1240 flat bottom with a 6hp speed?

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evan

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I have a 1240 flat bottom jon boat. I want to put a 6hp outboard on it, but everybody is saying I should go with a 9.9hp. I'm wondering what kind of speeds I could expect from a 6hp outboard with 2 people and minimal gear. Is anybody running a 12ft with a 6hp?
 
Did at one time, if you expect to get up on plane, the 6 won't do it. If your just getting to a fishing hole then fine.
If alone the 6 would be ok, but with two and gear the 9.9'is better. When I moved up to a 9.9, mine was a two stroke Evinrude and it was fast !! With just me and minimum gear it flew, hull barely touching the water, when headed into a light wind, the front almost became airborne. Fun yes, but also scary at some times !! Question is...is your boat built to handle a 9.9 ?? Overpowering can become a liability in case of an accident...food for thought.........
 
Did at one time, if you expect to get up on plane, the 6 won't do it. If your just getting to a fishing hole then fine.
If alone the 6 would be ok, but with two and gear the 9.9'is better. When I moved up to a 9.9, mine was a two stroke Evinrude and it was fast !! With just me and minimum gear it flew, hull barely touching the water, when headed into a light wind, the front almost became airborne. Fun yes, but also scary at some times !! Question is...is your boat built to handle a 9.9 ?? Overpowering can become a liability in case of an accident...food for thought.........
My boat is rated for a 10hp max. I don't usually travel more than a couple of miles to get to my spot but I think with an outboard I will do a lot more recreational boating such as just cruising up and down the river.
 
As above, if you want to putt putt to a spot, fine. You'll never make plane with a 6 and two people onboard. If just you, you still might have to trim it down or shift some weight around. The 9.9 is a better option and you could expect speed in the 20 mph range. If portability is key suffer with the 6. 2 people and a 6, hull speed or 1-2 mph better, if you get it on plane figure 12-14 mph
 
I'm running a Johnson 6HP on on a 12' tinner. Fastest I've seen on my GPS is 18.2MPH.
Typical day is 17MPHish. Plenty fast for me to get to my fishing holes along the river.
I do have my gas tank (3 gal) and cooler up front to balance the weight out.
 
Good points. It costs more to repower later if you don't like hull speed with the 6hp and two people. I looked at several Tohatsu / Mercury 6 and 9.9 and the difference in engine displacement is huge. 333cc v. 123cc.

That makes the choice easy enough for me. Well, that and the 9.9 is the same size cc / same long block as the 20hp which means it is very mildly tuned and unstressed (read, throttle body and computer away from being a 20). Asking the wrong guy probably... and you didn't mention pulling that second person as a skier. Grin.. :)

Maybe the 9.8, which is a "baby bear" in between the two. It's 209cc and 80 pounds instead of 95 for the 9.9 or 55 of the 6hp. That's the only brand I've looked at but something for reference. Good luck with your decision!
 
I have the 9.8 Tohastsu on my 1436. It is a sweetheart of an engine. The boat is mildly modified, but I fish solo, so I'm probably lighter than a stock boat with two people. I got 21 once but normally Max is 19-20 mph. I first had a Tohastsu 5hp with a 6hp carburetor. Max with that engine was 14mph, but it took three different propellers before I found the sweet spot. The best propeller vs load is where the engine will shine.
 
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