choosing a motor for my "new boat"

[craveman85]

hey guys i recently got a 73 or 74 (havent really checked the registration) glastron v156 tri hull from a friend with a trailer for 200 bucks. its in great shape except for the carpet and seats being a little tore up. it doesnt have a motor because his dad decided he could continuously jump it in pretty choppy water and ended up running the cooling system dry and overheating it and cracking the head. then he continued to try and run it to get back to the boat launch. well anyways im looking for an outboard. i do mostly small lakes fishing trolling for salmanoids. i hardly ever fish rivers or anywhere that i need to get any real speed. however i may use the boat for some tubing use. i know i need a long shaft and the boat currently has merc controls. its also rated up to 85 hp. i dont really want that big of a motor though. would a 35-40hp meet my needs? id like to keep it under 60hp if possible. do mariner and force outboards work with merc controls? anyone know how fast a smaller motor would push it on calm water?

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: choosing a motor for my "new boat"

A 40 twin would get it on plane but not much more. That boat wants a 70hp on it.

 

[craveman85]

Re: choosing a motor for my "new boat"

ok i haven't really been finding much under 60hp anyways. now the hard part is finding a decent priced running one

 

[eavega]

Re: choosing a motor for my "new boat"

+1 on what the previous poster has put on there. You won't be happy with such a small motor. What's more, once you cross the threshold of the portable outboards (i.e. 40+ HP), the price difference isn't that much if you are looking at later vintage of motors. You might as well put as much motor as you can afford on that boat in case you need the power.

Rgds

 

[craveman85]

Re: choosing a motor for my "new boat"

how big of a motor should i look for to use as a kicker/troller?

 

[eavega]

Re: choosing a motor for my "new boat"

on my 15' Tri-hull, I use a 45 Lb thrust electric trolling motor, but I mostly use it for pattern fishing or holding position. It moves the boat forward at about 3-5 MPH, but I wouldn't want to rely on it to move my boat any great distance if there is a wind. You would probably need to talk to locals in your area about what would be appropriate for conditions in your area.

Rgds

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: choosing a motor for my "new boat"

65-70 sounds right. If you are buying an old used motor you might get one with its controls; if not, price them as they can be expensive (for a $200 boat) if you have to buy "new." An old 70 (mid-80's) might cost $700.

I would not hold out for an old Merc just to match your controls (and you have to know the year of the control) or you will be looking forever. How soon do you want to be on the water? even if you found one today it will take a while to get rigged, runnnig and registered.

The electric troller makes good sense to me.

Also I'm not sure how the actions and mechanical failure combine here; "he could continuously jump it in pretty choppy water and ended up running the cooling system dry and overheating it and cracking the head. then he continued to try and run it to get back to the boat launch." But if the head's cracked, that's that.

 

[BonairII]

Re: choosing a motor for my "new boat"

If I were you, I would inspect the transom for rot/weakening BEFORE searching for a motor. If the PO(previous owner) neglected the motor...he probably neglected the boat also. It would suck to buy a motor, only to find out that your transom is shot.