I picked up a used 18' Bayrunner (aluminum boat) from a kind lady that
her husband owned. He passed away. He placed a 15 hp outboard and
from the size of the boat it seems a bit small.

His son told me that with him and his dad they can cruise at 15-20 mph
and cut through wind with no problem so his dad never thought about
placing a larger motor.

If I'm in choppy water (1'-2') would this motor be large enough for me
and a friend to ride in? It can get windy where I'm at. I'm not
looking for a speed boat but I don't want to be underpowered for safety
reasons.

Any experience would be appreciated.

I believe the motor would be powerful enough in 1 to 2' chop in an aluminum
boat of 18' LOA.. The question of sufficient power for two large adults can
best be answered by an on-water test. Get a friend and give er a try.

Butch
"louis" wrote in message
oups.com...
I picked up a used 18' Bayrunner (aluminum boat) from a kind lady that
her husband owned. He passed away. He placed a 15 hp outboard and
from the size of the boat it seems a bit small.

His son told me that with him and his dad they can cruise at 15-20 mph
and cut through wind with no problem so his dad never thought about
placing a larger motor.

If I'm in choppy water (1'-2') would this motor be large enough for me
and a friend to ride in? It can get windy where I'm at. I'm not
looking for a speed boat but I don't want to be underpowered for safety
reasons.

Any experience would be appreciated.

I thought about that too. Just concerned about being sucked in to the
middle of the bay from wind and chops!

Butch Davis wrote:
I believe the motor would be powerful enough in 1 to 2' chop in an aluminum
boat of 18' LOA.. The question of sufficient power for two large adults can
best be answered by an on-water test. Get a friend and give er a try.

Butch
"louis" wrote in message
oups.com...
I picked up a used 18' Bayrunner (aluminum boat) from a kind lady that
her husband owned. He passed away. He placed a 15 hp outboard and
from the size of the boat it seems a bit small.

His son told me that with him and his dad they can cruise at 15-20 mph
and cut through wind with no problem so his dad never thought about
placing a larger motor.

If I'm in choppy water (1'-2') would this motor be large enough for me
and a friend to ride in? It can get windy where I'm at. I'm not
looking for a speed boat but I don't want to be underpowered for safety
reasons.

Any experience would be appreciated.

It's actually rated for 75 hp but thought why go up if the motor has
enough power. Lower fuel cost and easier to work on it but I do take
underpowered issue seriously as it happend to me before (another
story).


Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
On 25 Aug 2005 22:31:47 -0700, "louis" wrote:

I picked up a used 18' Bayrunner (aluminum boat) from a kind lady that
her husband owned. He passed away. He placed a 15 hp outboard and
from the size of the boat it seems a bit small.

His son told me that with him and his dad they can cruise at 15-20 mph
and cut through wind with no problem so his dad never thought about
placing a larger motor.

If I'm in choppy water (1'-2') would this motor be large enough for me
and a friend to ride in? It can get windy where I'm at. I'm not
looking for a speed boat but I don't want to be underpowered for safety
reasons.

Any experience would be appreciated.

Good question.

Personally, I would have a little trouble believing that 15 horse on a
18' aluminum boat with two people will do 20 mph. I have a 14 foot
Princecraft that, loaded with gear, me and one other, will do 20 and
it has a 25 horse Johnson.

If that is a GPS speed, then you have to take him at his word, but I
would be suspicious of it. When you are low to the water and moving
you have a different perspective - even at 10 mph, it might look twice
that fast give wind and wave action. For example, if I'm running my
Ranger center console flat out at 50 mph, it hardly feels like I'm
moving that fast - same on my Contender. But people sitting down in
the stern or console seats, it's quite different - they can "feel" the
speed.

Another issue is "choppy" water. 1 to 2' isn't choppy in a boat like
that - it's a fairly decent size sea for a small open boat.

In my opinion, and if the manufacturer allows for upping the
horsepower (like going to a 25), then I would. And you can get your
money out of the 15 - used small motors are a rather valuable
commodity.

--

Later,

Tom

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Around 8/26/2005 2:32 PM, louis wrote:

It's actually rated for 75 hp but thought why go up if the motor has
enough power. Lower fuel cost and easier to work on it but I do take
underpowered issue seriously as it happend to me before (another
story).

I dunno, a 15 just sounds too small for an 18' unless you're running
bare (with minimal to no gear, etc.). Only way to know for sure with
your boat is to give it a trial run.

Given a 75 max rating, I'd think a 25 would be the _absolute_ minimum
with gear and maybe a 40 or 50 as a compromise between my minimum and
the max.


Though I have no idea how the weight compares, my grandpa had a 12'
Sorenson with a 15, and it was an absolute dog, just barely able to get
two people up on a plane running bare. In comparison, my great uncle had
a 13.5' Livingston with a Merc 50, and that was just about right. (Well,
maybe a *trifle* overkill...)

If fuel costs are a concern remember that, even with a larger motor, you
don't /have to/ run at full throttle all the time.



--
~/Garth - 1966 Glastron V-142 Skiflite: "Blue-Boat"
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing about in boats."
-Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Listen bud don't let the speed deamons scare you. I have an 18ft lund
explorer and it's probably heavier than your bayrunner. it has a 25 and a
9.9 on it. The 25 runs that rig at about 30-35 mph depending on conditions
and the 9.9 will push it to around 20 it's because of the prop on the newer
engines that you get these results. Your 15 on that boat should do just
fine. It all depends on how fast you need to get where you are going that is
the real story here. The guy you bought from like me was probably a true
fisherman, and not someone who had to get to the other side of the lake
first. Relax and enjoy the 15.
"louis" wrote in message
oups.com...
I picked up a used 18' Bayrunner (aluminum boat) from a kind lady that
her husband owned. He passed away. He placed a 15 hp outboard and
from the size of the boat it seems a bit small.

His son told me that with him and his dad they can cruise at 15-20 mph
and cut through wind with no problem so his dad never thought about
placing a larger motor.

If I'm in choppy water (1'-2') would this motor be large enough for me
and a friend to ride in? It can get windy where I'm at. I'm not
looking for a speed boat but I don't want to be underpowered for safety
reasons.

Any experience would be appreciated.

That's what I heard from his wife and kid. I heard he's always
catching fishing and loved the waters. Hopefully, the current setup
will push me plus one atleast 15 mph. I'll know this weekend.

HankCoen wrote:
Listen bud don't let the speed deamons scare you. I have an 18ft lund
explorer and it's probably heavier than your bayrunner. it has a 25 and a
9.9 on it. The 25 runs that rig at about 30-35 mph depending on conditions
and the 9.9 will push it to around 20 it's because of the prop on the newer
engines that you get these results. Your 15 on that boat should do just
fine. It all depends on how fast you need to get where you are going that is
the real story here. The guy you bought from like me was probably a true
fisherman, and not someone who had to get to the other side of the lake
first. Relax and enjoy the 15.
"louis" wrote in message
oups.com...
I picked up a used 18' Bayrunner (aluminum boat) from a kind lady that
her husband owned. He passed away. He placed a 15 hp outboard and
from the size of the boat it seems a bit small.

His son told me that with him and his dad they can cruise at 15-20 mph
and cut through wind with no problem so his dad never thought about
placing a larger motor.

If I'm in choppy water (1'-2') would this motor be large enough for me
and a friend to ride in? It can get windy where I'm at. I'm not
looking for a speed boat but I don't want to be underpowered for safety
reasons.

Any experience would be appreciated.

Planet earth Tom. I just came back from Greenwood lake and used the speedo I
ran 32mph across the lake. It's possible the Lund cuts water better once
it's up on plane than what you are used to. Sorry you don't agree.
"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 21:56:28 GMT, "HankCoen"
wrote:

Listen bud don't let the speed deamons scare you. I have an 18ft lund
explorer and it's probably heavier than your bayrunner. it has a 25 and a
9.9 on it. The 25 runs that rig at about 30-35 mph depending on
conditions
and the 9.9 will push it to around 20 it's because of the prop on the
newer
engines that you get these results.

You have a 18ft Lund Explorer that has a 25 hp engine and it will do
30/35 mph along with a 9.9 that will push it to 20 mph.

What planet did you say you live on?

--

Later,

Tom

Email decoder:

Remove onetwothree, replace with info,
Remove four, replace with swsports,
Remove com, replace with org.

"HankCoen" wrote in message
...
Planet earth Tom. I just came back from Greenwood lake and used the
speedo I
ran 32mph across the lake. It's possible the Lund cuts water better
once
it's up on plane than what you are used to. Sorry you don't agree.
"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 21:56:28 GMT, "HankCoen"
wrote:

Listen bud don't let the speed deamons scare you. I have an 18ft lund
explorer and it's probably heavier than your bayrunner. it has a 25
and a
9.9 on it. The 25 runs that rig at about 30-35 mph depending on
conditions
and the 9.9 will push it to around 20 it's because of the prop on the
newer
engines that you get these results.

You have a 18ft Lund Explorer that has a 25 hp engine and it will do
30/35 mph along with a 9.9 that will push it to 20 mph.

What planet did you say you live on?

My friend had, up until this year, a 35 johnson from 1980, the same model
that is now a 25. It would do 24 mph wide open, by GPS. Perhaps yours
is a lot faster, or perhaps you need a new speedometer.

del cecchi

Guys, Guys. we are all in this together. First off my Lund is a 97 model and
is not as wide or as heavy as the newer ones. and it is only rated for a 40
tiller not the 150 you said.. I may possibly need a new speedo but not
because of this issue. I guess you guys that are questioning me are probably
made about my crack about being a real fisherman and not being interested in
speed just catch. Sorry if that bothered you it's just my opinion. And lets
try helping eachother instead of slinging hash. OK
"louis" wrote in message
oups.com...
That's what I heard from his wife and kid. I heard he's always
catching fishing and loved the waters. Hopefully, the current setup
will push me plus one atleast 15 mph. I'll know this weekend.

HankCoen wrote:
Listen bud don't let the speed deamons scare you. I have an 18ft lund
explorer and it's probably heavier than your bayrunner. it has a 25 and
a
9.9 on it. The 25 runs that rig at about 30-35 mph depending on
conditions
and the 9.9 will push it to around 20 it's because of the prop on the
newer
engines that you get these results. Your 15 on that boat should do just
fine. It all depends on how fast you need to get where you are going
that is
the real story here. The guy you bought from like me was probably a true
fisherman, and not someone who had to get to the other side of the lake
first. Relax and enjoy the 15.
"louis" wrote in message
oups.com...
I picked up a used 18' Bayrunner (aluminum boat) from a kind lady that
her husband owned. He passed away. He placed a 15 hp outboard and
from the size of the boat it seems a bit small.

His son told me that with him and his dad they can cruise at 15-20 mph
and cut through wind with no problem so his dad never thought about
placing a larger motor.

If I'm in choppy water (1'-2') would this motor be large enough for me
and a friend to ride in? It can get windy where I'm at. I'm not
looking for a speed boat but I don't want to be underpowered for
safety
reasons.

Any experience would be appreciated.