30 mercury jet on a sea ark 16/52

[Luvbrownfish]

Hello everyone. I have a question for you river jet guys. I’m thinking of buying a sea ark 16/52. I’m trying to stay as light as possible weight wise. Will a mercury 4stroke 30 jet be sufficient. It will normally be by myself or with one other guy. Any info will be appreciated.

 

[JL8Jeff]

I think that motor will barely be enough to push a 1652 and you'll be running full throttle to get around and that might drive you crazy with a jet. I have a 60/45 2 stroke jet on my Lowe 1652 and it's nice to run at 2/3rds throttle. With 2 other people in the boat, I need all the power for going upstream. A 30 hp jet will probably be screaming the whole time. I would recommend at least a 40 hp jet for a 1652, the 30 might work on a 1448 but I still see a couple of guys on our river with the 25 or 30 hp jets making a lot of noise and barely moving. Check the size of the jet drive on the different motors because the smaller jet drives don't have as much thrust. I would suggest a test drive if you can find someone near you with a jet in the 1652-1756 size range.

 

[Luvbrownfish]

Thanks Jeff. One reason I wanted to go with the 30 is the weight. Also when I move up to the 60/40, it will be power tilt and trim with the Mercury big tiller. The big tiller might be a problem with the seating and steering. A friend of mine has a 16/52 Alweld with a 40/30 Yamaha. He’s pretty content with it. And if what I’ve read is correct, the Mercury jets have bigger pumps so that would help me with the 30 on mine. So, I’m still not sure about my decision. Just want to make the most informed decision I can.

 

[JL8Jeff]

Have you looked into the 50/35 Tohatsu 2 stroke? I wouldn't worry about the engine weight, with all the other weight that gets put into a boat, you need the power to push the boat. And jets are a lot less efficient than prop motors. Move your battery up front and it helps balance out the motor weight.

 

[Luvbrownfish]

My dealer just stocks Mercury’s and Suzuki’s. I know the Mercury will be fine. Just concerned about maneuvering the tiller handle.

 

[Pawatch]

Go with the maximum hp on your capacity plate. You will be a lot happier.
A lot of people like the Tohatsu motor.

 

[handyandy]

My dealer just stocks Mercury’s and Suzuki’s. I know the Mercury will be fine. Just concerned about maneuvering the tiller handle.

I prefer tiller handle lot quicker steering to maneuver better you'll get use to it and never want a steering wheel. I'd go at least 60/40 on the hull your talking about. 30hp will be a dog on that boat.

 

[Scott F]

I have a Tohatsu 50/35, 2 stroke jet. It had the big tiller handle when I bought it and it did make running the boat from the bench seat next to impossible. I got a different boat (16x48) and converted it to a console. runs 22-24 mph with the boat loaded.

 

[Tbradley]

My dealer just stocks Mercury’s and Suzuki’s. I know the Mercury will be fine. Just concerned about maneuvering the tiller handle.

I prefer tiller handle lot quicker steering to maneuver better you'll get use to it and never want a steering wheel. I'd go at least 60/40 on the hull your talking about. 30hp will be a dog on that boat.

I agree!! The tiller makes for soooo much quicker steering. Just a tip anybody that's getting a custom hull like Alweld, Blazer etc... can have the rear bench seat mount a little further forward so the bigger tillers of these new motors work great, just like the smaller length tillers from years past.