bbsb motor size

J

john a

Active member
hey guys what size motor you running on your sneakboxs
i have a 12ft about 55in beam 1950s bbsb that need a motor guy next store to me has a 5hp
never used but not sure if its to small
so if you have a barnegetbay sneakbox made out of cedar/and glass
what you running

thanks for the help
 
Put a 15hp Yamaha 2 stroke on mine. Mine is a 12ft x 5ft displacement hull, rather deep hull. Fully, and I mean fully loaded with 5 1/2 dozen decoys and all my gear.... will go 10 mph per the GPS. In summer trim, just me for a ride, I can get 14 or 15 mph. Don't think a 5hp would be enough loaded in weather.
 
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I started with a merc 9.8 and it worked ok I got around 10 to 12 mph. Mid season I upgraded to an omc 15hp and it made a huge differance. A 5hp will be to small. You need more hp for rough water. I wouldn't go less then a 9.9.
 
I put an 8hp 4 stroke on my 12' higbee last year and it is plenty for that particular boat. Never got a true mph speed but it gets up and planes fine w/ me, and gear. Little slower w/ my 100# lab in there too.
 
I started with a Johnson 9.5 Sportstwin on mine and was fine, until we got into a situation. The wind was pushing the water out of the bay and we needed to move fast or be stuck. My 9.5 buzzed and buzzed and we made it, but my partner's 15 just picked him up and got him to the ramp. There is a safety factor in power.

If you can find a Merc two stroke 15hp, you will have an ideal motor. You will probably want to run an tiller extender and move your body weight forward to better balance the boat. The Mercs have the gear shift on the handle (twist one way for forward, back for reverse) so you can control the boat without moving back every time you need neutral or reverse etc. Motor up to your downed bird, twist it to N and pick it up, bump it forward to fix the decoys - all without moving back to the motor and taking your eyes off of what you are trying to do. It is a great feature.
 
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I think the largest HP you think your motor bracket can handle. You don't have to use it but you will always know its there. I say this as an open water gunner. if your hunting a pond or lake and don"t have to deal with tides and current you might be fine.

Phil
 
John, the other thing to consider is how you will run a small motor.... if a 5hp will get you there, will you run it at WOT all the time because it is just not fast enough? Not good for longevity of your motor.... keep in mind, a displacement hull is only going to run so fast. 10mph in my boat in most weather is not fast enough for me... I wish it was faster....but when there are whitecaps, and rollers, it is plenty fast, and I like having the power to drive off the waves and not be pushed by them. I run at 3/4 throttle at 10mph in the summer, and around 8 or so mph fully loaded so not to be flogging the OB all the time. I agree with the other comments, I like to have as much power as I can afford, even if I don't use it all the time. OB or Truck, same philosophy....
 
I have an 80's vintage factory made glass Arthur Armstrong Broadbill, I run an older 1981 Evenrude 25 hp 2 stroke and it flies. A 15 would probably be fine. The boat came to me with a Mercury 9.8 2 stoke and wouldnt plane with 2 guys a dog and decoys
 
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