Small powerboat sizes and types

[acarter92]

So, I'm looking into getting a small powerboat, something in the 14-18ft range. I plan on doing a little bit of everything. Some low key fishing, tubing (sking?), maybe some weekend camp trips, and maybe some cruses around the cheasapeke bay. I'm looking to buy used, don't really want to spend more than 3-4k. I'm trying to figure out a few different things, maybe you guys can help me out.

1.What the minimum size (hp) range I should be looking at to succesfully pull a tube, or a waterskier with a few people in the boat? I'm not looking to win any races, but I don't want to have to struggle. I understand that will vary so I'm not expecting exact numbers, I'm just trying to get an idea.

2. A big concern of mine is fuel, I just sold my jetski becuase it killed my heart to blow $400 on fuel for a full day of fun. So what type of motor should I be looking for? I was told I/O are better on fuel that outboards, is this true? Are four strokes any better than 2 strokes?

I owned a 16ft runabout 30hp about 3 years ago and had a lot of good times, sold it for the jetski and regretted it. The jet ski was fun but it's too limited and too expensive to use.

Thanks in advance,
Austin

 

[2ndtry]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

I'll answer in reverse order:

2. A four stroke o/b will get the you the furthest on a gallon of gas (way better than your ski). I would also prefer the OB for a boat in the 16-18 foot range (save interior space) and for salt water use.

1. You can tube behind pretty much any size, I would look for a MINIMUM of 90 HP to pull a skiier on two skis, more if you have larger folks or want to slalom.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

400 on fuel in a day on a jet ski!!? wow! i have a pair of them, and a jet boat, and i've never burnt that much fuel on them combined, for a weekend!

How you drive has a huge impact on fuel economy. If you spend 10 hours pulling a tube with an I/O, you are going to burn through an astonishing amount of fuel also. (probably not $400 worth, but certainly enough to hurt. I suspect you, and your family and friends, probably don't let that pwc sit idle much, its running almost constantly.

 

[jdlough]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

A rule of thumb for a 2-stroke outboard is to divide the horsepower by 10. That's about how much gas it will use per hour running at FULL wide open throttle (WOT) the whole hour.

So, a 100HP 2-stroke outboard will burn 10 gallons running at full speed for an hour.

I think your jetski had a hole in the gas tank.


If you're that concerned about saving fuel, you might want a tinny. Tin/aluminum boats weight much less than fiberglass, so they can get by on smaller motors, thus using less fuel. If you plan on using it in the Chesapeake, find one with high freeboard. If you've been out there, you know the Chesapeake can get real choppy real quick. Actually, I'd stick with fiberglass for the added weight/stability, and dang the fuel economy.

As to the size of the motor, another rule of thumb is that the motor should be AT LEAST 75% of the maximum motor size that the boat is rated for. There will be a Coast Guard sticker or plate on the boat stating the max horsepower, max total weight, max number of people, and how fat the Coast Guard thinks your passengers should be. (My skiff says Max Persons -5. Max Person weight - 600lbs.) The Coast Guard hangs out with skinny people.

For the Chesapeake, I'd stay away from the low-freeboard carpeted-deck runabouts. Something like a used fiberglass 17' center console with a 115HP outboard, or 19' with a 150HP would fine.
.
One exception to needing a high freeboard is a boat like the Boston Whaler or Carolina Skiff. These boats are more designed to be like a big surfboard. It doesn't really matter too much if waves break over the bow. As a matter of fact, they are designed with a low freeboard to make it easier for water to be dumped out over the transom as you zip around. They are likely to be out of your price range, however. There are Boston Whaler 'clones' that may be worth a look - McKee Craft, Wahoo!, Henry O, and others I can't think of.

 

[acarter92]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

A rule of thumb for a 2-stroke outboard is to divide the horsepower by 10. That's about how much gas it will use per hour running at FULL wide open throttle (WOT) the whole hour.

So, a 100HP 2-stroke outboard will burn 10 gallons running at full speed for an hour.

I think your jetski had a hole in the gas tank.


If you're that concerned about saving fuel, you might want a tinny. Tin/aluminum boats weight much less than fiberglass, so they can get by on smaller motors, thus using less fuel. If you plan on using it in the Chesapeake, find one with high freeboard. The Chesapeake can get real choppy real quick.

Nope, no hole in the tank. I had a 96 Sea Doo XP (can't remember what size). I think it burned something like 12 or 14 GPH at Full throttle, and it wasn't much less than than when accelerating and deccelerating. I know it had a 12 gal tank and I couln't go more than a hour without having to stop for fuel (leaving some in the tank). I have spent $400 when on the water all day. But even an afternoon at the lake would take a full tank to start and 3-4 5 gallon jugs.

Thanks,
Austin

 

[jdlough]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

Then you are in for a happy surprise. My 3300 pound 21' boat doesn't burn that much gas, with its 175HP Johnson. (With some tweaking, I get a bit better than the 'rulle of thumb' I posted above)

A jet motor by its nature is much less efficient, as compared to a propped boat.

I think I remember reading that a 140 jet motor really puts out as much 'boat pushing power' as a 90HP outboard. Plus you had to really gun it full blast to get going. Lotsa full throttle for a jet ski that is not needed for a propped boat.

I'm just speculating here, but I bet the most fun for the jet ski is the zipping around part. I bet it was no-stop zipping, til the gas or your wallet ran out.

You won't be doing as much full-out WOT zipping around in a regular boat, even with skiing. Don't worry, you'll still have a blast.

Where roughly are you located? Do you mean to go out in to the real Cheasapeake? North, Middle or South? Or do you mean to hang out in the 'sound' areas like the lower Potomac, or Nanticoke, or around Annapolis. There's a big difference. Parts near the Bay Bridge Tunnel are worse than the ocean at certain tides, and parts up near Tangier Sound are much milder, but much shallower, so you may want to consider a shallow-draft boat.

Another thing, don't make the mistake that I did. I didn't really consider Center Consol boats because I considered them mainly fishing boats. I have come to realize that they are the best all-around do-everything kind of boats for our area. Tubing, skiing, fishing, whatever. More walking-around deck space too.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

If you know the Chesapeake, then you know how it is on weekends and also how it can blow up. I have done the upper bay on a 15 footer (the one in the avatar) and there are a lot of small tin boats that hang out and fish around Turkey point. Fishing, skiing, and cruising on a 15 footer is no fun. It is more an exercise in survival.

However for your projected use, I would go no smaller than 18 foot with a 90-125 horsepower O/B

 

[acarter92]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

Thanks for the reply's guys,

No doubt, the fun in the jet ski is the speed and the power. Even if I had a boat that had the same FT burn rate I woudlnt' use near as much, because it's just a different kind of boating and a different kind of enjoyment.

I'm in Central PA (Schuylkill Haven), about 1 1/2? from the nearest point on the chesapeake. Exploring the bay was just a though and probably not worth getting a much bigger boat for that one reason. I don't see myself doing a whole lot of that even if it was an option. I'm thinking more on the smaller range, if I couldn't pull a waterskier I would be ok, but I definately want to be able to have some fun with a tube. I've seen a couple alluminum starcraft 16' s with 50-75hp's on them and I really liked the size and look of them, is this too small?. What's the disadvantage to alluminum, do they handle that much worse on rough water because of their weight?

Thanks,
Austin

 

[jdlough]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

It really depends on the water. Where are you putting it? Where will 95% of your boating be?

acarter (the OP) mentioned missing his 16' 30HP boat. So I suspect he is in the more sheltered areas. If so, a 16' fiberglass boat with a 70HP would tow tubers around just fine, but may be weak for all but your skinniest skiiers.

It may not quite as exciting (you can't fling your tuber buds quite as far as you take a 90 degree turn) but 70HP in a 16' boat would pull tubers just fine. You could MAYBE pull a skiier, if it was just the driver and the watcher in the boat. For a skiier, it's much easier for the skiier to be yanked up to the surface of the water as soon as possible, so for a 16' boat, a 90HP or even 115HP is way better.

Mostly, a motor that big is not needed. For example, I have a 16' Wahoo (a Boston Whaler copy/clone). It has a 1995 Yamaha 2-stroke 85HP outboard. It is way scary, stupid, insane. The boat is rated for a 90HP, but this 85HP is way too much. I NEVER run it at WOT. Too dang scary.

I think what Frank and I am most concerned about is the size of the Chesapeake waves. That is, the size of the boat, more than the size of the motor.

So, for better advice, we need to know what waters you will be boating. It does make a huge difference. Where in the Chesapeake is your most outrageous, farthest adventure you anticipate?

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

in addition to JD's good suggestions, look at the 17' scout, 16' starcraft tin w/ a 60; Carolina skiff 17 DLX.

 

[jdlough]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

Thanks for the reply's guys,

No doubt, the fun in the jet ski is the speed and the power. Even if I had a boat that had the same FT burn rate I woudlnt' use near as much, because it's just a different kind of boating and a different kind of enjoyment.

I'm in Central PA (Schuylkill Haven), about 1 1/2? from the nearest point on the chesapeake. Exploring the bay was just a though and probably not worth getting a much bigger boat for that one reason. I don't see myself doing a whole lot of that even if it was an option. I'm thinking more on the smaller range, if I couldn't pull a waterskier I would be ok, but I definately want to be able to have some fun with a tube. I've seen a couple alluminum starcraft 16' s with 50-75hp's on them and I really liked the size and look of them, is this too small?. What's the disadvantage to alluminum, do they handle that much worse on rough water because of their weight?

Thanks,
Austin

In the mid/south Chesapeake, a tin boat kind of bobs around like a cork. Which especiallly sucks if you're trying to run the gauntlet from the ocean to an inlet, or from an inlet to a cove, or even from a cove to your boat lift. Sometimes the prop is up in the air, where you have no control of the boat at all. In big, bad, sucky water, a heavier boat is better. At least mistakes happen in slower motion.

The North Chesapeake and rivers like the Schuylkill, a 15-17' tinny (or even fiberglass) with a 50-70HP is fine. It does actually take more power to pull a tuber as compared to a skiier, but the skiier needs that initial "ooph" to get up on the surface of the water. 5Ohp may take a few more seconds to get the tuber up to scary speeds, but it will get him there. The issue is getting the skiier popped up on plane. A big powerful motor will get any skiier up on plane really quick, but a weaker motor takes longer, so the skiier needs more skill to balance himself thru that many-second effort the boat takes to get him up.


At any rate, here's my rough ideas needed for a skiier with a fiberglass boat.

16' - 70HP
17' - 90HP
18' - 115HP

I pulled those numbers outta my &^. Depends on the boat, skiier, and conditions.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

For your area, a 16' aluminum Starcraft would be ideal. A 50HP would get the job done, a 3 cylinder 70-75 would be perfect.

 

[silveraire]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

EZ, you love those hunks of tin. A person could be looking for an offshore 40' sportfish and you could find a way to recomend a starcraft. Joking aside, a nice 16 or 18 starcraft would do the trick in our area.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

On a per MPG basis, a jet ski is one of the most efficient planing boats out there. (just a simple matter of physics and weight) The problem comes in when you drive it hard, all day. If the OP kept track of the miles he put on the PWC in a single day, his fuel consumption with any other conventional boat would have been substantially higher. (your 787 seadoo also gets about 7 miles to the gallon at 50% throttle, which is 38.4 mph. There is no conventional boat that will do that...)


So in other words, don't blame the craft. Its how its driven that determines how quickly it empties your wallet.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

EZ, you love those hunks of tin. A person could be looking for an offshore 40' sportfish and you could find a way to recomend a starcraft. Joking aside, a nice 16 or 18 starcraft would do the trick in our area.

I certainly won't deny my bias. However, given the OP's specified budget and location, it would be tough to beat an open bow aluminum. If he was looking for something for the bay primarily, I would definitely not be preachin' small tin!

 

[acarter92]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

Great, you guys definately helped me out. I think a 16 or 18ft alluminum will be perfect for my needs and price range. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like there isn't a whole lot that goes wrong with an alluminum, no wood to rot, no fiberglass to crack etc...

I agree, jet skis are the most fuel efficient when talking about Miles Per Gallon, but I can't ever remember when distance covered was my concern. I would rather go slower and save fuel, and be able to do more thing with one machine.

Austin

 

[jdlough]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

ezmobee,

Well I hope you're happy. Another one to the dark/tin side......



("Starcraft, I am your father.............")

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

ezmobee,

Well I hope you're happy. Another one to the dark/tin side......

This dude's a coal cracker. He knows what's up

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

there isn't a whole lot that goes wrong with an alluminum, no wood to rot, no fiberglass to crack etc...

Austin, you are the man!

Welcome to iboats

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Small powerboat sizes and types

"but it seems like there isn't a whole lot that goes wrong with an alluminum, no wood to rot, no fiberglass to crack etc..."

except they will cut you to ribbons, like the top from a tin can.