Anyone with a 1754 and a 20 hp motor?

K

Kevin Puls

Well-known member
I currently have a 1648 and a 2006 9.9 2stroke for hunting.

It is enough boat, for now. It is enough motor, when it is just myself and my dog and half a dozen decoys. (It planes with this load).

After a very long boat ride to and from the hunting hole with the wife, dog, and two kids, it appears that sometime in the future neither will be enough if the family picks up water fowling. At that point the wife agreed to consider a motor upgrade.

My good friend Jon has a nice rig, a 1754 with a 25 horse. It is and will be enough boat. I mentioned maybe an all around upgrade to something similar and that was not met with a lot of enthusiasm from the boss lady.

So baby steps... I am thinking of picki up the motor in the next year or so and then getting the boat later.

I would hate to buy a 25 to put on my current boat. It would be overkill, but don't want to buy a 20 and have it not be enough if I get the upgrade.

Any experience with the combos would help!
 
Kevin,

I have an Alumacraft 1442ncs with a 2 stroke 25hp Yamaha. Its a great combo. 3/4 throttle is fast enough with two in the boat and gear. The extra 1/4 turn with me alone with my gear and dog gets me 32mph on the gps. I'm considering upgrading to an Alumacraft 1648ncs this year. I imagine I'll lose a couple of mph but I think the 25 will still be enough for my needs.
 
Kevin, We have run a 25 on 16 ft and 14ft boats for years. The 77 mercury 25 pushed three of us and decoys through Reelfoot and every river in TN except the big one. The old glastron 14 footer I have one on now will go far faster than is sensible with just two large people. Look at the data plate of your boat and get the best HP you can afford up to the boat's rating. My guess is a 30 or 40 is probably what it is rated for.
 
I have a 1448 mod v with a 15hp Nissan. With a full load of decoys, plastic kayak, trolling motor battery, trolling motor and a second person it takes me a while to plane unless things are arranged very carefully. I'm 250 in gym clothes (although my height almost matches lol), kayak is 70, battery is 70, trolling motor is 25, decoys are 50, gear is 25, and another person is 250, so I'm at the boat's limit, too.


The 15hp Nissan and 20hp Nissan (and Tohatsu and Merc) are the same block.


I think you will be disappointed with a 1754 and a 20hp, especially once you add 2-3 more people. The added torque of the 25's bigger block will probably help quite a bit, and you might consider dropping the pitch a little bit when you get to taking more people along, too.
 
would hate to buy a 25 to put on my current boat. It would be overkill, but don't want to buy a 20 and have it not be enough if I get the upgrade.


It would in no way be overkill. A 25hp 2 stroke on a 16 48 is a decent combo. a 35 is actually a better choice but 25 is for sure not overkill.
 
I would hate to buy a 25 to put on my current boat. It would be overkill, but don't want to buy a 20 and have it not be enough if I get the upgrade.
Click to expand...

I've never heard anyone say "my motor is just too big for this boat".

Buy the biggest motor the boat is rated for and you'll be happy for years.
 
I run a 25hp on my 14' semi-v. Would not think of going lower in hp.
I imagine that your 1648 is rated for at least a 25hp.
Buy the 25, don't settle for a the 20.
 
I have a friend that runs a 40 hp on his 1648. I have run his boat and never felt it was too much. I used to run a 25 hp on a 14' V hull and was happy. My dad ran a 20 hp and later a 35 hp on a 14' V. He liked the 35 better than the 20. I think a 25 hp is small for a 1754. What hp is the hull rated for? Are you hunting small waters where you don't run far or don't want much motor?
 
By too much motor, I am referring to the actual weight of the motor. Though to be fair, I don't know how much difference in weight there is.

I owned a 25 horse two stroke and had it on a 1448 grizzly. It's weight and torque made it difficult to handle. If I wasn't really careful when throttling, the front of the boat would jump up too high and I actually became concerned that I was going to flip the boat some day. It required finese to get it up on plane without jumping out of the water.

I never tried a different prop or better weight distribution? I sold it after two trips on the lake. I then bought my current 9.9 which was a great choice for that boat.
 
Kevin - I have a 1648 NCS (no center seat) Alumacraft with a 15hp Nissan 4 stroke electric start and love the combination. It has served me very well. Being a big guy, when I purchased the boat, I bought the 20 inch transom instead of 16 inch because with the weight of the 4 stroke motor and my own personal body weight, I wanted the extra height on the transom for backing up.

I also like Alumacraft as they offer the no center seat option without buying up into something like a Roughneck. The only drawback of my rig is the weight of the 4 stroke motor. They are heavy and difficult to lift up on trim by hand. A 25hp Yamaha 2 stroke weighs much less and gives you more hp. I do love the fuel injection and electric start of the Nissan. That motor has been flawless in starting even in extremely cold temps and, the motor is so quiet, sometimes you don't even know it's running.

Good luck with your upgrade! Pat
 
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