TOPIC: How Do I Choose The Correct Size Motor?

Here is my question.

I have a 1959 14 ft V-bottom outboard runabout Fiberglide.
I have been told by the past owner that the boat can handle up to a 40hp motor.

I am trying to locate a suitable outboard to go with this boat. What is the smallest I can go with this size boat and still be a nice cruising boat? And is 40hp really the largest that would be safe to use?



This tight a range of suitable motors is really making the task of locating a running used (and possibly antique) outboard a real chore!

The following website from the coast guard gives motor powering rules.

law.justia.com/us/cfr/title33/33-2.0.1.8.44.html#33:2.0.1.8.44.4

These appear to be the federal guidelines.

There really is no rule of thumb to go by, especially with these old boats.

But im assuming your not trying to make a speed boat out of it. With that said, assuming your transom is sound, i see no reason why you couldnt mount a motor larger than 40HP. I dont think i would go any larger than 50-60HP unless, again, your transom is built to support the extra weight. A good running, vintage 50HP motor would push that along an easy 30 MPH. 60's and 70's 65HP Mercurys are quite easy to find, pretty light for their power rating and would look good on there. I dont think i would go any smaller than a 35 or so...which will push you low\mid 20's. Anything much smaller and it wont get up on plane and will require you to run at full throttle all the time using quite a bit of gas in the process.

A nice 59 35hp Evinrude would look nice on that boat.
Here is my 59 Fat Fifty on my 60 Larson All-American. She's not fast but cruises along nicely.

That boat looks to have a relatively narrow beam. Not sure I'd want to go much more than the recommended 40-50 horsepower. My old 14-foot Lone Star was rated for 45 and we ran a 45hp Merc on it. It was pretty quick with just the driver in it and it would pull kneeboarders and skiers (2 skis, not slalom) fairly easily.

There are LOTS of vintage to newer outboards out there in the 30-50 horsepower range. Late 1950s Johnrude 35s are solid choices for vintage motors, and there are a range of 33, 35 and 40 horsepower models to choose from in the 1960s. Newer 1980s era 35s are lightweight and make decent power for their size. A 4-cylinder Merc 50 is a pretty good choice and they made them for many years up into the 1980s. Actually, most any 4-cylinder Merc from 35 to 50 horse, dating back to the 1950s is a good choice.

Good luck!
- Scott

That boat will FLY with a 40 horse. You have to remember... back in '57 they were using that boat (or that size boats) and towing 2. 3, 4, 5, 6 skiers at a time with a 30 or 35 horse motor. I've got pics somewhere of my mother in a 6 skier pyramid behind my dad's late 50's Bowman powered by a '58 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35.

There is a chart in the archive of the site somewhere that gave that information. I have a bad printout that probably would not scan well. If you send me the overall length (ft and in) plus the width at the transom (not including fins), I will give you an approximate value. It was published in 1965 and I used it for sizing the motor on my Tomahawk. I can do about 30 with a 50 hp motor. Great looking boat.

I feel a little better after hearing some of this… A few people have given me the double eyebrow raise when I said I was using a 60hp on my 15’1960 Sea King. I have added two layers of 25oz biaxial matting to the stern when installing the new transom. I also have another idea to beef it up a bit more. I will show it in my post when that is done. Thanks for the good info on this all!