Building an all purpose recreational boat-where to start?

Hi everyone. I'm glad I found this forum because I'm one of those guys that can't leave anything alone, so now that I'm looking for a boat, why would it be any different? I live in Hunterdon County, NJ which is in the northwest portion of the state, where most of the larger lakes are. I'm also within 20 minutes of the Delaware River. The river tends to be shallow (2-3' in spots) and rocky up here, but a bit further north and a bit further south it gets deeper and wider, so it's not the kind of place where you want to go very fast anyway. The two large reservoirs near our home only allow 9.9 HP motors, so that's an issue too, but from what I've read so far a semi-vee aluminum boat is my best bet given the fact that I won't have much power to play with and I need a boat that can do well in shallow water. As I mentioned in the title this boat is really meant as an all purpose recreational boat. I'm not a hardcore bass fisherman or duck hunter, so no worries about specialization there-but we will be doing some fishing from the boat. Mostly we'll just be taking it out for fun. One of the lakes we canoe on now has campsites on the opposite shore that can only be reached by water or a 4 mile hike, so they're pretty secluded-we like to go out there with the dog, beach the canoe, have lunch, and just hang out. It would be nice to be able to get there and back without a full upper body workout :wink: It would also be nice to have something more substantial to fish out of. I never liked fishing out of a canoe.

So, based on the fact that we're not looking for a specialized fishing boat, we need room for 2-3 people and an 80lb dog, we would need something that can operate in fairly shallow water, and we're limited to 9.9 HP (I do have an additional question about that though)-what is our best bet to start with? My immediate thought was a jon boat, but I was wondering about stability issues. Would a modified vee or tri-hull be better? How would that limit us in terms of shallow areas? What about a pontoon? I should also add that I'll definitely be looking for something used.

Now for my last question. Let me preface this by saying that despite being a very mechanically inclined person (I do all my own work on my truck, etc...) I don't have any experience with outboards and don't really know much about engine sizing, propellers, and the like. That being said, I've heard that in terms of the outward appearance of the motor itself, that a 9.9 is the same as a 25 HP with regard to some brands-its the internals that are different. In other words, much in the way a Chevy 305 and a 350 are identical on the outside, they are different on the inside and as a result have very different power capabilities. Is this true? If so, would I be able to get a larger engine and just put 9.9 markings on it? I'm not looking for some end run around the rules so that I can run around like a maniac on the lakes-I just don't want to end up with a boat that is a total dog with a full load of people. What are my options here?

I think you'll find that a 9.8 and a 25hp won't be from the same basic motor. It' usually more like a 9.8 and a 15 use the same basic motor. It's generally not displacement but the carburetion and some other details that make the difference. There are plenty of guys here who can weigh in on this. There is also the legal thing but I suppose a 15hp with a 9.8 cowl on it is hard to tell unless you know what you're looking for. As far as the boat, I would thing a 1436 or 1442 would move along fine with your 15hp motor. Some of the 12 footers have a 2 person limit and I think you'll fine that a 14 would be a better bet for what you have described. Even though you're going to buy used, go on line and see the manufacturer's specs as far as no. of passengers and total weight. That'll help you decide what to look for. If it were me I'd go for a mod v jon boat.

two can fish comfortably out of a 1448, three have trouble. I doubt a 16' will plane out with three folks with a 15hp engine. My 9.9 Merc just needed a jet change to be a 15hp... It even had a black cowl because the former owner was supposed to run 7.5 or lower on his lake... The 9.9 would not plane out the heavy decked 1448mv with just me in it.

If it was me I would find a big tiller engine, 25 or so and run that and a smaller 9.9 for the lakes on a older light 1660 mod v hull.

Jamie

Check out the Tracker 1542. It is very stable and can accommodate 3 easily at a good price point. I have one and I love it. A 9.9 should push it along nicely, altthough you won't be setting any speed records.

https://www.trackerboats.com/boat/?boat=3260

I was going to interject, we use a 1560 flat bottom, runs pretty good and being a big guy - 340 we fish 3 deep pretty good out of it.

We do have an 18horse motor that motors us along pretty good so a 10hp should be plenty.

MadCatX said:

I was going to interject, we use a 1560 flat bottom, runs pretty good and being a big guy - 340 we fish 3 deep pretty good out of it.

We do have an 18horse motor that motors us along pretty good so a 10hp should be plenty.

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1560 is WIDE! Is that across the floor or the beam? What kind of boat is it?