14ft boat motor set up ?

Hi Everyone ,

I am setting up a 14ft Starcraft Aluminum boat .

Boat says it’s rated for 30hp motor .

Looking to have some input if any anyone has been running 15-25hp 4 stroke Merc ?

Also what would be ideal as for a 4 stroke on this set up ?

Im a 2 stroker type of guy .... hopefully you 4 strokers can point me in the right direction ?

Dan

Hey Dan;

Two ways to go ...Yamaha or Honda four stroke ..

Is there a Yamaha dealer close to us ?

What would be recommend or above recommended for the tinner ?

Budget is kind of open on this one as I don’t want to be under powered .

Dan, I'm no expert here but I would say put on what it calls for. You can back off the throttle if it's to fast but you can't add if it's to slow. My Lund called for 40 to 90, I put on a sixty which is fine for 2 people but put in the third it plows before it planes. So what i'm saying is take into account how much weight your going to have.

I agree with adding the max hp. As for brand I am a Yamaha guy.

On my old 14' Starcraft Alumimum, with a floor and nothing else (it's a light boat, no windshield/console etc), I've got a 2-stroke Johnson 25. Only time it lacks any power is fully loaded with camping gear, coolers, extra gas, water etc. and two guys in it, it takes a long time to get on plane. Other than that it's plenty powerful, even with 4 guys, it gets up and goes good. Close to 30mph with one or two people.

As for a four stroke, I can't say, but maybe a 35 would be equivalent?

I have a 14 foot Starcraft with a 20 h.p. 4-stroke Yamaha. The boat is rated for a maximum of 30 h.p. I have two Big Jon riggers mounted on this boat with a Lowrance graph. It's a tiller setup which gets use on Lake Simcoe and on Georgian Bay out of Collingwood and Owen Sound. With two people on board and the usual fishing gear it will plane out and run at 23 mph effortlessly and still be a little below wide open throttle. Your boat is either a 15 or 20 inch transom model. If it's a 15 inch I'd suggest you be careful about going too large with the outboard as the additional weight will leave you with minimal freeboard at the stern in a following wind. Obviously there is a need to closely monitor weather conditions if you're on a decent sized body of water with a 14 foot open runabout.

25 2 stroke is on it now... she defiantly getting tired .

Just want the change over to 4. Tired of mixing oil/gas

Something comparable in 4 stroke HP wise 20-30hp ?

GJ,

I will take a picture tonight of the rating and measure the transom.

Good point ... I guess this will determine going short shaft or long shaft ?

Fishsniffer-

Exactly - long or short shaft. Actually mine is a short shaft but I was always uneasy when trolling downwind due to the minimal freeboard provided. I bought the necessary length of aluminum plate, cut this to leave just enough space for the motor to turn fully and installed each plate with stainless nuts and bolts and enough lip to come level with the top of the transom. That still leaves a tiny section around the motor mount that is only 15" but the gap is so small that the amount of water sloshing through this opening in a following wind is now really minimal.

If it’s a Starcraft SF14, I had one with short shaft transom and no flooring, just split rear bench and bench seating throughout. I had a 20hp Yamaha 2 stroke and it would do 24mph with one kid and myself in the boat. I too did not like the short rear transom. I would absolutely have added wave wackers if I’d kept the boat. A 25 hp 4 stroke would perform just fine I’m sure.

Rating plate .

Floor in it.

Measures the transom .

15” dead nuts.

Recommend would be a short shaft ?

That's exactly my boat but maybe a few years newer, we have a short shaft 15 hp Suzuki 4 stroke and it works great. I'll add a pic in a minute.
Photo added!