, max load capacity, and seat style/layout) for example. Identical measurements otherwise. At first I thought this was an Arrow until I saw that difference.
Your JetStar is about 100 lbs. lighter empty, per specs. Boat plus that 20hp Merc probably weighed less than this one without motor.

 

[John Schinnerer]

It's a good looking boat with the Johnson!

Thanks, I agree! I think it will look good 'enough' with a modern motor too...retro with a twist at the stern. There's a vintage fiberform of similar type I've seen around here with a Honda 20hp on it and the combo looks good.

 

[John Schinnerer]

Boats like that were popular in the day.------Brother had a 14' runabout with a 40 HP Evinrude.------Lots of fun on a small budget !!

I have joked with friends & family, this is the kind of boat I wish my dad had bought back in the late '60's! Instead we had a boring aluminum cartop jon-boat (12 ft I think) with a used 6hp outboard. Some years later he upgraded a bunch, relatively speaking, and bought a 14' Valco and an Evinrude Sportwin 9.8hp. In 2018 I sold the Sportwin to a guy who was cherrying out a 1966 Evinrude Playmate and was going to use it for a kicker (matching some brochure pictures showing that very engine as kicker!).

 

[John Schinnerer]

Well I finally got this squared away...bought the 30 hp Tohatsu. Just picked it up from the dealer install last Friday! Have had it out twice so far, I'm in the first 10 hrs of break-in so no more than 3/4 throttle, but with just me on board that is more than plenty. Probably haven't gone beyond ~2/3, hard to tell for sure. Tried to post a pic, but got a message that file could not be written to server. Will try again another day, when I have a few better pics to choose from.

 

[John Schinnerer]

Mod EDIT: Solicitation prohibited.
As are sales
Deleted

 

[nwbranch]

How are you liking the Tohatsu 30? Considering repowering a 15ft aluminum nova with the same motor but a little worried it might be underpowered if it’s more than 2 people?

 

[John Schinnerer]

How are you liking the Tohatsu 30? Considering repowering a 15ft aluminum nova with the same motor but a little worried it might be underpowered if it’s more than 2 people?

It is plenty of motor, room to spare at the top end. I've had four adults (including me) in the boat several times now. It takes a few seconds longer to get on plane, as the load gets heavier, but once planing, don't notice much difference, top speed is about the same (~25 knots in calm conditions). IIRC on test rides with the seller and the old Johnson it maxed out at about 19-20. So unless your boat is a bunch heavier, seems like it ought to be enough?