New guy, same old questions

[SwampRooster]

Alright, so I've have been watching these forums for a while now but this is my first post. Bear with me.
I just gave away my beloved jon the SwampRooster. 14' gamefisher with a tunnel and a 25 hp prop motor. I know but she floated high and ran, not to mention was a fishy little River boat. Last fall I bought a very used Lowe pro15 against my better judgement. I really dig the lines of the hull and the price but she probably should have been turned into beer cans long ago. I will spare you the details but think bed liner over composite decking over waterlogged foam. Anyway, with the SwampRooster gone now I'm back to not having a operational boat and looking spring right in the eye. To say I'm motivated to get moving on this yet unnamed clunker is an understatement. I came across a used yamaha 50/35 the other day and since I mostly stick to the rivers thought this would be perfect. After years of dealing with the most mismatched hull/ motor combo I could muster am I doomed to repeat history? I had bought the new boat thinking big hp prop with pods for the local lakes and a few inland salty jaunts in the summer with no plans to tunnel it. Will she take the jet alright as she is? Pods with the jet? Sorry to ramble. I try talking to the wiff about this stuff but her eyes just glaze over until she can come up with chores to take my mind off it. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Abraham]

You waited 18 months to post?

 

[SwampRooster]

I've been around longer but I think I finally had to register to see a photo or fishing report, it was a while ago. I will make up for my malingering don't you worry.

 

[Abraham]

Just giving you a hard time Welcome back.

 

[Djknyork]

Set her up right & a 15ft John should clip along nicely with a 50/35

 

[Ranchero50]

Ditto, go light, skip the wood and stay aluminum where you need it and you should be OK. Function over form, always. Guys always tend to load down there hulls with 3/4" plywood and then complain because it drafts 8+"...

 

[SwampRooster]

Thanks for the input. I am a simple and clean kinda guy. After cup holders unless it catches fish or helps me move it gets jettisoned. Turns out I missed the window on the yamaha I wanted but I'm still on the prowl. Same guy has a Suzuki 50/35 but Im not getting the same warm fuzzies with that one. Let me refine my question a bit. Am I crazy in thinking I can build this thing up to run the river with a jet and oar locks one weekend and switch the lower unit to prop and use the full Hp on larger impoundments the next? Seems to easy, like a trap. Will I be compromising to much to realize the full benefit of either setup? Jet with pods or prop and tunnel complications. On my previous boat with the tunnel and prop it was a mess. To be fair the tunnel was an early design and crude. It was 5"-6" deep at the transom. It lost flotation with the tunnel at low speed and the motor, slightly oversized, cavitated unless you were on plane going straight. Not ideal but hey, better than golf.
And on a side note; some of you gents have some truly amazing rigs. Thanks for feeding my imagination all this time.

 

[Ranchero50]

There have been several folks I've read about over the years wanting to swap back and forth, none ever did it regularly. Just too much of a PITA.

You really need to get a hull and get it wet before deciding what to do with it's form. Making motor noises and play casting in the driveway will help with the basic layout but it needs to be wet to figure out what the hull really wants to be a balanced boat. Ideally you'd have your clone fishing while you took pictures of the hull.

Mine with two up is slightly nose heavy by about an inch which makes the front trolling motor a little twitchy. Running solo I'll fish off the back with the electric steer having a 20' cable without issues.