What size motor for 14' jon boat

[Ranch11]

I have a 14' crestliner jon boat and was wondering what size motor would you guys recommend? I'm thinking perhaps a 80lb thrust electric ran 24 volt or if I can find one cheap enough, a 15-20 horse 2 or 4 stroke.
Any info is appreciated.

[Lund rebel]

What are you planning on using the boat for? I was looking at a Jon boat and put a pro drive motor on it, saw fish and wildlife on the river last year with one can dam near go across ground.

[the local angler]

is there still a tag on the boat? if the tag is still on the boat it should tell motor size and all for that boat. mine is mounted on the back of the boat on the inside and lists a 6hp max for my 12 footer.

[Ranch11]

Mainly running sloughs/ponds/rivers, sticker says max 25 horse, but was just wondering what some other guys are using.
What does a pro-drive cost?

[catnthehat]

I had a couple of 14' cartopper Jons that I ran 20's on, they were rated for 15's.
My big Smoker craft was a 16' but really wide, I ran 40 on it.
Cat

[ALBTUFF]

27 hp pro drive about $5000. I have a 23 hp mud buddy on my 16' jon and while it is a little bit sluggish with 3 guys a dog and gear it will get me any where I want to go. As another poster said I can damn near run dry land. No water no problem! If you can get a mud motor for your jon you won't be disappointed.

[Pikebreath]

I have a couple jons, a 14 and 18 footer. Both are great stable fishing platforms which can be launched into inches of water.

The key to jon boat handling is matching the weight and it's distribution in the boat. Too much weight at the front, the boat plows through the water,,,, too much at the back it wont level onto plane,, and it doesn't steer or track well. If you can match the weight and distribution correctly, jons will ride horizontally nicely on top of the water displacing only a few inches of water.

I run a 30 lb electric motor hung off the transom for boat positioning mostly for casting to structure. The combination of battery and motor adds a 100 lb of which over 70 lbs of that is battery.

Depending on the passenger and gear load I am constantly moving the fuel tank and / or trolling battery around in the boat. Alone, I need both in the front half of the boat,,,, a 200 lb fishing buddy meant tank and battery got moved to the back half,,, A lighter passenger usually had me moving the trolling motor battery only to the back half.

I originally had 5hp 4 stroke Honda on the boat, which was way too heavy and under powered for the hp.

I ran a 9.9 Johnson for 15 years which served me well enough, but it was bit underpowered when the passenger weight exceeded 200 lbs.

About 5-6 years ago, I found a good a late 70's model Evinrude 15 hp for $1200 and I feel that is the perfect match for the 14 jon. This combination lets me travel 14- 18 mph at full throttle. The old 9.9 would top at maybe 15 mph when I fished alone, but would slow down considerably as you added passenger weight.

Larger out boards may have more jam, but the extra weight may make it stern heavy and balancing the weight distibution may be an issue at times. Remove the electric motor and you probably could go to a 20 hp,,, but I do wonder if would it troll as slowly as you might want to.

FWIW, I would stick with a two stoke engine simply cuz you get a better hp per weight ratio which on smaller boats is a 'huge gain'.

[The Fisherman Guy]

Depending on the 14 foot jon. Is it a 1436, 1442, 1448?

Just so we are on the same page, the numbers correlate to length x bottom width. A 1448 will draft less water and handle more weight than a 1436.

I just went through this exact decision for my new 1436! Here's what I learned.

Two stroke vs four stroke:

Two strokes are lighter than four strokes of the same horsepower rating, but, in Canada, you'll have a hard time finding a NEW two stroke motor because dealers aren't allowed to sell them in Canada anymore due to emissions regulations.

If you can find a used two stroke, of the max horsepower rating of your boat - it will darn near fly. Keep in mind, you will likely need to mix fuel, it will idle rough when cold, and trolling for extended periods of time will bog down the carb. (easily fixed by opening up the throttle wide open for a minute or two).

Two strokes run hotter than four strokes, therefore require more water intake to cool them off.

The two strokes require a little more maintenance than a four stroke. Due to to lower quality fuel that two strokes require. (even if oil injected.)

If you, or someone else operating the boat forgets to premix your oil and fuel, and runs the motor with straight fuel. Watch out, it can be a costly mistake.

Four strokes aren't that much heavier. Look at the statistics.

Yes, most guys swear by two strokes for jon & river boats.

Finally, you will always want more power. You may not need it all the time, but when you do need it - and you don't have it, you'll curse your decision. Just because you have a max rated motor for your boat, doesn't mean you need to run it at full throttle - but it's there if you need it.

I debated between a 2014 Mercury 9.9hp - $2700 + taxes and fuel tank & line and a 2014 Yamaha 20hp, $3500 tax in w/ fuel tank and line.

I went with the Yamaha. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

[Pikebreath]

Couple questions for you,,,, fish guy,,,

When did the 4 stroke only law take effect? I just did a quick internet search for outboards and you are right in that finding a new 2 stroke is a challenge. I bought a new stroke Tohatsu 35 jet (50 hp engine rated to 35 at the jet) a couple years ago. Did I just beat the implementation of the law?

If we are talking 4 stroke, I would definitely lean towards more hp than less.

Are you running any kind of electric on your 1436? A 20 hp 4 stroke plus 100 lb of trolling motor and battery is a lot of weight but probably manageable if you are careful with cargo and passenger weight.

Another consideration for engine weight is whether the engine stays on a trailered boat or is taken off the boat after each use. Most 15 - 20 hp 4 stroke out boards generally all weigh over 100 -130 lbs. My old 15 hp evinrude is just over 70 lb. That's a pretty big difference in lugging around weight.

I guess I got three questions,,, I am bit confused about your comment ..."Due to lower quality fuel that two strokes require. (even if oil injected.)"

What do you mean by requiring lower quality fuel? I was of the opinion that many 2 stroke ran better on higher octane rated fuel as they were designed in the days of leaded fuel. Regular leaded fuel carries a higher octane rating than regular unleaded. I use premium unleaded in all my two strokes outboards and notice significantly better performance than regular unleaded.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by the local angler

is there still a tag on the boat? if the tag is still on the boat it should tell motor size and all for that boat. mine is mounted on the back of the boat on the inside and lists a 6hp max for my 12 footer.

X2... your boat is set to handle a certain weight. Please note on older boats they rated based upon 2 strokes which are significant lighter than 4 strokes.

Also take into account the weight of the fishermen and gear including gas cans.

[The Fisherman Guy]

Three answers:

I don't recall the year that 2 stroke outboards were deemed unfit to sell new at a dealership. The youngest, new 2 stroke I could find was 2007.

I am not running a trolling motor on my river boat at the moment, you are correct about weight and balance.

As soon as you mix oil into the combustion process, it lowers the quality. Increased smoke, deposits in the carb over time, and hard idling are examples of negative effects due to lower quality fuel. Mixing fuel isn't an exact process, buying it at the pump is more of an exact choice of what goes through your engine.

Broke the new motor in yesterday. With 400lbs+ weight in the boat, it did 26mph.

[Pikebreath]

Originally Posted by The Fisherman Guy

Three answers:

As soon as you mix oil into the combustion process, it lowers the quality. Increased smoke, deposits in the carb over time, and hard idling are examples of negative effects due to lower quality fuel. Mixing fuel isn't an exact process, buying it at the pump is more of an exact choice of what goes through your engine.

Broke the new motor in yesterday. With 400lbs+ weight in the boat, it did 26mph.

Okay, now I see what you mean,,, which is why 2 strokes work better with higher octane rated gas,, so we are saying the same thing in different ways.

Wow, 26 mph is "bogeying". Where did you run your boat,,,on the Bow? If so was that speed with or against the current?

I can get 24- 26 mph on a calm lake with my 18 foot jon with the 35 Tohastsu jet outboard, but there sure comes with a price. I'll burn up a most of 5 US gal fuel tank doing so.

[The Fisherman Guy]

I opted for a prop instead of a jet, two reasons: the 1436 is max rated for 20hp, and a 20hp jet conversion wouldn't be enough in my opinion. Any larger and the weight would be too much for the transom.

Since it is snowing in Calgary I headed to Revelstoke and ran the Columbia. 26mph up stream, but the water is low and current is slow at this time of year.

Took it to the Upper Arrow today and ran into FishermanFrank1976 during a windy period, in 2ft whitecaps. Good fun, but slow fishing for us both. For the record, taking a 1436 Jon boat on big water in white caps is not advised.

[Pikebreath]

Originally Posted by The Fisherman Guy

I opted for a prop instead of a jet, two reasons: the 1436 is max rated for 20hp, and a 20hp jet conversion wouldn't be enough in my opinion. Any larger and the weight would be too much for the transom.

Since it is snowing in Calgary I headed to Revelstoke and ran the Columbia. 26mph up stream, but the water is low and current is slow at this time of year.

Took it to the Upper Arrow today and ran into FishermanFrank1976 during a windy period, in 2ft whitecaps. Good fun, but slow fishing for us both. For the record, taking a 1436 Jon boat on big water in white caps is not advised.

Taking any 14 ft portable aluminum out in two foot whitecaps is not advised!

That said I would feel more secure in a 14 jon than a 14 v-hull tinner. The flat bottom design will give you a rougher wetter ride but they are far less tippy if you get the weight distributed properly. In a jon you can you can typically run the waves at a 45 degree angle and bob / slide over the wave eliminating that hard bounce and loss of steering control when the bow climbs the crest of the wave.

The biggest issue with any small boat is weight and it distribution within the boat. After you account for the engine, fuel tank and a couple typical 160 - 240 lb fisher guys, there is not lot of cargo and gear allowance left. In calm water you can get away overloading your boat,,,,, however boat capacity ratings are given for rough water handling for good reason!!!

The biggest advantage that I can see for a jon boat for fishing is the extra stability does allow the angler to more easily stand and cast in "normal seas" . Two reasonably coordinated anglers can stand up and fly cast in my 14 foot jon.

In my 18 foot jon, we have fished 4 standing anglers,,, the front and bow stern anglers were fly-casting to boot!