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"Paul G." wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a 12' fiberglass boat that is rated for "up to 14 hp". What's
a practical size outboard for this boat? Should I go for the max or
what? Thanks,
-Paul


I've got a 14' aluminum yacht rated for 25 hp, but my motor's 15 hp. I
can hit 22 mph on flat water with two adults on board. The boat itself
weighs about 400 lbs. Check your boat's weight and that should give you
a useful guideline.

Also consider who will be in the boat much of the time. I often fish
alone, and my motor's a tiller model. So, I'm in the stern along with
the battery. That raises the bow (affecting visibility) under certain
conditions and no amount of motor angle adjustment helps. I usually put
a couple of 50 lb sandbags in the bow. Even so, this nixed the idea of
upgrading to 25 hp a few years back. That, and the fact that flat water
almost never happens around here.

A while back here, people would buy a 9.9 hp outboards to avoid the need
to license their boat.
I have a 25 hp on a 14' 6" aluminum boat now and found the licensing
procedure to be free and relatively painless.


I don't know if licensing is related to horsepower here, but there's one
lake where there's a 10 hp limit. My dealer has repeatedly offered to get
me a different decal for my motor, since (according to him), the only
diff between the 10 and the 15 hp motors is the carb.


My 14' boat with 15 hp was automatically covered under my State Farm home
owners policy. My check on the HP limits for coverage.

I saw Christmas decorations for sale today at CVS.