05-29-2022, 05:06 PM
In rough conditions more power will not help you. I've been out on Strawberry in thunderstorms whipping up 2.5' wind waves. Going faster was not an option and most definitely not the answer. Instead, I trolled slowly across Strawberry Bay and boated my last fish. We got caught out 20 miles offshore in a squall once, couldn't go more than 8MPH. That's about 2000RPM in my boat, we had no use for the other 4000RPM.
Maxing out your hull HP rating is very common advice on threads like these, guys say "Go big or go home", or other stupid stuff. My boat will do 37MPH on flat water at 4200' elevation. Fast enough. Very economical, too, cruising at 4500RPM yields 6MPG. 700RPM troll is 2.8MPH, great for walleye, wipers and ocean salmon. I cannot think of any conditions in which being able to go faster than 20MPH increases safety. Quite the opposite. You'll have to forgive DU and Rocky, they mean well but lack critical thinking skills. Ask them who won the last election.
My previous boat was an Alumacraft Magnum 16 with a tiller steer 50HP Mercury 4S. Loved that boat, and caught more fish in it than the boat and motor weighed. Sold it after 10 years for more than half the purchase price. I even fished it in the open ocean for 6 years before buying the Hewes. I thought at the time it offered quality equal to or better than Lund at a better price. We caught 35 walleye one day at Yuba bottom bouncing, and a 4 fish limit of kings once out of La Push. If I wanted a new boat for fishing local waters I'd look at something like an 18-20' Alumacraft, Crestliner or Lund.
Rather than wasting money on too much HP for your main engine, buy one that will push your boat ~35MPH at WOT and put the money you save into an autopilot. I can fish solo effectively running 7 lines for tuna. Even just fishing Kokanee or trolling cranks for walleye it is extremely helpful. I can leave the north marina at WB, run a short distance, throttle back to idle, adjust my speed with the troll control on the Smart Craft, push the button on the AP, deploy my gear and I'm fishing. If you can troll at ~2.5MPH on your main, you don't need a kicker, which will save thousands and simplify your fishing. Good luck in your search.
Maxing out your hull HP rating is very common advice on threads like these, guys say "Go big or go home", or other stupid stuff. My boat will do 37MPH on flat water at 4200' elevation. Fast enough. Very economical, too, cruising at 4500RPM yields 6MPG. 700RPM troll is 2.8MPH, great for walleye, wipers and ocean salmon. I cannot think of any conditions in which being able to go faster than 20MPH increases safety. Quite the opposite. You'll have to forgive DU and Rocky, they mean well but lack critical thinking skills. Ask them who won the last election.
My previous boat was an Alumacraft Magnum 16 with a tiller steer 50HP Mercury 4S. Loved that boat, and caught more fish in it than the boat and motor weighed. Sold it after 10 years for more than half the purchase price. I even fished it in the open ocean for 6 years before buying the Hewes. I thought at the time it offered quality equal to or better than Lund at a better price. We caught 35 walleye one day at Yuba bottom bouncing, and a 4 fish limit of kings once out of La Push. If I wanted a new boat for fishing local waters I'd look at something like an 18-20' Alumacraft, Crestliner or Lund.
Rather than wasting money on too much HP for your main engine, buy one that will push your boat ~35MPH at WOT and put the money you save into an autopilot. I can fish solo effectively running 7 lines for tuna. Even just fishing Kokanee or trolling cranks for walleye it is extremely helpful. I can leave the north marina at WB, run a short distance, throttle back to idle, adjust my speed with the troll control on the Smart Craft, push the button on the AP, deploy my gear and I'm fishing. If you can troll at ~2.5MPH on your main, you don't need a kicker, which will save thousands and simplify your fishing. Good luck in your search.
Single main, no kicker. 