Neighbor has questions

[Todd Adams]

Hello all

My neighbor has a wooden 1954 mini hydroplane he built years ago. He’s wanting to put a motor on it so he and his older grandchildren can enjoy it. He has tons of questions that I don’t know how to go about asking. Such as what’s the best brand of motor, what HP depending on the weight of the motor, what propeller to use, short shaft or long shaft. I have zero boat knowledge. He said to tell you guys, he wants it to go fast and make a lot of racket lol. He’s a pretty heavy set guy, 280-300lb or more. His grandchildren are in high school. Any help would be appreciated

[Peerie Maa]

Re: Neighbor has questions

Welcome to this forum.

First off, we need to know the boat's dimension, length beam, depth/height of transom, and so on. Photos would be very helpful.

[Alan71]

Re: Neighbor has questions

Hello Todd,

Your post bought a smile to my face!!!...'mini' and '300lbs' in the same paragraph!

Nick has given a good start.
I'm sure some more folks will be along to give you some more help.

Regards,
Alan

[Todd Adams]

Re: Neighbor has questions

He said the boat is 8 feet long, 4 feet wide. The transom is 8 inches in the back and the bow an inch and a half.. He said the boat has had a 8 hp mariner and a 15 hp evinrude. He said when he gets time he’ll get it out and take some pictures

[Breakaway]

Re: Neighbor has questions

Hi,
For the transom, the measurement needed is its height from bottom of boat. Most likely, for a boat this size, that measurement will be 15-inches. This dimension will correspond to the "shaft length" required when ordering an engine.

As for power, its hard saying without knowing the specific design, but if 5-15 worked in the past, it will again.

As for propeller: hard to say without experience with the particular boat with a particular HP. That said, most engines this size come with a " standard" propeller that will probably be fine. He can adjust from there. ( A good dealer will allow him to try several different props)

As for brand, my recomendation is almost always choose the brand serviced locally by a dealer with good word-of-mouth.

Good luck

Kevin

[dwr9]

Re: Neighbor has questions

Sounds like the MiniMax I built when I was a teenager. Or possibly a MiniMost. Doug

[Todd Adams]

Re: Neighbor has questions

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[Todd Adams]

Re: Neighbor has questions

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[Todd Adams]

Re: Neighbor has questions

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[Todd Adams]

Re: Neighbor has questions

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[dwr9]

Re: Neighbor has questions

It's a MiniMax. The original magazine article about it says up to 15hp. It uses a short shaft motor unless you raise the motor board. It'll be plenty fast with 15hp. If he's as heavy as you mention I would advise him not to try it himself. Looking at the pictures it looks to me like the boat was originally assembled with the sides upside down. The horizontal flat at the stern was supposed to be on the top. Probably doesn't make much difference tho. I used a 1956 7 1/2hp Evinrude on mine back in the day and I think I had more fun with that boat than any other I've owned since. The plans are still available. Doug

[ulav8r]

Re: Neighbor has questions

Neighbor 2 classes ahead of me built one in High School shop class. Don't know what motor he put on it, but he and his grandfather crappie fished out of it.

[shortboot]

Re: Neighbor has questions

Mercury Hurricane, old and might be hard to find. Made for that.

[dwr9]

Re: Neighbor has questions

Here I am in the MiniMax I built. The picture is from about 1966 give or take a year. Not a great picture, but it's all Ive got. I can't believe how skinny I was. Doug

[ShorelineJohn]

Re: Neighbor has questions

An OMC (Johnson or Evinrude) 15 hp is about as powerful as you can put back there, the 25 is just too heavy. Fast is a relative term for these boats.