westcoastlaker
New Member
Hello everyone, this is my first post to the forum. I have owned several 12' aluminum and FG boats in the past and have recently purchased an older 16' fiberglass boat for $500. The boat is a bit of a project, though the hull, floor, and transom all seem very solid. It is a project in that it needs a motor, controls, likely new steering, a bilge pump and battery.
The boat will be used mostly at our little cabin on Upper Campbell Lake to haul family and kids around as well as a little trout fishing. It's a fairly large lake and can get a little windy at times so I'm hoping this can handle chop reasonably well when needed.
I am wondering what I should be looking at HP wise for a new-to-me outboard. I'm thinking 50-60 range, but wonder if that's a little low. My kids are all under 3 right now, so there won't be much for water sports but that's a consideration in the future though likely that will mean a newer boat down the line. Really just towing a tube around and maybe a little waterskiing if we get so inspired.
Mostly though, the boat will be used for taking 3-4 adults and a couple kids out for cruises, picnics and a little fishing. I don't really care about top speed, just so long as we can get up on a plane pretty easily and cruise at a reasonable speed. My concerns of a larger motor are extra cost, weight, and strain on the transom.
The boat doesn't have a tag on the transom so I don't know what it's original rated for, though I'm trying to find out through it's license tag.
I have my eye on a used '87 Yamaha precision blend 50hp for $1000, but recently also found a '80 johnson 70hp for the same price. Both appear to be in pretty good condition for their age. Ideally I'd like to keep the motor+controls cost under $1500.
Any advice is much appreciated.
Warren.
The boat will be used mostly at our little cabin on Upper Campbell Lake to haul family and kids around as well as a little trout fishing. It's a fairly large lake and can get a little windy at times so I'm hoping this can handle chop reasonably well when needed.
I am wondering what I should be looking at HP wise for a new-to-me outboard. I'm thinking 50-60 range, but wonder if that's a little low. My kids are all under 3 right now, so there won't be much for water sports but that's a consideration in the future though likely that will mean a newer boat down the line. Really just towing a tube around and maybe a little waterskiing if we get so inspired.
Mostly though, the boat will be used for taking 3-4 adults and a couple kids out for cruises, picnics and a little fishing. I don't really care about top speed, just so long as we can get up on a plane pretty easily and cruise at a reasonable speed. My concerns of a larger motor are extra cost, weight, and strain on the transom.
The boat doesn't have a tag on the transom so I don't know what it's original rated for, though I'm trying to find out through it's license tag.
I have my eye on a used '87 Yamaha precision blend 50hp for $1000, but recently also found a '80 johnson 70hp for the same price. Both appear to be in pretty good condition for their age. Ideally I'd like to keep the motor+controls cost under $1500.
Any advice is much appreciated.
Warren.
I'm trying to dig up some info on the boat through the license tag... we'll see what I can find re what it's rated for, but it looks like 60-70 is the general consensus.
