Need Your Thoughts - 20hP motor on 16foot

I have tons of experience running bigger aluminum saltwater boats and mid range river jet boats but when it comes to small motors and boats, I could use some help.

I am looking to buy a new boat for a lake that has a 20HP max restriction. Some dealers and people say that a 16 foot boat will get on plane and run between 18-20 mph with 2 guys and moderate gear. Others are saying no way, you have to go with a 14 foot. I will have at least 2 batteries to power the trolling motor and electronics.

Who here runs a 20Hp and how does it perform on your boat? I am not set in stone but I am really looking hard at the Lund Fury 1400 or 1600 series as well as the Mirrocraft Outfitter (again, 14 or 16 footer). These boats have less weight while keeping some aluminum thickness. It looks like the Crestliner Kodiak and Starweld boats are just too heavy.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks

I think a 20hp would get a 16' on plane without too much problem. I have a 16' Lund with a 25 and my top end is 24-5mph. My buddy has a 14' Fury with a 25hp and it is faster than my rig. It seems like a 20hp on a reasonably light 16' would do 18-20 mph.

Great, how does he like the Fury?

20hp and 15-16' boat combos are very common around here. I've never seen any of them that have a problem getting on plane. I ran an old merc 20 on my 15/38 the first couple of years I had it and it would plane with 3 "large" adults in it and run about 18-20mph.

This thread makes me feel like my boat is way too heavy or something because I only get 30mph out of it (GPS checked). Boat is old fisher 16 ft 3 inches, 76 inches wide. Hull weighs around 560 lbs empty and has a old 48hp johnson on it which runs good, I think. But 25 out of a 16ft lund with a 25hp is great. My boat does of course have lots of stuff in it, 2 batteries, 2 anchors, lots of fishing gear, 550 lbs of fisherman, cooler, trolling motor.
Tim

My 14' with two guys and gear will only run 23 with. 20 on it

My buddy loves his 14' Fury, his is a tiller.

25mph in my 16' is in perfect conditions with the dog standing in the right place. I can always get it to at least 23.5mph. Combined weight of me and the pup is about 225lbs.

A lot of it has to do with the hull.

If you have a hull that doesn't plane easily (not enough lift), it will be miserable with a 20. That said, if the hull is designed to plane easily, the 20 will work, but don't expect it to be a hotrod. 20 MPH is about all it'll see with a load. I ran a 4 stroke 15 hp Yamaha on my 1548 War Eagle, but that hull has enough lift built into it to plane easily. With just me and gear, 23-24 mph. With the GF and myself, along with all our gear, getting it on top of the water was.....uh..........interesting. It would plane, but it took forever and we had to move stuff around in the boat, including ourselves. Wide open throttle would net about 18 mph with both of us. Needless to say, I put the 25 back on it and sold the 15.

I had a 20 on my 1648. With me another person and the thick plywood floor it did around 19~22.

my de-restricted honda 9.9 (~13.5 hp) pushes my 16' duranautic (deep V) to 19 mph with just me aboard. runs 13 with two other fishermen. no problems planing. you will be perfectly fine with a 20 hp, as long as you match the prop correctly.

with lower horsepower motors on bigger boats, it is extremely important to make sure you are running the motor in the WOT range otherwise your performance will be seriously impacted. you'll need a tach for the motor (cheap on amazon) and a GPS speedometer (your smartphone is fine) to make sure you are getting all you can out of those 20 hp.

Someone said your boat hull is what gives you lift. that's somewhat true but also kind of wrong. you want almost no hull in the water for maximum speed. Boat lift comes from engine offset and engine height. engine offset changes the leverage your motor has lifting your hull from the water and the further back your motor is it allows your prop to "bite" better water or less turbulent water. the offset gives time for the water to re-collect before contacting your prop. engine height changes the amount of drag your motor has/ how much bite the prop has. finding the sweet spot on both is what gives you your fastest speed. so i would make sure your 20hp is mounted correctly and if your not loaded down to the max your 16ft should run like a champ. maybe check installing a cavitation plate or hydrofoil and give the boat just a little more lift. but if that 20 HP isnt running like it should and a little under powered a hydrofoil might just slow you down. my $0.02

Thanks Everyone. I appreciate it. I am not so much looking for max speed but I do need to plane out and run at least 15 to 17 mph. These small boats I just don't know. Again, Thanks

I have a G3 1544 flat bottom with a 1975 Evinrude 20hp, I have a trolling motor and battery and 6 gal. fuel tank and my fat butt weighing in at 245 the little 20 does a good job of getting around the lake never gps'ed the speed but never want for more power either.

With another person in the boat and livewell full it still gets on plane and runs good.

Thank you

I have a 16' semi-vee Ouachita with an old '74 15 HP Johnson (flywheel rated HP), and get 17-18 mph GPS measured with two 200+ lb fishermen and all gear aboard. I'd love more HP, but the 15 gets the job done, so a 20 should do well.