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I was thumbing through a recent issue (May 1954) of Sports Afield .........and saw outboard ads for some good'uns

• Scott-Atwater (full-page ad) 5 horse for 209.50 with an ingenious bilge attachment
• Hiawatha 5 horse for $174.50
• Wizard (marketed by Western Auto.....Super Twin 6 horse for $184.50. Long range fuel tank (optional).....$17.50
• Evinrude (full-page ad)
• Mercury (2-page ad) 5 horse for $197.50 f.o.b. factory
• Gale 'Buccaneer'
• Johnson (full-page ad....inside front cover).....Sea-Horse 5-1/2 horse for $210.00

Neat stuff! Oh yeah.....there's a helpful article on page 84 entitled...."Ways of Choosing an Outboard Boat", by Willard Crandall. His advice is "Buy your boat to fit the waterway it will be used on and the load it will carry. Then buy the motor to fit the boat."

My advice.....(which goes along with Mr, Crandall's article )....if you're talking the Xpress 1650T, LO, D, or VJ series boats....they weigh around 375 (hull alone). The HJ50DB (600#), H50DB (690#), VX16DB (525#), and VX16SC (590#) are obviously somewhat heavier. All-in-all....X-Press hulls are generally 15% heavier than other brands of the same configuration. A 25 hp will be suitable for the lighter hulls, but by the time you get a heavy duty hull loaded with gear and hunters, you will not be satisfied with how it rides with motors smaller than 35hp...as it will not plane and get on 'top' of the water. Like the guy said....it'll ride like a barge, pushing water ahead of you instead of riding on top.

We have a Triton 1650DB (400#) w/40hp tiller and it performs adequately.......of course that's the maximum hp rating for that boat). Anything less wouldn't be nearly as exciting. When this motor blows-up, we will probably get a 50 tiller. A 25 on this boat would be a boring ride although it might serve the purpose of getting you there and back........but not before somebody else.

Personally, if I can't come-back with a boatload of ducks, the least I can do is 'look good' coming into the landing sliding sideways on 2 runners.

Some things never change.

Bates wrote:Thanks guys, I've got a Johnson 40 on it now and it does a great job of pushing the boat. The reason I want a 25 is to hunt specific game management area's in Arkansas that require a 25 or less. I do like the 40 on the boat an would not be looking for a 25 accept for these regulations that I think bite.

I would say 40 as well but I actually read the question. Merc 25 all the way. Everyone I have ever been around always started 1st or 2nd pull no matter how cold it gets. They also seem to run in dirty water without clogging up as bad as other makes.

JAR

have heard the johnson bombadier is bullet proof, any experience with them?

Mercury!

I like yamaha for outboards, and as much as I hate to say it my number two would be a suzuki. Seems like the Japs have us hands down in motors. This is coming from my experiences with four good freinds that are fishiing guides and they all run jap motors. One of them is a tuna guide and goes through motors every two years with tons and tons of hours on them and he runs yamaha. Another freind guides inshore and runs a suzuki. I have two freinds with mercs and they have given them a lot of problems. As much as I like american products, when it comes time to change out the johnson on the back of my baot it will be replaced with a jap motor.

Nizzan

Ramsey.....we have our eyes on the Bombardier (Evinrude) 40, for when this one blows-up. 'Really kinda hoping they'll come-out with a tiller '50' by then........either way, they are a bit pricey right now. We're going to hold-off as long as we can and let'em get all the kinks worked-out.....being so 'new' (and un-proven) on the market. I think the first scheduled maintenance is like.......3 years?.....and I think that's an oil change. They say they are bullet-proof (which is about what we need in these stumps over here). Big gear case and gears that won't shatter teeth, but not too much added weight. We'll see.

A friend of mine who I will be hunting with this weekend just bought a new Johnson 40 tiller with EFI. It's a 2-stroke too. I'll be real curious to see how it performs.

Change o' plan...........just found-out this afternoon that my motor is loosing compression.......time to trade it in. Going to either get a E-tec 50 (they DO offer it with a tiller kit, BTW).......or the Yamaha 50.

that yammie 4-stroke is without question the way to go. riding on a friend's yammie 4-stroke 40hp this year, and it is sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DS

Go with a Wizard outboard.

I think we just decided to go with the Yammie 50 (2-stroke) tiller. It's 50lbs lighter than their 4-stroke. Thanks for the advice, Jeff.

The Bombardier is just too un-proven, yet....at least for me. They may be fine motors, but I'm going to give them a few years and see if they live-up to their claims.......I'm not in the mood to be a guinea pig.

check out those outboards advertised at the top right of the ducksouth.com home page>>>>>>they are bada$$! the videos are worth watching wether you can afford one or not