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Is a Mercury 15hp 4 stroke too large?

D

durangoroadboss

New member
Hi folks: I have a 1973 Lund N14 aluminum fishing boat(13' 11" L and a 50" beam) and it was originally rated for 14 hp. For the past 30 years I have run it with a 1974 Evinrude 15 hp. I now have a 2006 15 hp four-stroke Mercury. Same hp, but the Mercury weighs about 110 lbs andthe Evinrude about 80 lbs. I went from a 6 gallon tank to a 3 gallon, which saved about 21 lbs, so it's probably now about 10 lbs heavier than the Evinrude at the stern. The Mercury sits a bit higher and the center of gravity is undoubtedly higher. I moved the gas tank to the center of the boat and my trolling battery is about three and a half feet from the bow. The boat planes well and seems to be OK, but, is this engine too large for the boat? Any thoughts? Thanks.
Richard
 
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sounds ok to me and you have run the boat for a long time so you know if it ''feels'' ok...i assume you have a decal in the boat saying what it is rated for.......a game warden would be nitpicking if he gave you a violation but it could happen....especially if you got in an accident or some other violation....
 
That's one HEAVY beast. On boats with an ABYC rating of 15 hp, its weight alone way be too much.

Jeff

PS: I've built lightweight 50 hp 2 strokes that weigh less than them!
 
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