# Motor Size for 12 Foot Jon Boat



## jakegourley (Mar 5, 2015)

Asking for your opinion on whether a 3 horse motor will be sufficient for pushing a 12 foot jon boat up the Satilla River. I recently got this boat and have fixed it up a bit, adding swivel seats, a new back board for the motor, and stabilizing the frame in places. I want to purchase a new motor, and as a part time working college student a 3 horse is more in my range of funds. Would the 3 horse be enough and is this motor size durable with this small caliber boat? thanks


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## Eugene Stinson (Mar 6, 2015)

I had a 15 hp on mine and a 55lb trust foot controlled trolling motor.


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## Browning Slayer (Mar 6, 2015)

Eugene Stinson said:


> I had a 15 hp on mine and a 55lb trust foot controlled trolling motor.



Great combo!


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## MOTS (Mar 6, 2015)

I would prefer a 9.9 or 15hp. But I would not go no lower than a 6hp if on a budget.


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## BriarPatch99 (Mar 6, 2015)

Jake .... a 3 hp will move a small 12' jon OK... I rather have a 3 HP than a paddle ... you are not going to be "flying" by no means ... 

If that is what you can afford ... get it ... but a 9.9 or so would be better ...  so would a 5 hp or a 7 hp ... 

I fished the Satilla for many years with a Elgin 7.5 on a 14' jon boat ... it was slow ... but I caught fish ... 

Sometimes folks do more riding than fishing ... if your bait is out of the water ... you ain't going to be catching fish ...

I would look for a good used larger motor over a new lower HP motor ... just be careful and check a used one out good before hand ...


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## flatheadfisherman (Mar 6, 2015)

Sometimes you have to buy and use what you can afford. When I started fishing the Altamaha 20 years ago, I had a 12 foot jon boat and a 5 horse motor. Didn't fish far from the landing and I always fished upstream in case something happened. Having a limit on your power makes you fish everything you can reach just a little better. I always caught plenty of bream and catfish. I remember my biggest flathead taken in that boat was a 38 pounder. Have fun with what you got. Once you finish college, there will be plenty of time to upgrade and chase fish thoughout the river system. Good luck.


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## Bream Pole (Mar 6, 2015)

*3 hp*

I had and may be trading back for a 3hp Johnson 2cyl. 2 stroke mid nineties model.  I used it on a 14 foot jon boat in the Altamaha and what I discovered was that I had been riding past all the good spots when I fished with a 20hp.  Actually I loved that motor, but opportunity for a earlier model 6hp came along and I got it and have been using it, and I gave the 3hp to a young man that works for me along with the old 14 jon.  I bought another 6 and we I think are going to trade back.

Now that said I would not spend the money for a new 4 stroke 3hp.  I'd save and get at least a 6.  A six will give you all the hp you need on the Satilla on either a 12 or 14ft jon unless it is a very heavy boat, you weigh a lot and carry a lot.    I personally like the smaller hp motors and if you can find a good used one buy it.  The older model 2 stroke Johnson and Evinrudes if they have been taken care of are bullet proof.  Same for Yamahas.


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## doomtrpr_z71 (Mar 6, 2015)

I have a 3.5 horse clinton on my jonboat and I also have a 24v trolling motor. The 3.5 horse isnt much faster than the trolling motor. Craigslist has good deals on 9.9s from time to time.


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## crackerdave (Mar 6, 2015)

BriarPatch99 said:


> Jake .... a 3 hp will move a small 12' jon OK... I rather have a 3 HP than a paddle ... you are not going to be "flying" by no means ...
> 
> If that is what you can afford ... get it ... but a 9.9 or so would be better ...  so would a 5 hp or a 7 hp ...
> 
> ...



This!


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## BriarPatch99 (Mar 6, 2015)

IF ... the OP wishes to buy a new outboard .... look at Online outboards or similar sites ... 2014 6 HP manual 15" shaft $1299 .... was free shippng up until yesterday .... no sales tax ... 

I run a 30 HP Tohatsu on a Crappie Jon ... love it (since '96) ... my son ordered a 25 hp Tohatsu from the online site ... saved about $600 on it ... replaced a 50 cent gasket and made it a 30 hp ... he just put a Cook tilt and trim that makes it perfect for lifting over the logs that cross the Satilla... and running shallow water....   I said that to say this .... I'd like to have a new 8 hp Tohatsu for an old lite weight 14' jon(got the boat) ... that I can drag up and down the sandbars over logs ... cause that is when the fishing gets great....


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## Bigtimber (Mar 7, 2015)

Like a 12/32 or 12/36 aluminium john boat? Yes a 3 hp will be fine. No speed demon but being in a hurry in skinny water is not the best idea anyhow. Too many stumps and sandbars to tear up a foot, shear a prop pin or mess up a water pump. Besides running into them...ya gotta drag over them.....weight is a real factor. And....at alot of landings the fishing literally starts time you put in... 5 foot from the landing. Why would anyone want to be in such a big hurry on that pretty of a river? So you can get to a good spot/strip....a mile down the river....by speeding by 14 better spots along the way? Slow down...learn the river and how to fish it...fish hard from the start....and you'll catch more than those crazies zipping up and down the river from spot to spot at roller coaster speed anyhow.


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## Timrandall (Mar 7, 2015)

My friend has a 4hp motor on his 12 ft that we take to the ocumulgee and it does great. It's not fast but gets the job done and it's not much slower that my old 16ft fisher with a 20hp


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## Scrapy (Mar 7, 2015)

Going up river is slow but coming down with the flow is when you might wish for more hp.  Helps you keep the boat straight and scoot across the river so you don't get swept under tree limbs with snakes and wasp nest and things. Maybe even capsizing if the current is strong enough.


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## jakegourley (Mar 7, 2015)

Thanks guys, I think I will be better off to look for a bit larger like a 6 or 9.9 as many of you suggested. I guess I overestimated the power of a small 3hp! I am looking for one that can get me up river in a shorter amount of time if needed.


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## Eugene Stinson (Mar 7, 2015)

Eugene Stinson said:


> I had a 15 hp on mine and a 55lb trust foot controlled trolling motor.



Once my partner's 18' bass boat blew  hub a block from his house. We parked it in his yard and took my 12' jon with the 15 hp to the weekly tobo tx and won first and big fish that day. It was priceless! Maybe size don't matter after all.


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## GA native (Mar 8, 2015)

I have the same happy problem. 

I will start with a trolling motor. And eventually add a six or eight horse engine to get me upstream.


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## pop pop jones (Mar 8, 2015)

I have a 3.5 on a 14 footer now, I use both, front and back, motors at times, but my gas motor is there only to get me "back" to the truck at the end of the day.


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