river boat question

im looking to buy a boat for the river. i plan on getting a alumacraft 1648 mv. my question for all is what motor to get. im debating on a yamaha 30/40 jet or a mercury 25/30 jet or am i better off going with a 30 or 35 hp prop motor with a jack plate? ive been told to stay away from yamaha but s2 people told me to go with yamaha jets. thank you for all your help.

since its an alumacraft 1648 john mv will both motors get the boat on plane?

Jet motors are great, but you got to remember they can go thru the shallow water at high speeds but if you slow down they set down quickly, then you can be grounded. My Tracker 190ProJet had a 225 hp Merc., thats 190hp out the jet, I have gone thru 3 inchs of water at 25mph, but had I slowed it would have set down, needing 15 inchs to float. You gotta remember this with any jet, mine weighed 1450 pds. , kinda heavy to drag.

um i do have one more question. is a boat with a tunnel prop effective as a jet?

did any one hear or know of any one that has one?

tomorrow im going to look at a xpress 1756 with a 85/50 hp jet. how would a carolina skiff boat be in the river with a jet?

I put a Yamaha 40/60 4 stroke on my 16' Sea Nymph 2 years ago and love it. I had a 50/75 Evinrude 2 stroke before that and the Yamaha puts it on plane faster and starts like a dream. They are a little pricey, I waited and saved my $$ for a year after blowing the Evinrude up and have no regrets. I would not run a prop if you are fishing rivers, I have seen a few guys grinding rocks in areas that I can stay on plane with no worries.
I posted this on your other thread also. Keep in mind, regardless of whether or not you choose a jet, common sense plays a big part.

I would question the head gasket, i am not saying they never wear out, but question his reasons for the failing gasket? If he tries to feed you a line i would question his merrits. If his answers seem like he is a strait shooter, ask if he will warrenty the motor if it is good shape (have it on a reciept, dated and signed) then you will know if he is telling the truth.

Also if he will take you for a ride, make sure you drive it also. Drive it hard, its your buck.

My experence has been, every name brand of outboards are reliable despite when some say i have owned them all. just a few tips from my travels

You may suggest taking the boat to a mechanic of your choice. There is always a possibility the head is warped or cracked. Do some research and see if there were any recalls on the motor. Had I done some research i would have found out that Evinrude recalled mine for an overheating problem. Good luck.

if you run a prop you have a option of a prop guard cost around 100 buck or you can have one made hp is always better in some cases heck you can run a 9.9 kicker for that matter in the river i have mine set up with a 9.9 and a 35hp for now with 2 ele one bow one stern and its a 16ft and i can get some skinny water i just pick up the big motor

SeaArk is twice the quality as far as hull construction, for a river boat this is a huge factor. SeaArk gives a lifetime hull warrenty, check the website. I totaled my tracker in the Yough, it didn;t take much of a hit to cave in the hull, it had no ribs for stiffining or protection, SeaArks do.

ORIGINAL: dave15012

SeaArk is twice the quality as far as hull construction, for a river boat this is a huge factor. SeaArk gives a lifetime hull warrenty, check the website. I totaled my tracker in the Yough, it didn;t take much of a hit to cave in the hull, it had no ribs for stiffining or protection, SeaArks do.

does that go for the original owner or the newest owner of the boat?

I can not tell you the difference, alot goes in to speed on boats. Also with the diff hp the 40 should put you on plane faster topspeed might not be to drasticaly different between the two but time to plane out would be quicker. In a river that would be more important that all out speed IMO. Put the biggest motor you can afford on the back (assuming they are the same condition wise)