Brand new 1648 alumacraft jon boat

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scoobeb

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Ok,so i finally after all these yrs got my ultimate boat that i have been wanting all along,my 1648 alumacraft.I finally ran into enough money to get my boat,motor and trailer.I had just purchased a 1436 not to long ago along with a brand new 20hp 4stroke tohatsu then i ran into this money like a month later so i just sold the 1436 and still have the tohatsu.Motor has never been run.Yes it's a mess.So i have a guy coming to buy the tohatsu for actually a hair bit more then i paid because i got a sick deal on the motor or i just may keep it.So now i have a brand new trailer and brand new 1648 coming on the truck to the dealer by march 4th.

So now i'm stuck with a dilemma.Do i sell this 20hp tohatsu because i can just keep it for the new boat or do i upgrade to a 25hp?If i go 25 it's either a etec or new suzuki.I have a 50/50 thing going here.Some people say the added weight won't be worth it,plus it's near $1000 more from the 20 to the 25 and only gaining 5hp.The dealer i got the boat from said you may go from 25-27mph to near 30 so he thinks $1000 to upgrade is a waste but if needed i can afford to get the new 25hp with no problem.I plan on using it with just me or maybe 2 to 3 people.The dealer i'm buying it from says to keep the 20hp because it will perform better with the lighter outboard and i talked to some people at a boat show i went to here in tampa fl and they said i should upgrade to a 25 but the 20 will do good on it.No i'm not going to buy a outboard from them or did they try to sell me one either so it was just good info.I know most people say well of course they will tell you to upgrade because they want to sell you a motor.


The place i get my motors no one in the country has been able to come close to so i buy from one source and that's it.No big secret either,it's cumberlandwatersports.com.If you call them to they will give you an even better deal on their outboards.They sell merc,tohatsu,nissan all the same up to 30hp by the way as tohatsu makes them all and suzuki and honda they sell if anyone has interest.The etec would be local.

Yes i do like going to my spots quick and i like going fast but if it's only a few mph from one to the other for close to a $1000 i can live with it.I do have the money though to get the 25 if needed and i only want to do this once and get it right.I'm trying to weigh out how much more the 25 would eat in gas over the 20,stuff like that.So does anyone have this size boat with this size motor(20hp 4stroke) and how it performs?I figured if i can get on plane good with 3 people and get near 20-25mph that would be good enough.The new 25hp suzuki is a really light and sweet motor and weighs only 136lbs for a 3 cylinder but is near $1000 more expensive.So any help would be great here,sorry so long just wanted to explain my situation.

Also forgot to mention the boat is light at 310 lbs and is rated up to a 35hp but i want to also mod the whole thing with wood,trolling motor,etc... so i know that will add quite a bit of weight so that is why i'm trying to decide if i need the extra 5hp.Thanks for any help.This is going to be the boat i keep for many yrs so i want to get everything right now.I may from time to time have 4 people on the boat and i was thinking the 20hp may struggle with that as i know the 25 will have that extra power to get it on plane but that will be a rare thing that 4 people total goes at one time,mostly just me or me and my friend and daughter.If it's worth upgrading then i will do it with no issues.I have the money now and who knows what the future holds and we only live once but like i said i'm hoping someone here who has this package or some what similar would help me out.
 
If I had the money and could afford it, I would go with a 30hp motor of whatever flavor you prefer.
 
The 25/30 is basically the same motor and they don't have a 30hp suzuki in a short shaft,plus even if they did the price difference would be huge. Plus the 30 weighs more so if I do this a 25 would be plenty. I'm caught in the middle here. The 25/30 share the same power head so the mph difference would be so minimal.
 
The 15/20 share the same power head then if you step up to the 25/30 they share the same power head. What outboard do you have on your boat?
 
The boat is coming in march 4th,I have a new 20hp 4 stroke tohatsu now but I'm wondering if I should go to a 25. I have a guy wanting it tomorrow but I'm not sure I want to sell it if it will do a good job of moving it.
 
scoobeb said:
The boat is coming in march 4th,I have a new 20hp 4 stroke tohatsu now but I'm wondering if I should go to a 25. I have a guy wanting it tomorrow but I'm not sure I want to sell it if it will do a good job of moving it.

It's good to have such problems :)

Sell the 20HP - reach down deep and put max HP on the boat.
 
Well the max is 35hp and no one makes a new 35 and I don't want used. I like the 25 zuki or etec. The 30 is just way to much money in a etec and they don't make a short shaft 30hp in a zuki,stupid if you ask me but it is what it is.I know the 20hp tohatsu has a ton of power to weight. I am leaning towards the bigger motor but I may just keep what I have to. I just don't think 5 extra hp is worth $1000 even know I can afford it. I have seen the tohatsu move a loaded 16ft pro v series tracker near 25mph on YouTube and that boat was near 1000 lbs loaded. I just need to think this through. I know having max power is good but I can't see the money used to gain just a few mph.
 
I would use the 20hp. Keep your eyes open for a lightly used motor, and make the change at a later date when you run into the bargain. Keep the $1000 and do something smart with it.
 
Exactly what i was thinking Akbejeepin,i have seen around 100 Youtube videos with this exact outboard moving this size boat near the mid 20's with no issues whatsoever,even a 1652 Lowe jon which is bigger then this one went near 23mph with 2 people so i have confidence in it as i know Tohatsu makes a great engine and makes all the 4stroke engines for Merc and Nissan from 30hp and under and all the Evinrude 4strokes from 2.5hp to the 15hp.I'm thinking of just keeping this motor all together.

It's a tiller model boat and not a cc to.It will scoot me or 2 people easily near 25mph which is plenty fast with a 11 pitch prop.I have been thinking all night,is just a few mph worth spending $1000 more and more gas it will use,i say no.Yes if i had 3 or more people on it on a consistent basis it would be worth the extra power and money.I have been thinking i am just going to put a plywood floor in for now and not much more so it will be a very light boat.With the extra money i can get a nice trolling motor,poling platform,push pole and any other odds and ends i need.If in time i want more speed then i will go with a 25hp Suzuki or Etec.

Heck most of the time it will be just me so it will have plenty of push from after watching all these videos.Ok if anyone has any other things i should think about before keeping this please feel free to chime in.Also just so people know this Tohatsu is a 100% brand new 2015 outboard,never been started and just pulled from the box so i know i will never have any issues with it as i take great care of my stuff.Plus it has a 5yr warranty to.I got a unreal deal on it so it will be so hard to part with.Thanks for any help.
 
this is my opinion. i have a 1648 mv weldbilt with a 30 hp 4 stroke tohstsu, pt/t tiller. top speed with 2 guys 27- mph, maybe a tad more. one guy will hit 29. 3 guys 26. will use quite a bit more gas with the 3 guys. uses so little gas i bought a 3 gallon tank. bow mount foot control tm. want to dump it for a bow mount hand control. pedal and cable take up an enormous amount of room go with the biggest motor u can afford. efi is a plus. elec start is a plus.pt/t is great, get it.any other questions ask away
 
I would wait and try the 20 out on it 1st. Might be all you need. Then you can spend the cash saved on electronics or something.
 
I don't think people are totally understanding what boat I have,it's just a riveted 1648 alumacraft jon boat,extremely light weight at only 310lbs. It is only 100lbs more then my original 1436 I had and that boat with 2 people did near 27mph. I was told from many people here the more planning surface the better the boat will perform so this boat is much wider but only 100lbs more so it should perform as good as my 1436 or better from everything I have researched so far on the net and from all the info I have gotten here over the yrs. People who upgrade from a 20 to a 25 saw very little performance difference,most went from 25-27mph to 27-30mph,so I think to myself is $1000 worth a few mph? I can't see how it is. Not that the money is an issue it just feels like a waste for so little performance difference. Maybe if I went to a 30 I would get a bit over 30 but all 30hp share the same power head as the 25 and the cost difference is huge. If I do decide to upgrade it would be a 25hp suzuki or etec,both will give me near the same performance increase,now I'm not saying you won't gain anything by going bigger but it is so minimal. Yes definitely more torque and a few mph but as I stated there will never usually be more then 2 in the boat,if I ran 3 people or more all the time then the 25 would absolutely be in demand and worth it. Plus I'm running a 11pitch prop on this tohatsu instead of the stock 10 pitch,that will increase my speed.
 
Thank God for youtube and all the videos they have with this size boat and most of them were running either a 20 or 25and most posted their top end speed and they were all so close to eachother,the 20hp 4 stroke outboards which I saw all the major brands run did near the same top speed. 27mph with one guy and gear/25mph with 2 and gear. Those numbers are not to shabby for a 20hp. Most of the 25-30hp were only near 30mph with one guy and gear, 27-28 with two guys and gear. It's very close.
 
I understand. I don't understand spending the extra cash to go from a 20 to a 25, maybe 30. You won't see that much more MPH. Plus you are entering a higher weight category in the 25-30 over the 20. Like I stated, wait and see if it is enough for you and if so spend the extra cash on electronics or something.
 
I totally agree with you DrNip,the 25 etec is 146lbs and the 25 suzuki is 136 which is fairly light for a 25 but still added weight as you mentioned.
 

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