What Size Motor

Hi All,

First time boat owner, so I don't really know too much about them.

I just got a 1988 18 foot Falcon Striper Pro boat (fiberglass). Needs some
cleaning up, and some
work done to it, it also needs a motor and controls. My question is what
size motor should I consider putting on it.

I plan to just use it for fishing in the local lakes. We are not interested
in using it to ski or going supper fast. I would like for the motor to have
enough power to get me off the lake quickly in the event of a storm blowing
up.

I realize the boat is rather old, but I made what I think to be a pretty
good deal when I bought it, so I don't have a lot of money tied up in it
right now.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Regards,
John

John-R W wrote:
 > Hi All,
 >
 > First time boat owner, so I don't really know too much about them.
 >
 > I just got a 1988 18 foot Falcon Striper Pro boat (fiberglass). Needs some
 > cleaning up, and some
 > work done to it, it also needs a motor and controls. My question is what
 > size motor should I consider putting on it.
 >
 > I plan to just use it for fishing in the local lakes. We are not interested
 > in using it to ski or going supper fast. I would like for the motor to have
 > enough power to get me off the lake quickly in the event of a storm blowing
 > up.
 >
 > I realize the boat is rather old, but I made what I think to be a pretty
 > good deal when I bought it, so I don't have a lot of money tied up in it
 > right now.
 >
 > Any advice would be appreciated.
 >
 > Regards,
 > John
 >
 >

Thing to do is to look at the Coast Guard Tag which should be anchored
some place in side the hull. See what the boat is rated for. The
general rule of thumb is to not put a motor on a boat under 75% of the
rated HP, i.e. rated for a 100 hp, lowest HP would be 75 HP. The
problem with going below the 75% is that the boat will not perform
properly. You might be able to find a used motor too.

Good luck,
Rick<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->