What horsepower should I put on a Lowe 1667 ?

I'm going to be purchasing an outboard to put on a Lowe 1667. The hull weighs 350 lbs. The max horsepower rating is 30hp and the max weight capacity is 1100 lbs per the Lowe website. My calculations indicate I'll be operating it at close to the maximum weight rating around 50 percent of the time.

What horsepower should I put on it? I know most people lean toward going with the maximum rated horsepower on most anything and I usually do too. But in this instance I'm not positive it would make a great deal of difference if I went with a 180 lbs 25hp or a 225 lbs 30hp. Would the extra 5hp offset the 45 lbs weight gain by very much?

Another thing to factor in is the boat will be stick steer and operated from near the front rather than tiller steer.

I'm hoping some 1667 owners or anyone operating a similar size/style/weight hull for that matter will chime in and share your setup info and how it's worked out for you. I'd be very grateful for the input.

Thanks so much for your help.

Is your boat tiller or does it have a steering wheel?
I would look at 35 and 40hp motors too, because if your not overpowered your under powered.

I had a 1648 and put a tiller 1998 Suzuki 25hp on it. Loaded it would go 26 mph gps, and by myself it would go 30mph. Those older Suzuki 3cylinders were fast. If the new 25 and 30 hp motors are equal priced go with the 30. If there is a big price difference I would be happy with the 25, not sure I would notice a performance difference.
The max hp on the data plate is there for a reason, I wouldn't exceed those limits.


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Is it 67" across the bottom or the beam? The hull weight plus factory hp rating seem more inline with a riveted 1648 to me, but maybe they make a model I am unaware of.

A 25hp should be enough but its always ideal to align your outboard to the max hull rating. With stick steering or a console, you can usually go higher so a 40hp may be ideal. It will move pretty good but you can always just goose it up on plane and back off the throttle and cruise along nicely and save on gas. Just make sure to prop it correctly.

25 will be fine, a 30 won't hurt and in most cases will help some, always go for greater HP when you can. I'd be putting a 35-40 as mentioned above without thinking twice. But it all depends on what motivates you.