Will 15hp Be Enough?

[RWTIII]

I am looking at purchasing a 15’ Smokercraft Alaskan which has a 15hp Mercury (bigfoot). My question is if you have this boat and engine combination is there enough horse power for use on the Columbia? The boat is not listed by an Ifish.net member.

[Lou]

A buddy has one like this set up. It works, not fast but i am always glad I went.:)

[1pump]

I had a similar setup (14' Gregor) with a 15. It worked okay with a light load most days on the CR, but I never got caught in a strong current. I went to a 25 and never looked back. The boat did everything I needed it to do once I put the 25 on, including the push below Bonneville and strong ebb tides at the coast with three people and gear. By myself in the boat it would do almost 35 mph. No way the 15 could've handled it.
I now have a 15' Klamath with the same 25, and it's adequate for about anything the hull can handle. I wouldn't want anything smaller, but I'm pretty hard on my equipment. I fished the Kenai with it and even the Gulf of Alaska a couple times on calm days. I've run it all over between The Fishery and the dam without any drama, as well as Hammond to the bar.

[Billy Boy]

I agree with 1pump. A 25 hp motor would be my choice.

[Starfish]

My first few salmon in the Reach were caught in a 14 ft Valco with a 9.9 Johnson. After a few years my buddy upgraded to a 15hp and then we were really uptown!

15hp is definitely on the low end of power but it can certainly get you into some fish. It's a lot better than zero!

[fishkisser]

That 15 high thrust is built for moving heavy hulls ...
But not at a high rate of speed , due to the lower gearing
to turn the large diameter prop ...
It will probably move you in current better that a stock propped 15 ...
Take it for a cruise before you write it off completely ...
But I would look for a 25hp 2 stroke , more power to weight than the 4 stroke ...:twocents:

[Blind Bobber]

I have a Smokercraft Alaskan 15 and it is rated for 40 horse max. I run a 25 Merc 2 stroke which trolls wonderfully all day and has a high speed of 18-24 depending on load and conditions. I would spend a little extra and go with more HP as the Colunmbia is a large river. Personally if I were in the market for a new motor I would look into Evinrude E Tec. Light weight reliable horse power. Best of luck.

BLIND BOBBER :cool:

[Woodcanoeguy]

I use a 25 hp Yamaha 2 stroke on my 15 Alaskan....had a 15 merc before. The Yamaha is very light (106lbs) , fast and a fuel sipper. Got it at Inflatable boat center in Portland for a fair price.

[StmpJmpr]

I use a 25 hp Yamaha 2 stroke on my 15 Alaskan....had a 15 merc before. The Yamaha is very light (106lbs) , fast and a fuel sipper. Got it at Inflatable boat center in Portland for a fair price.
:yeahthat:

[tear-a-bite]

it will work great. had a 14' rivited boat and 450lbs of passengers driven by a 15hp Evinrude. did just fine on the Col R for years. 25hp would be best, but 15 is more than adequate.

have fun!