HP for 15x46 Xpress boat

david barnes

david barnes

Active member
I found a good deal on a 1546 Xpress flat bottm Jon. I purchased a 2008 15 hp yamaha last year for the Fricke BBSB and would like to have the option of switching the engine between the 2 boats.
I would mostly be using it in the tidal creeks on Marylands Eastern Shore with a load of 2 men a dog and 4 doz decoys. On calm days I like run a shoreline or hunt the Bay behind OC/Assateague.
If anyone has experience with such a rig there comments would be appreciated.
Thanks David
 
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I think that would be a VERY slow rig. I had a 1650 Express. I ran a 40 hp on it... it would do about 30mph. I can't imagine how slow a 15hp would be... even on the slightly smaller boat. As you can see the blind wasn't THAT big. sorry for the bad pics

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David,
I will argue the other way, and just for the sake of it too.
If you have the cash, have a ball with a big...heavy....fast motor.
But if you dont, run it with the 15.
My 16 express with the Semi V goes like a raped ape with my Merc 25 long shaft 2 stroke.
That is light without the hunting gear, but it is more than enough power for any hunt within 2 to 3 miles from a ramp\dock and does not sink the stern like a new 4 stroke is going to. These jon's do not have a lot of free board and I feel it is an issue if it gets nasty. The Express is the highest side in the class at 23 inches.
I hope to build a glass hard top for mine this summer to get a combination of blind-base and increase in reserve bouyancy for the hull. Similar to what Phil designed into his boat. I will post if we get it started.
I respect both Phil and Dave (There boats are Excellent) but I will hunt your boat with a 15 all day and except for leaving earlier will have a great shoot. If money is no object-----load up on HP and weight. But to not go because a 15 is ready to run and is considered not enough is nuts.
I dont have pictures from back then(Early 90's), but we spent many 35 to 40 day seasons in a 15 foot tin round hull with a 15 johnson. And we had piles of ducks and geese on many a trip, with 3 hunters and all the gear.
A vote to run what you got.
 
Ditto on use what ya got.

Why not try the 15 on your 15 footer & see if it will plane with the load you intend to put on it? I'd expect it to be borderline with two up, dog, blind & decoys but it might work. Won't do 30 knots but my 23 footer with a 175 hp OB won't either unless it is flat flat calm.
 
I run an 18 on my 1440 mv. Do I wish I had more HP? Sure, but it works. Most of the time I am not in a hurry.
Now, that said, the Express 1546 weigh a lot more then my boat (which weighs only 200 pounds) and is a bigger boat.
Will the 15 work? Sure, as long so you are not in a hurry and keep the weight down.
Will you wish for more HP? Sure will but then most of us do!!!
Try it for one season, if it doesnt work, then find a good used 25 to stick on it.
 
So what do you do when it gets rough, and you can't keep the bow up? Sorry, I can't see how you would put anything smaller than a 25 on that... Heck, a new 25 Yamaha only pushes my BBII 23 mph... hull design .... but still... be safe
 
Hull speed is 5 kts. give or take, and if bow up is an issue stick the trim pin up 2 notches to lift it for a bad weather ride home.
The time will be longer but you will make it for sure.
Not saying it isnt nice to have a fast ride back to the ramp, but plenty of watermen the world over have been making their living in all kinds of weather with displacement speed or just over for the last 80 years.
I would be shocked if the 15 cant get that flat hull to at least 8 to 10 kts and that gets you home in under an hour from most duck hunts even bucking a 3 kt current.
Pounding the heck out of a hull in rough water may seem safe with the hull ridding on top, but it is putting tremendous stress on the boat. Except the time saved, a well handled slow boat ride is just as safe as a fast pounding one in the bad stuff. Look to the motor life boats of old for example. Not much HP in those and somehow they managed to take over 20 crewmen off a broken up tanker S. of Chatam Mass. in hurricane wind seas at night.
 
Thanks for the input. Like most I'm limited by $ and space to store boats.

Dave, I can not give up the Frick boat, however she did run great with the 6 hp beavertail mud motor so parting with the 15 Yamaha might not be such a big deal. There is a nice 1650 available and they have a slightly used 40hp yamaha as an option if the money is right.

I should have added that on windy days I'm in protected waters and need a boat light enough to handle being pulled out of a ramp with virtually zero water.
 
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Bob, I believe in properly equiping a boat... and I will always error on the side of more HP... My new 25 Yamaha 2 stroke is a little over 100#... weight isn't that big of a deal... BUT just because I believe in HP doesn't mean I believe that you fly over rough seas...

I don't think you can go wrong with a 1650/40 hp rig... the 1650 weighs about 65# more than the 1546...
 
Phil,
I have seen your rig pictures and have a very high respect for your building and running ability. That is some serious winter water you hunt with your crew. ESP the layout setups.
My only point is that a hunter can hunt safe and have an opportunity with less HP. Beside a dog, a motor is the most expensive part of a guys rig. A well maintained small engine will get the job done, just not as fast or fancy.
But for a guy with the cash to spare the bigger motor will add speed to his choices. It is my opinion based on my experience that some hunters are misled into thinking the size of the motor makes or breaks the hunt. If a guy has the will, a pair of oars and a sail can make it work.
Some guys just dont have the cash right now, but it would be a shame if they passed on hunting this season and gave the antis one less guy to deal with protecting our hunting heritage.
 
A 15' long jon boat IS NOT a big water boat. They don't have a lot of freeboard & with a flat bottom plane with little horsepower but pound in any sort of chop.

I was in the USCG for 20 years. It seemed to me that jon boats killed way more than there fair share of duck hunters in winter cold water.

If I fell into a 15 jon boat I'd use it but anything much over 15 hp strikes me as overpowered. Any 15 foot boat doesn't need more than 15. There is a big difference between a 15' boat and a 16.
 
Don't know about a 15 X 46, but my 15 Yammie pushes my 14 X 48 John with 2 men a dog and 4 or 5 dozen dekes like a champ. It tops out about 20 mph according to my bud's handheld GPS. I seldom run it wide open because I don't like to get beat by the chop and take water over the gunnells.

I'd sure give the 15 a test run with the boat heavily loaded before I'd think of purchasing another motor. I'll bet the little Yammadog will do just fine.

Just my $.02 worth,
Harry
 
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