Minimum horsepower for 16.5 v-hull

[GLO]

Thinking of purchasing 16 1/2' Alumacraft with minimum hp rating
of 35 horsepower, will run alone 60%, two children 30%, two or three adults 10% or less. Weight around 800 lbs. w/o gas in 22 gallon tank, trolling motor, etc. Backtrolling a lot. Can I get performance I want out of 25 hp Johnson or should I go with 35?

[kris]

I would take Alumacraft's minimum hp rating as just that,absolute minimum. It would barely plane a boat that big. I think you would be wasting your time trying anything less. Most people would agree that you should be putting the maximum hp on the boat to maximize performance, versatility(ability to run loaded when needed)and resale value. If that is not an option, then a minimum of 80% of the max hp rating is a good widely accepted compromise. I did that on my boat (90 max, put on a 70) and I can say it is a good rule. My boat performs great and handles load well, it just goes 7 mph slower than it would with a 90. Not to say that I would object to the extra mph's.
Other opinions welcomed!

[Tom P]

I would spend the money and go for more HP., even if you have to take a loan out. Going the 80% rule is as low as you should go. I have a freind that did the same thing you did but with a pontoon. He went with a 50 hp Honda on a 130 hp rated pontoon and turned around and had to take a lose on the 50 hp when he bought a new 90 hp honda two mounths later. We talked about this before he bought it, and I told him he would be sorry if he went cheap. He was very sorry, he lost big on the switch.

[Larry M.]

A group of us fish canada 3 times each year and take my 17' Lund and a friends 16' Alumacraft. He runs an older 35hp suzukie and I'm surprised at its proformance. 27 mph with one person and 23 with 3 people and a full load. We ran one of the camps 25 hp one year and performance was really poor. The 1st post is right, 80% of max rating a better choice but if thats not an option for you the 35 will get you around and give you and the kids lots of good fishing, but stay away from the 25, it will disappoint you. Enjoy!

[pete]

I have the navigator 165 tiller with 50 HP yamaha 4-stroke. I get 35 mph alone and 32 mph loaded. I think you might not be happy with less than that. When yamaha introduces the 60 4-stroke to its line I might max out my HP.

[FJH1]

Don't do it. Been there done that. In my opinion you should max it out - period. Down the road you will always be asking yourself "I wonder how this rig would perform if I had maxed it out?" I under-powered a boat once (rated for a 115 and I put on a 75) big mistake. The boat never handled like I thought it should and on re-selling the boat I took a hit. Spend the extra money now. I've never heard anyone say "I wish I had put a smaller motor on this thing." Again, just my opinions.

Best Regards,

FJH

[John Wayne]

I just recently got rid of a 16'5" Sylwan tiller handle that had a 25hp Johnson on it. THe boat and motor ran great with only one person at about 17 or 18 mph. With 2 people though I was lucky to get 12mph. Without a doubt go with the 35hp. I was shooping around for a used 40hp Johnson or Evinrude tiller, put they are hard to come by. I just within the last week bought a 16ft sea nymph tiller with a 40hp Evinrude on the back. The boat get about 27-28 mph by myself and 25 mph with 2 people. Which is plenty fast enough for me.

John Wayne

[Scott]

Please don't make the same mistake I have in the past. PUT THE MAX ON IT> You'll never regret it. If you put less, you'll feel like you have a 4 cylinder in a suburban. It is truely an aggravating thing to spend good money on any boat, put less than max HP on it. Later on you'll wish that you had more ponies. I'm serious. Tracker made their bread and butter selling underpowered boats so they could put those low prices in the catalog. I can count on one finger how many people I know that are happy they underpowered a boat. I can introduce you to about 10 I know that are sick they did. The one that says he's happy, I think he's in denial.