Outboard Motor for BC/Alberta Lakes

[afroken92]

Hey guys,

Looking to purchase my first boat for fishing! I'm sold on getting a 12' Saturn SIB. Its rated for 25hp but not sure what outboard motor to get. I love the portability of a 6hp but everywhere i look, people are saying you need 9.9 hp and up or it wont plane. I would definitely enjoy that extra speed boost but I dont really care too much about going fast. Do you guys think 6hp is enough for our lakes?

[deschambault]

No if you are venturing anywhere from shore on any but the smallest lakes. The wind can come up in a hurry and you won't be able to get away from it in time with a small underpowered boat.

[fish99]

most 15 hp weigh about the same as a 9.9 hp go for the 15 hp. u will not be disappointed .

[mlee]

I have a 390 sib with a 20hp 2 stroke on it and I can say it's way more motor than I need. With 2 of us and gear I'm on plane almost instantly and I honestly don't think I've ever been past 1/3 throttle to cruise at 18-20mph. Any faster then that scares the poop out of me lol. That said I don't think I'd be happy with a 9.9....especially if it was a 4 stroke. I'm sure it would get the job done especially on smaller lakes but it would be working hard all the time.

[jungleboy]

I had a 12 for inflatable. With a 15 hp on it, and with just me in the boat it would plane no problem. With two adults in the boat it would plow water for a long time before it got on plane.
Inflatables take more ponies than you would think to make them perform.
A six hp will get you there but if you want to cross a lake like Wabamun. ( width ,not length) for instance it could take you an hour vs 10 minutes with 10 or 15 hp that will get you up on plane.

Inflatables are excellent very stable boats which is nice in the rough stuff but they also sit quite low in the water which means you can get pretty wet in the rough stuff too.