Choosing the right motor for your fishing boats
This is pretty much a no brainer but first you need to figure out what you want to do with your boat. Obviously the primary purpose will be fishing but what kind of fishing. Obviously if you are only going to be trolling you need a different setup than if you are going to always be anchoring and sitting. Even fishing boats have dfferent purposes.
If you want to be a tournament fisherman, which can be quite exciting even in small local tournaments, you should consider a boat with a motor no less than 150 HP and probably shorter than 19 feet. For those of you who plan to fish on deeper water regularly you might find that a 200 HP motor and a boat at least 20 feet long or more will be ideal.
If you don’t plan on doing any tournament fishing but instead want to go after fish like bass, walleyes or crappies you’ll want a smaller boat. Perhaps in the 17-18 foot range with a minimum of 115 HP for the motor. With that boat you can enjoy it on lakes or rivers.
Choosing the motor or system to propel your boat is one of the more important things you will do. Motors weigh a lot and the horsepower will have a lot to do with how happy you are with your boat. If you don’t get a big enough motor it will work twice as hard and your boat performance will be poor.
There are a few different types of motors you can buy. First is an outboard which is very popular on smaller boats and fishing boats. These motors while still heavy are the lightest, have tons of power and are very quiet. They are usually mounted on the transom with bolts or brackets.
Outboards will swivel for easy steering as the prop pushes the stern of the boat. They come in many different sizes from 5 HP to 300 HP and the horsepower will affect how much fuel you use. Just like cars, the smaller the motor the better the mileage. and that’s why choosing the right motor for your boat is so important.
Filed under: Boating, Camping, General, Hobbies, Outdoor
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