New Owner In Need Of Help Selecting A Motor... HELP

[Dry Diver]

Hello everyone.

Let me first say that I am a newbie to Inflatables. I just purchased an Achilles 16' With a wooded floor. I bought the moat used and the motor that the guy has on it is seriously under powered. He said that he ran it with a 20HP and it ran well. It currently has a 5HP Johnson on it. I am unsure of the year, maybe someone here can help with that too. The number are as follows off the motor.

LD13-E and
J2882047

My question is what size motor will be enough. Ya, Ya I know you can never have enough and everyone's thoughts on enough are different. I will be using the boat as a dive boat. There will be up to three adults in it at one time with dive gear for two dives, i.e. six tanks 3 BC's and so on. I would like to be able to get two dives in before having to go back to the launch.

The plate on the transom says that the boat will handle up to a 60HP motor. I would like to stay with a tiller style motor to keep the floor plan on the boat as spacious as passable.

So with the above information what do you guys think. I am not looking to win any speed races but I don't want to take forever getting there either. It is more important that the motor be able to get the three of us and our gere out there and back safely.

Thanks in advance for all of the input.

 

[bayman]

Re: New Owner In Need Of Help Selecting A Motor... HELP

I would agree with you - a 5 hp is going to be too small. A 16 foot boat is fairly large so I'm guessing that you won't be carrying it to the water. (If you were going to have several people carry the boat to the water then I would say that you would want a smaller engine which you can carry.)
Sounds like you will be diving in the ocean. If you can let everyone know these things then they will probably be able to give you better advice. For example, if you are in saltwater, you will need a saltwater capable engine. Where you are might also be important in that you'll likely need someone who can service your outboard.

 

[Dry Diver]

Re: New Owner In Need Of Help Selecting A Motor... HELP

Thanks for bringing up good points. I will not be carrying it to the water. It is on a trailer. I have a multitude of marina's in my area so I dont think that getting the motor serviced will be an issue.

Now I will be stupid, what is the difference of a fresh water vs. salt water motor? How will I know what I am looking at?

 

[deejaycee_2000]

Re: New Owner In Need Of Help Selecting A Motor... HELP

get yourself a 50hp yamaha with tiller ...... it is all you need, a 25hp is not powerfull enough .....

 

[jnewtonsem]

Re: New Owner In Need Of Help Selecting A Motor... HELP

I think you will need at least a 30hp on a boat that size. Problem is tillers over 30-40hp are ard to find (inthe US anyway) and over 30hp weight starts to be an issue for portability. I have an Avon 15' originally had a 30hp tiller wasn't really powerful enough- top speed in the low-mid 20's and needed to to have a lot of throttle to keep on plane. Was always having to worry about weight distribution to get decent handling. I upgraded to a 40hp and put in a steering system. Much better handling top speed in just over 30, steering system takes up space, but is more enjoyable and easier to handle.
Good luck