14' Jon Boat Question

I have a question about my jon boat. I have a 14' jon boat, will a 3.6 hp motor get the job done to move the boat? I dont really care about speed but as long as it can move the boat at a decent speed

itd move it fine... dont plan to get there in a hurry tho

Are you on a river or a lake?

my 3.5 does me just fine. about 3mph loaded down, around 4-5 w/ just me in it. its not fast but its reliable

Could it handle 3 people at a time with stuff loaded and still travel at a decent speed?

Probably a little bit faster than your trolling motor, definatly not gonna break any speed records

What width is it?
The 3.5 probably wont get the boat up on plane, so you will be stuck with hull speed, maybe 4-8 kts.

ive had my boat max'd out with gear and 3 ppl (just crusing from the ramp to our campsite) and it only does around 3mph. it will be better than a t/m or paddle power for sure

I've got an Xpress 1546, and Brine put his long shaft 10hp on mine (I actually need a short shaft with my boat).. with both of us and gear it moved us 7mph according to a handheld gps.

This past weekend, I had my 71# front trolling motor, a 50# and 55# transom trolling motor (my usual setup, and it runs me at 4.8-5.0 mph by myself).
We added a 24v 82# transom trolling motor to all of that and it still pushed me and another guy 4.9-5 mph... so I'm thinking 5mph is the hull speed of my boat.

I'm going to add one more 50# transom TM, and 1 more battery just to see if it gives me any extra boost. I really want to get rid of all 3 transom mounts, and maybe move up to 1 101# or 80# motor just to cut back on batteries... more than likely leaning towards the 80# just because it runs on 2 batteries.

russ, do you have any pictures handy of your boat? I'm not sure I've ever seen it, and it sounds like quite a rig. 8)

man - I've been slack in taking pictures or doing anything really to the boat.

I haven't done much modding to it yet because I'm STILL WAITING for my fishmate pro livewell to get here... once I get that in, then I'll set it up the way I want it.

Here are some pics of it though, I'll try to get some updated ones of it up soon...

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=8704&hilit=xpress

nice rig... I remember seeing that thread a looooooooong time ago...

Whats the story with the live well? I recognize the name, but I can't remember where I saw it.

russ010 said:

I've got an Xpress 1546, and Brine put his long shaft 10hp on mine (I actually need a short shaft with my boat).. with both of us and gear it moved us 7mph according to a handheld gps.

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Russ, it's a 7.5hp not a 10hp, and I think we were going 8.5 as I remember.

ohh... my bad
I thought it was 7, but my memory is as good as well... i forgot

anyways, the livewell is a fishmate pro (https://www.fishmatepro.com). I ordered it a few months ago, and I called a few times and talked to the owner. I finally got an email a few weeks ago that said their break messed up and it put them behind. I thought it would have been here by now, but it's not...

those are awesome livewells... what are you getting?


Wish I knew how to make my own like that... itd be nice to have something like that

I'm getting the 40" smooth top - https://fishmatepro.com/Livewells/ProBassTournament40.aspx

I got them when they had them on sale and free shipping - no way could I pay that much for a livewell

Ok so i have a question. I just bought a trolling motor today for the boat, but it seems like its going to be cramp quarters in the transom. Would moving the gas motor a little bit to the right to make sure there was enough room for both of them, affect how the boat handles?

I had my 3.5 Rude on a 12' Jon with two guys and it did 4.2 GPS Mph on a lake. With three adults and a heavier boat you better count on 3.5 to 3.9 because the bow will be a fur piece down in the water and pushing instead of gliding.
The up side is the Mpg. you'll get about 3 miles to the gallon with that little motor and that kind of a load. So take an extra gallon, premixed, with you.

Mine has a small integrated tank. Rarely I have to pour gas into that tank while the boat is moving. B.S. on that! I went over to the beach, put the stern up onto the beach and did the pour while I was standing on the ground and the boat was grounded. No mess that way.
I filled the tank to start, put a two gallon Gas can up front and went out for a whole day.

chartreusetea said:

Ok so i have a question. I just bought a trolling motor today for the boat, but it seems like its going to be cramp quarters in the transom. Would moving the gas motor a little bit to the right to make sure there was enough room for both of them, affect how the boat handles?

Click to expand...

I would leave the gas motor in the middle, and then put the trolling motor as far to the left or right as you can get it... you can also mount it up on the bow with a little modding though.

ditto that. your boat will more than likely pull w/ the gas motor not centered. I cant turn my t/m all the way to the right eather just gotta improvise