I am interested in buying a 14 foot plain jane floater for a winter boat and wondering if a six horse would be enough power for this boat. It is a late 90’s model mercury two stroke. Anybody with a similar set up?
You not going to go record speeds but it should get you from A to B just fine.
My bro-in-law has a mid-80’s 14′ Lund with a 6 hp Yammie on it. It moves, but it’s not fast. To get it to plane out, he made an extension out of PVC so he can sit in the middle seat. I ran it for a bit and I think I topped out about 10 MPH on my GPS.
I had a a Merc 6 hp …a Kekenheifer or something like that on a 14 foot. I bought the tiller extension so I could sit in the center seat…then it would go on plane.
Excellent for trolling on lakes…not so good on the river in the spring. In fact I remember a couple times a the ramp when I went home to clean the garage because the water was too fast.
Small lakes…no problem…bigger lakes you’ll be frustrated at all the fishing time wasted trying to get to the other side …where all the fish are.
Be careful on the river.
I also ran a 3 horse on the river. 30 minutes to Prescot from Hastings and 45 minutes to get back….the good old days! 
6 horse is plenty for a 14′ boat, I started with a Johnson Seahorse 3 hp on a 14′ boat. The real question is what water will the combo handle. A 14′ boat, in 3’+ waves is NO GOOD, no matter what size motor you have. Just have to know the boats limits.
big G 
Have had a 14′ V bottom with a 9.9 motor for years (My “Little Boat”). When I was young that boat went everywhere including most every Pool on the upper Miss. Fearless because I was young? Maybe so. Now, it is an extremely good boat to get into small spots and is perfect for that application. For a big lake or the Miss?? I would take a different track and go with a minimum of 16″ and a 20 hp motor. Current/wind/boat stability are definate factors.
BTW, a 6 horse should be more than adequate for a 14″ boat. Just don’t be in a hurry as that motor will not plane the boat out.
Shane,
I’m assuming you’re planning on using it mostly on the Wisconsin and maybe to push across on 7 or 8. It should be good for those applications. However, I wouldn’t want to use a 6 horse in spring when the flow is high. You should be able to use your bigger boat then though.
I wouldn’t hesitate to take a 6hp to the Petenwell dam or to Nekoosa in winter.
I had a 5.5 on my 12′ for a while. It planed the boat out and everything even with me in the far back and all kinds of tackle on board. It was pretty slow though. I now have a 9.8 and I’d say that’s about ideal. The 9.8 jumps on plane and actually gets moving pretty good when I’m alone (19-21 mph) But if you’re just using it for winter and speed is not necessary, you’ll be fine.
I would agree with Cade and wimwuen on this.
For fishing our area in the late fall and the dams that stay open year around, that boat will be fine. Heck, I have seen smaller boats with smaller motors fishing the dam in the spring 
It should work fine though and be very cost effecient
I had a 14 footer with a 7.5 merc. Not the fastest but it did the job.
Well I bought it! If anybody sees a green mirrocraft with a merc on it on the river that will be me. Good fishing! 
We have a 14 footer with a 6 HP on the back for small lakes and it works great for us.
Wild!
I was searching about speed with a 14′ 6hp motor and hit this old IDO thread. After some quick calculations, figure I was getting 10-12 mph on the river last night with my setup, if I moved forward a bit it did help with the top end speed.
Interesting as Ralph’s comments were spot-on with my own experience.
I used an 8 horse on my 14 jon at Red Wing and Alma for a couple years with no problem. Winter fishing won’t be a headache unless we hit a warm streak and the river comes up three feet. You should be fine but as someone else mentioned, know your limits with the boat.
Interesting as Ralph’s comments were spot-on with my own experience.
I am that good! 
I’m still getting hung up on the visual of getting 6 horses into a 14 foot boat let alone using them for propulsion.
If you add outriggers it makes more sense.
As for the 9.9 and 9.8 horses that’s just disturbing.
Well I bought it! If anybody sees a green mirrocraft with a merc on it on the river that will be me. Good fishing!
Good work. Fishing the boat you’ve got is way better than sitting at home thinking about the boat you wish you had.
Bigger isn’t always better. My best opening day of the last 10 years was spent with a 6 HP on the back of a 13 foot Grumman Sportboat. We were catching walleyes on a river and as far as I could tell, we were the only ones out there. Never saw another soul fishing on opening day on that river.
Grouse
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
