you could get a 2 hp nissan or tohatsu... That would go pretty good and it would not be heavy..

 

Brett, I had a 12' jon boat awhile back and swamped it with a 2HP motor on it. Loaded with gear and a couple guys the front end just went under. Lost 2 shotguns that day but came out of it just wet, Sep. goose so the water was warm. I'd go with the minn kota, you won't set any speed records but you also shouldn't be able to shove the front end underwater.
Good luck

 

what is listed on the capacity plate. cold day in the marsh, batteries may not last long. compared to a hot day of bass fishing

 

I believe its 400 or 500 lbs. I dont plan on putting anyone else in the boat unless there isnt much gear at all when it comes to duck hunting. The other guys can walk themselves to the blind for the most part if im hauling out the gear in the boat. :grin: But, when it comes to bass fishing it'd just be me and one other guy with very little gear. Which minn kota would be reccomended?

Brett Neffendorf

 

Ok, my mom just checked out all the specs. on my boat for me since its at my parents house. It can use up to a 9.5 HP motor, and 600 lbs. including motor, people, and gear.

Brett Neffendorf

 

Ok, my mom just checked out all the specs. on my boat for me since its at my parents house. It can use up to a 9.5 HP motor, and 600 lbs. including motor, people, and gear.

Brett Neffendorf

Sorry Bret, but any post you make that begins with "Ok, my mom......." Well that is just funny!!:jester:
Good question here, I am listening closely. I would assume the higher the thrust the better. I have been pushing my canoe around with a 35 and I would want at least double that for a jon boat. Maybe we can race sometime!!!!:cheers:

 

I've had a lot of success, and been very happy with, a Nissan 3.5 hp on a boat smaller than yours. If you go with a little two stroke, be sure to decide whether or not you want idle. My motor does not have an idle, and I wish it did, but other than that, I've enjoyed it. I got it on Ebay for $200 believe it or not.

Geoff

 

I have an old 6hp Johnson for the "Quacker Attacker", a 12' aluminum "V' hull. It moves along great with a load. 2 guys and gear aren't bad on FLAT water AND it'll plane with one guy, which is nice for chasin' cripples....NOT that I ever have any

It depends a LOT on the boat, but if it'll take it, I'd have a 6 horse. My dad used to run a (9.9 Evinrude on this boat....It was FUN!!....'til the engine blew:blush

An electric will work as long as there is little to no current.


:twocents:

 

I've got a 12ft jon, and I use a 6hp 2-stroke for fishing, which gets up and goes. I have a transom mount 17lb thrust electric that it came with, and with me and dog and gear it barely pushes it. From what I have seen, I would suggest in the 35lb range for the electric, in fact that is what I would like to have. I think a 55lb or so would put it up on plane, or push it well against a current.

 

5 or 6 horse gas, have you looked at the air cooled 4 strokes. they look interesting for your setup

 

Brett,

Find yourself a good, used, 6 hp Johnson/Evinrude or Merc 2-Stroke SHORT SHAFT, almost any of them made in the past 20 years, that LOOKS to be in really good shape (make sure the owner starts it up and runs it for you:idea: Look inside the Motor Cover and make sure you don't see signs of lots of rust/corrosion).

There's kind of a trade-off between weight and power on these things.

Unless you get one of the really lightweight 2-3 h.p. jobs that doesn't have a Neutral or Reverse, the 3.5-4 hp water-cooled models are HEAVY for what you get, powerwise.

Once you get up above "6 hp", you're really getting a 10 hp motor (that weighs more) that just doesn't make 10 hp! (When you look at various year's motors, you'll often notice that the 6.5 hp and the 8 hp or the 8 hp and 10 hp look the SAME!:shocked: They ARE! Just you'll notice that the new price is more $$ for more hp and the one makes more hp at 1,000 rpm moreassout: It may have a larger carb and the timing advance is set to go 1,000 rpm higher, that's ALL:jester.

Also, consider if the motor is fed by an onboard tank (like the little ones) or a seperate gas can. Don't forget the seperate gas can is an extra piece/extra weight, but also gives you the option of a small tank (3 gal.) or larger (6 gal.) IF you need to go somewhere "farther":applause:.

Using a 6 hp motor, a 3 gal tank should get you ANYWHERE and back on S.I. WMA:wink:

4 Stroke motors are what are currently manufactured, but remember, they're HEAVIER! (There's all that "stuff" going round and round and up and down IN the Head, where on a 2-Stroke the Head's just a simple cap that holds the Spark Plug)

Oh, and on the Trolling Motor, while they're nice during warm weather, they're less efficient in the cold, the Battery is HEAVY, and don't forget all that gear clunking around, they can get tipped over, and are full of ACID, just one more thing to have to worry about!assout:

:cheers:

 

My personal opinion on motors for boats is as big and fast as possible.

 

I have a 5hp 2-stroke long shaft merc and a 3hp Minnkota electric if you want to try them. I can meet you at Milwaukie boat ramp after work next week. I use these so they are not for sale but they may give you an idea of what you want. I get off work around 3 and could meet you at the Milwaukie ramp around 3:20 or so.

Let me know and good luck.
Tom

 

Flat Lander. I really appreciate the offer thats really cool of you. The only problem is my boat is back in bend! If it were here i'd be up for that for sure. Oh and I am working on my finals for college all day :frown: But thanks for the offer and hopefully I get back boat over here soon!

Brett Neffendorf

 

One thing to know about the small O.B.s.

Johnson/Evinrudes use a Shear Pin on their Prop Shaft. So along with your "gear" that you want to have/take with you should be some pliers, a wrench, and extra Shear Pins.

The Mercurys have a Clutch mechanism, so that if your prop hits a rock or a stump or hard bottom, the Prop momentarily stops and then resumes when the Prop is free of the obstruction.

The only drawback with the clutch is that if/when it wears out it has to be rebuilt.

A guy who had the little 6hp Johnson that I now own, sold it to me dirt cheap because the Prop was free wheeling. He'd had a Mercury prior to the Johnson and when he sold it to me he muttered something about "the Lower Unit's Clutch needs to be rebuilt". I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but thought I'd check it out as I worked on getting everything back to 100%. When I pulled the Prop off there was the broken Shear Pin. $1.05 later and I was back in business.:applause:

:cheers:

 

I'd probably go outboard. Batteries lose quite a bit of power in the cold. I'm assuming that you'd be duck hunting in the cold.

 

I'd probably go outboard. Batteries lose quite a bit of power in the cold. I'm assuming that you'd be duck hunting in the cold.

Yeah, and they take LONGER to recharge when it's cold also!:idea:

:cheers:

 

Brett, I'll echo what others have said...... Just about any OB less that 8hp would work. Let opprotunity and price dictate.

As for the electric....watch the Ifish classifieds for a cheap bowmount. It doesn't even have to be of a bowmount design.....a transom mount type with handle would work just fine on the right bracket. You can turn the head around on many. A 3x steer MK would work really well. And you could always move it to the rear during duck season to go in really skinny water.

The advantages of a larger OB would be that some like the 8hp Honda do have a charge coil that can recharge the troll battery when running. I think this may be more important for bass fishing though as you really eat up the battery working the banks for smallies. Holler when you guys want to hit the Willey. I have room for you and a buddy.

Happy help fab'ing up any alum brackets for the bowmount.
Hunt'nFish