Motor for my 16' drift boat

[JeepsAreBuilt]

I've been looking at boat motors for sale on craigslist and am thinking of getting one for my drift boat. I have a 16' fiberglass clackacraft and it has a rather small transom - right now it has a anchor mounted there, I would have to go with a side mount anchor if I got a motor I suppose.

Well my question is whats a ideal size of boat motor for my drift boat ? 4 or 2 stroke ? Long shaft ? I want to use it for moving around in lakes and motoring up rivers.

 

[JeannaJigs]

I was looking at a 9.9 longshaft merc, 2 stroker for my glass drifter, mine's 15 foot with a decent sized transom, already has an offset anchor cleat. I don't think there's any need for a larger motor on a drifter.

 

[Mad dog]

I was looking at a 9.9 longshaft merc, 2 stroker for my glass drifter, mine's 15 foot with a decent sized transom, already has an offset anchor cleat. I don't think there's any need for a larger motor on a drifter.

I've got a 9.9 merc on mine and I wish I had a 15 hp merc!

 

[troutdude]

I've got a 9.9 merc on mine and I wish I had a 15 hp merc!

That's just what I was going to say. In lakes a 9.9 would suffice. But, traveling up river in swift current might over tax a smallish motor. More horses are worth some thought.

 

[GungasUncle]

A 2 stroke will be lighter than a 4 stroke of the same size, which could be an issue with a fiberglass drifter. Make sure your transom can hold the weight of the motor before committing to it (shouldn't be an issue, but double check for sure).

With a drift boat, there's not a lot of point to putting a lot of horsepower on them. The hulls simply aren't meant for speed, and won't take much HP to hit your useful limit. You quickly hit a point where you don't get any appreciable gain by going to a higher HP motor, but you wind up burning more fuel and adding more weight than necessary. You'll probably be A-OK with a 9.9hp motor. I know it's probably not an issue - but with a 9.9 you won't need to get a boater's ed card for Oregon either (need boater's ed for any powerboat 10hp or over, hence the popularity of the 9.9). It's not a bad thing to get, but it's not needed legally if you stay below 10.

 

[JeepsAreBuilt]

Thanks for the inputs. I like what I'm hearing here.. I just want to make sure i dont buy too big of a motor or too small. I was thinking of 5-10 hp range.

 

[halibuthitman]

I run a 7.5 Honda on my 14' wood drifter, no problems-

 

[JeepsAreBuilt]

Can you give me a idea what your boat motor does for your boat ? As in.. how fast on a lake, can go up strong current.. etc

 

[halibuthitman]

it goes fast enough to troll on a lake, pulls plugs on rivers.. and goes back up stream anywhere you should try just fine, your not gonna set any speed records... a 15 would be my ideal motor on a drifter, but thats a lot more money.

 

[alseaalumaweld]

15hp is over the rateing on a lot of 16 foot boats anit it?

 

[Irishrover]

I have a 16' Clackacraft. I run a 9.9 4 stoke. I think I went too big on the motor. Even with an add on fin, if I open the throttle the stern will want to drop down to close to the water. I just back off the throttle and it works fine. If I have a passenger it's not too much of an issue. I would also suggest a tiller arm so you can move forward in the boat and steer. I really like 4 stokes, less noise, less smell, but given the weight I should have considered a 2 stroke.
My 16 footer is rated at no more than 10 HP. The 9.9 works good on lakes and does fine on the Willy.