Pushing a 16' jon?

I have an older 16' Polar Kraft Jon and am getting an 8 or 9.9 Mercury 4 stroke for a lake with a 10 hp or less restriction. How well will it push this boat? Thanks

I'm not an expert on outboards, but I have a Lowe 16' rig that weighs about 420lbs (empty before gear, people, etc), and I use trolling motors to propel it. I have a 40# thrust on the rear and it will move the boat along pretty good on the high speed setting. The 55# thrust bow mount tm will get it moving fairly well also.

You will be fine with a 9.9. Don't get a long shaft unless your transom requires it, the less drag you have the better she will run. However, you could buy a 15 hp motor and either switch the hood to a 9.9 or paint it and re sticker it to a 9.9. Almost every manufacturer the chasis, powerhead, bore/stroke, pistons, weight, cosmetic components, props, and housings are the same for 9.9hp and 15hp outboards. What separates the two types of motors lie within the fuel systems, manifolds, cam shafts, and exhaust tubes. I doubt those would get checked unless you were doing something crazy with your boat.
Some may suggest to you to buy a 9.9 and put a 15 carb on it. Some of the older outboards you might have been able to get higher performance by just swapping the carburetor or jets. For the most part this is not enough. Outboard manufacturers make outboard engines tuned to a particular horsepower. If you risk swapping components with the expectations of gaining more speed you may be pushing your engine too hard. This can be a result of neglecting the exhaust or intake manifolds when converting your outboard. You have to account for all the details or you will do serious damage to your outboard.

I suppose it is all relative.

I'm not sure what you mean by "how well will it push this boat". Will it move you from point A to point B? Certainly. Is it going to plane out with a load? More than likely, not.

I have an 18hp on a 14' and wish it had a 25.

But, I'm running a 90hp on the 17' in my signature so I suppose my idea of how well a boat is supposed to be pushed may be a bit different than most. :lol:

What I was going to type has been covered in the above 2 posts. My guess is you will run 5 - 6 mph, ah, maybe a little more than that, in that rig with that motor. Not a speed demon, but beats electric only.

I have a 16 ft. flat bottom jon boat with a 1986 suzuki 15 hp motor. It pushes the boat pretty well. My sweet electronics that I have don't have a GPS or anyway of telling how fast I am going, so I can't tell you that. Also...I have 9.9 stickers that I had made for my motor so I can fish the 10 hp lakes (that is a MUST in Southern Illinios)

Eric