Please advise on first outboard purchase

[Salty Cracker]

My young son and I restored an old 16ft Loweline Jon boat and want to add a small outboard. Up until now we had electric-motor-only lakes available to us, so we just used a trolling motor. Now we have the lower Chesapeake Bay to play in and we’ll need more power to get around in the open water.

I don’t really have any idea where to start. I did find the Maximum Outboard Horsepower Capacity Guide sticky and it looks like my max is 15 H.P. I’m not necessarily interested in max though if it’s not needed. But I do want to be able to get out of the way when I need to. We’re just pikers that goof around some when we have the time. So I’m not looking for “the best”. Entry level is the name of our game.

Key considerations:

Cost
Market availability
Weight (I’ll be lifting it off after every use)
Ease of maintenance and DIY repair
Parts availability
Tiller steering
Electric vs pull start
2 stroke vs 4 stroke
MINimum recommended HP

 

[flyingscott]

Mine recomendation would be any OMC 9.9/15 2 strk made from 1980 into the 2000s. They are cheap reliable parts are readily avilable and fairly light.

 

[Salty Cracker]

Mine recomendation would be any OMC 9.9/15 2 strk made from 1980 into the 2000s. They are cheap reliable parts are readily avilable and fairly light.

Thank you for the advice. Do you think more than 15 HP would be overkill for some fair-weather newbs that aren't very serious about fishing?

 

[Sea Rider]

Much better is to count with more HP and not need it than less and in need especially during an emergency, hard wind, rough water conditions. A 2 stroke 9.9 and a 15HP motor have the same CC powerheads and both motors weights exact same. Go for a 15 HP. Other well priced reliable motor : 2 stroke Tohatsu M15D2.

Happy Boating​

 

[CaptnKingfisher]

Much better is to count with more HP and not need it than less and in need especially during an emergency, hard wind, rough water conditions. A 2 stroke 9.9 and a 15HP motor have the same CC powerheads and both motors weights exact same. Go for a 15 HP. Other well priced reliable motor : 2 stroke Tohatsu M15D2.

Happy Boating​

Was thinking the same thing about 9.9s and 15 hp being same size and weight. I'm partial to old Johnson/Evinrudes because that was what I started with and worked on. I definitely recommend a two stroke as it'll be lighter.

 

[dingbat]

Thank you for the advice. Do you think more than 15 HP would be overkill for some fair-weather newbs that aren't very serious about fishing?

The lower bay is big water. Lots of tide and current. If push comes to shove, it not if, it’s when.. your going to want more than a 15, especially is you have more than 1 person an board.

Personally I’d max out the boat’s HP rating.

My neighbor has a 40 on his 16’ Carolina Skiff he used to crab

 

[Sea Rider]

Was thinking the same thing about 9.9s and 15 hp being same size and weight. I'm partial to old Johnson/Evinrudes because that was what I started with and worked on. I definitely recommend a two stroke as it'll be lighter.

Have owned both mentioned Evi models, but the simplicity in design to work with it's oustnding for the latter brand...

Happy Boating​

 

[Salty Cracker]

Personally I’d max out the boat’s HP rating.

There was no HP rating on the hull anywhere. How could I find out what the max rating is for an old 70s Loweline jon boat?

 

[Scott Danforth]

There was no HP rating on the hull anywhere. How could I find out what the max rating is for an old 70s Loweline jon boat?

you use the uscg hp calculation formula. or most likely about 15hp.

 

[dingbat]

There was no HP rating on the hull anywhere. How could I find out what the max rating is for an old 70s Loweline jon boat?

Is this your boat?

https://www.loweboats.com/jon-boats/l1648-jon/

 

[dingbat]

There was no HP rating on the hull anywhere. How could I find out what the max rating is for an old 70s Loweline jon boat?

Btw: where are you at down there?

Looking for waterfront property in that area to build a home

 

[Salty Cracker]

you use the uscg hp calculation formula. or most likely about 15hp.

I mentioned in my origional post that's what I did.

 

[Salty Cracker]

Is this your boat?

https://www.loweboats.com/jon-boats/l1648-jon/

That looks like the new version. Mine's a 70's era model.
I'm in Hampton. We intended to build also but the market is in a bubble and construction costs are through the "roof". It was a GREAT time to sell our house and acreage in rural Central Va. but WRONG time to buy. It went for full asking price 72 hrs on the market, no inspection, sight unseen by a family wanting to escape D.C.
Good luck even getting anything built within the next 18-24 months. By then the market should have settled down so better to wait in my opinion. So we're renting a detached home for a couple of years then building a mom-n-pop on an acre in the Mobjack Bay area. Hampton is good for now because our boys are teens and they want/need some lights and action but too busy for tranquility. Langley AFB SUCKS! The water is too busy also. Middle Peninsula/Mobjack Bay is where I wanna be.

 

[dingbat]

I mentioned in my origional post that's what I did.

https://cms.geteminleads.com/files/8/Catalog%20Archives/1975-Fishboats.pdf

 

[Salty Cracker]

https://cms.geteminleads.com/files/8/Catalog%20Archives/1975-Fishboats.pdf

Man, thank you. So it looks like I have the Big John 16'.
The brochure says 25hp-35hp max depending on size (14', 16', 18'). So I think you were all right on the money by suggesting a 25hp.

 

[dingbat]

That looks like the new version. Mine's a 70's era model.
I'm in Hampton. We intended to build also but the market is in a bubble and construction costs are through the "roof". It was a GREAT time to sell our house and acreage in rural Central Va. but WRONG time to buy. It went for full asking price 72 hrs on the market, no inspection, sight unseen by a family wanting to escape D.C.
Good luck even getting anything built within the next 18-24 months. By then the market should have settled down so better to wait in my opinion. So we're renting a detached home for a couple of years then building a mom-n-pop on an acre in the Mobjack Bay area. Hampton is good for now because our boys are teens and they want/need some lights and action but too busy for tranquility. Langley AFB SUCKS! The water is too busy also. Middle Peninsula/Mobjack Bay is where I wanna be.

Been looking on the Northern Neck. White Sands, Irvington, Kilmarock areas.

Open to a little further south (Susan, Matthews, Port Haywood) but my wife wants to stay within a couple of hours of the kids in Northern Virginia and Maryland.

No real hurry. Have a couple of years yet. The hardest part will be to find a place acceptable to my wife. All I hear time and time again....."we're trading in a beautiful piece of property with a million dollar view (mountains and sunset) for saltwater, swamp and mosquitoes".

Criteria so far......water front with boat lift, barn with fencing, wooded home site, screen porch, view of sunset, no pool. I'm sure the list will grow as time goes by...lol

 

[Salty Cracker]

I've know people from the Kilmarnock area and they talk about it like it's paradise.

 

[Sea Rider]

A 15 HP motor is too poor for a 16 footer boat specially if medium/highly loaded. A 25-30 HP will suit it much better along more water fun.

Happy Boating​

 

[slowleak]

A fishing buddy of mine has a 15hp Johnny-rude on his 1982 Big Jon 16, its barely enough to get it up and down the river. With a good headwind and outgoing tide, with two big men in the boat, its barely moving. On flat lake with no wind, it may hit 10mph.
I couldn't imagine taking it into bigger water.