Need river rats insight…

Need your input on what you’d do for minimum motor… Currently run a 16′ johnboat with a 25 4 stroke tiller and really works well for trolling the big river. Really don’t want to change, the problem is the family comes with a lot and they are getting bigger fast. Found an old 18 extra wide and deep coast guard bow john boat that was going to be a project boat over the next year, but with extra time on my hands its coming along rapidly! The question is on a light old john that I’m more concerned about slow trolling than top end speed whats the minimum HP you’d hang on it? Money is tight with a young family and I can find a lot of 25’s but just don’t think that will be enough on the days she’s rolling whitecaps and hitting barge wakes. Planning on waiting for the right used one to show up, but may go new if that’s the best option will hang on to this one a long time is the plan. The yamaha idle up/down has my eye, but never seen one around here. Thanks for your insight!

Whats the new boat rated for? 40’s & 50’s troll nice and will still be easy on gas. Keep in mind those kids grow fast and keep growing fast until they move out.

If you think you will likely run the boat for many years I would consider buying new. I think in the next couple months you will see some pretty good deals on motors with even longer warranties attached.

I bought new, after years of unreliable clunkers. Wanted a Yamaha and found myself thinking hmmmm, why do I see so many out on the lake and so few on CL?

Have a 70 hp Yamaha on my 18′ jon. Great motor for the boat. 40mph on the top end if I need it. Cruises nice and sips gas at 25 to 30mph. Plenty of power to jump up on plane. Trolls down decent to.

Seen plenty of 18′ jons with 60s on them. Even a few with 50s but think getting that low of hp performance would really start to suffer.

Its rated up to 115 I think and has undergone “significant” modifications. Had remote steering originally. I like the Yamaha 40 but looks like it only comes with nitro assist as a tiller, which I’m not 100% sure I’d like.

If it’s rated to 115, probably want at least 60-70hp.