Motor powerful enough for boat??

[Hoser59]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here at iboats but I have been gathering lots of useful information since finding this site last week.

My wife and I are in the process of purchasing our first boat, a new 14 ft Lund (either the WD-14 at 230lbs or the WC-14 at 285lbs). I have a 2007 8hp fourstroke Yamaha short shaft and I am wondering if this will be powerful enough for the boat. We will be using it for fishing on small lakes and calm rivers, usually just the two uf us but we may take out others ocasionally. My main concern is having enough power to get up on plain. Conversely, I could sell the motor I have and buy a boat with a 20" transom as I have a line on a 15hp Honda long shaft (although it is alot more money). What does everyone think? Will I be fine with what I have or should I go up to a bigger motor? Keep in mind this is my first boat and I am relatively inexperienced, I just want something small and easy to manage.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Motor powerful enough for boat??

I'd probably go with the 15hp if planing is mandatory...the 8hp may or may not plane the rig out depending on weight of gear and placement.

Either way you will have a reliable OB with plenty of power to push the rig around and get to the fishing spot.

Try keeping as much weight in the middle of the boat or the bow to balance it out.

Good luck to ya!

 

[Hoser59]

Re: Motor powerful enough for boat??

I'd probably go with the 15hp if planing is mandatory...the 8hp may or may not plane the rig out depending on weight of gear and placement.

Either way you will have a reliable OB with plenty of power to push the rig around and get to the fishing spot.

Try keeping as much weight in the middle of the boat or the bow to balance it out.

Good luck to ya!

I guess planing isn't neccesary. My wife was concerned that if bad weather started coming in we wouldn't be able to get to shore quick enough with the smaller motor. As far as balancing out the boat, we are planning on installing two seats in the three bench boat. Would the second seat be better at the bow bench or in the middle? Thanks for your help! I suppose if we felt the motor I have was under powered I could always sell it in the spring and find something bigger

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Motor powerful enough for boat??

I guess planing isn't neccesary. My wife was concerned that if bad weather started coming in we wouldn't be able to get to shore quick enough with the smaller motor. As far as balancing out the boat, we are planning on installing two seats in the three bench boat. Would the second seat be better at the bow bench or in the middle? Thanks for your help! I suppose if we felt the motor I have was under powered I could always sell it in the spring and find something bigger

That short shaft 8 should do fine...I'd clamp it on and see how she does prior to buying a new boat or motor. You may be pleasantly surprised and plane right out.

If both of you are going to be fishing at the same time I'd recommend one seat in the stern and one in the bow.

That way you will have more room for casting and less tangles. That will also go a long way as far as keeping the boat sitting level while anchored. This is important so you don't spill your beer or the worms as often(I hate spilling worms in a boat but I'm great at it).

Also welcome to iboats, post some pitures of your rig once she's on the water!

 

[Hoser59]

Re: Motor powerful enough for boat??

I think I will take your advice and go with what I have for now. Thanks!

I will take some pictures once everything is setup. I am getting the hitch put on my vehicle tomorrow and picking up the boat Saturday morning. We are going to pick up seats, rod holders, a safety kit, life jackets and a few other odds and ends tonight so I am hoping to have everything together and ready to go out Sunday morning As for spilling the worms, the worst is when they spill in your cooler of beer and you are left to scrap dirt and worm juice off the top of each can

 

[robert graham]

Re: Motor powerful enough for boat??

That 14' boat with the 8HP will be a nice rig, no speed demon, but she'll get you around fine. And it'll be very quiet and get great gas mileage! Good Luck!

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Motor powerful enough for boat??

Sounds good, don't forget the fish basket(wouldn't want to get the new rig slimy on the first trip).

I have a 5.5hp Johnson on my 12' rig and it will not plane with two guys but certainly gets us to he fish.

With a 8hp 4-stroke you should get very good fuel-efficiency.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Motor powerful enough for boat??

If you think the 8 hp is too puny, you can always put a jackplate/riser on your transom and put the longshaft Honda 15 hp on the boat.

 

[Hoser59]

Re: Motor powerful enough for boat??

I passed on buying the Honda this afternoon, I am going to try out the Yamaha I've got and see how it goes. If I think we need more speed I might look into replacing it over the winter. For now I just want to get everything together and take her out. This being my first boat hopefully I don't end up in the Stupid Human Tricks category by the end of the weekend I will have to do some practicing backing up the trailer and loading and unloding. Luckily it's a light rig so if I have any troubles I will just pick it up and throw it into the water

 

[JimS123]

Re: Motor powerful enough for boat??

I had the same dilemma as you last year. My problem has always been that I get the bug for a new motor, then 2 years later the bug for a new boat, etc., etc.

I upgraded to a 25 and had to go with a short shaft because that's what the boat was. Last year I upgraded the boat because the motor was just too big for my old Sea Nymph 14R. I looked at both the Lunds you mentioned, but ended up buying a Starcraft because I liked the layout better.

At any rate, with a 1 year old motor that I liked I was sort of stuck with buying a short shaft boat. Sorry I did. If I had been smart I would have traded the motor as well and upgraded to a new boat with a long shaft transom.

What I hadn't considered was that my old boat was basically a round bottom, while the new Starcraft is a deep V. That severely limits the tansom freeboard.

In my opinion, the 8 will be too small for that boat. If it were a long shaft I'd say go try it out. But once you buy a short shaft boat you have limited your future choices.

 

[Hoser59]

Re: Motor powerful enough for boat??

I posted pictures of my boat in the Lund owners area but I thought I would put a link in here since someone had asked earlier. So far we couldn't be happier with it.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?p=2838966#post2838966