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[rstaight 0]

Yes, it was a transom mount.

[Poopdeck 0]

I fish out of my river boat a lot and my buddies 14' Grumman semi vee with a 15 hp Johnson. We pretty much split time in each other's boat. His is a straight up tin boat with the exposed ribs in the floor and 3 bench seats. He has a seat on the rear bench and I have a seat on the front bench. When in a small boat everything is small. Small cooler, we each bring two rods and one tackle bag each. We have two PFD's a 6' paddle, a 5' long net, an anchor, a 12 volt battery and a fish finder. its very comfortable to fish out of but your not moving about the boat like you can in mine.

 

Remember, if you put a raised deck in a small boat you will have a small raised deck that's easy to fall off of. I had a 16' semi-vee that came with a small raised deck on the bow complete with a pedestal seat. I ended up ripping the deck out, extending the floor and mounting the pedestal seat on the floor. Much much better. The small raised deck was treacherous to stand on and if you stayed in the seat you didn't even have enough room to operate the foot controlled trolling motor. When I say it sucked it really sucked.

 

The thing with an electric motor is it will have to be a 12 volt system unless you want to add more weight with more batteries. A 12v trolling motor is not going to last long as your only power so it would only be suited for very small impoundments. I would go with a 9.9 hp but that's just me.

 

I also like the semi-vee over a flat bottom in a small boat. It's faster, it's a smoother ride, and it's not as wet. A flat bottom is more stable but not by much. If your not standing on little bitty raised deck or sitting higher then the gunnels then the stability factor doesn't matter. My boat is a flat bottom river sled and we get beat to death if there is a chop. When we fish the tidal river we will take my buddies boat because it's such a smoother ride and it's easier to anchor in a stiff current.

[wr1nkles 0]

The small raised deck was treacherous to stand on and if you stayed in the seat you didn't even have enough room to operate the foot controlled trolling motor. When I say it sucked it really sucked.

 

The thing with an electric motor is it will have to be a 12 volt system unless you want to add more weight with more batteries. A 12v trolling motor is not going to last long as your only power so it would only be suited for very small impoundments. I would go with a 9.9 hp but that's just me.

 

I also like the semi-vee over a flat bottom in a small boat. It's faster, it's a smoother ride, and it's not as wet. A flat bottom is more stable but not by much. If your not standing on little bitty raised deck or sitting higher then the gunnels then the stability factor doesn't matter. My boat is a flat bottom river sled and we get beat to death if there is a chop. When we fish the tidal river we will take my buddies boat because it's such a smoother ride and it's easier to anchor in a stiff current.

 

Yeah, I can see myself just going with the flat bottom, maybe something thin over the ribs to even out the floor and thats all.

 

I wouldn't be against a 24v system either. Can you start with a 12v and add another battery in the future, or are those motors dedicated to 12v or 24v. I'd go with a 9.9 too but there's the most and few ponds that allow that HP.

[caloosa bug 0]

 

 

 

Yeah, I can see myself just going with the flat bottom, maybe something thin over the ribs to even out the floor and thats all.

 

I wouldn't be against a 24v system either. Can you start with a 12v and add another battery in the future, or are those motors dedicated to 12v or 24v. I'd go with a 9.9 too but there's the most and few ponds that allow that HP.

 

 

They are dedicated 12v and 24v. A 12v 28lb-35lb thrust would be all you needed. I had a 12v 55lb thrust on a 12 v bottom for a couple years and it would pretty much get on plane. If I was in a larger body of water, or current might be a factor, without an outboard, I would carry two batteries. One for a backup if the first one died.

 

The difference in a 12 and 14, like poopdeck said, is night and day. Also depending on design, and where you will be fishing in the boat, a flat bottom will be more stable .. but that would only apply to the front, as most small v bottoms are flat in the back. The first time I slid my 12v off of the bank, and climbed over the bow, it threw me out.

 

Pond fishing was fine in my little 12v, but I learned it was easier with my transom mount trolling motor, to flip the head, and fish trolling backwards.. With my weight in the back, and the bow catching wind , it was hard to keep the boat in position going forward. Using a trolling motor on a boat is similar to a chain. It's easier to control by pulling, rather than pushing. A tiller extension allowed me to be more centered and allowed me to stand with more confidence. Then again in my 14 flat bottom, all of this was eliminated. And if I was to take it out to the river, or where other boats were present, the 14 was much safer.

 

A v will be smoother cruising in a chop, but how much chop and how fast you'll be cruising are where the differences are. My 14 flat bottom with a 15 four stroke was great most places and creeks. But running open water with a chop would leave all your beer...I mean sodas, flat. Best of luck to you.

[Poopdeck 0]

The thing about a boat is once you get one your going to wanna take it other places like lakes and rivers. you might as well know that going in so you can buy a boat that you can put in a pond, river or lake. A 14' semi-vee is the ticket. You don't really have to worry about how low the boat sits in the water since neither a semi-vee or flat bottom will be as low as your prop. We've been fishing out of my buddies 14' Grumman for 30 or so years. His motor is a vintage 70's 2 stroke Johnson seahorse. He bought the boat New and the motor used and he has used the crap out of the boat over the years and it still is reliable and fun to fish out of. During our spring striper run we will take his boat out in the early season because we can launch it right off the bank of the river at the spot we like to fish. If they fish aren't in we can pull it out a couple hours later and we used maybe a cup of gas. Once the fish come in we will use my boat but we have to launch it about 5 miles down river but it can then go anywhere.

 

Again. I wouldn't throw a floor in as that leads to weight. My 16' had a floor and it made it heavy enough to where we could not bank launch it. My buddies 14' you could take the motor off and carry the boat to the river or launch right from almost any bank you could back a truck down.

 

If your going electric only then get a transom mount. As Caloosa said, it's easier to push a boat then pull a boat. A transom mount has far better control then a bow mount unless you go wizbang and get a gps, spot lock, auto pilot bow mount.

 

Just don't forget about the small boat thing. If it's going to be strictly for ponds and nothing else then go with the flat bottom Jon. Any manufacturer will be fine.

[sandflyx 0]

NuCanoe frontier with 30 lb elec. great boat.

 

[Guest]

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Lately and seriously...14' Alumacraft with 25 Mariner, motorguide troller up front. Regular fishing machine. Lil scary wide open with the 25. Crappie rod holder inserts all around too.

Purdy good duck boat too with ghilley blind on it.

[Poopdeck 0]

That nucanoe may be the perfect pond boat. I don't think it needs the electric motor though.

 

Denduke, I would imagine that 25 would get that boat humming.

[sandflyx 0]

poop deck I use it streams, rivers and even big lakes. I'm disabled and the motor works wonders, also I troll flies for land lock 2mph and better for them. I would use it off the beach if I was closer

[Poopdeck 0]

Yes indeed it is perfect for all water use. I've been toying with getting one for streams for some time. My mind says yes but my knees and back say no and I've grown accustomed to a boat where I can walk around in it or open up the double seat and take a nap. My mid afternoon nap has become very important to me. I am getting a little tired of walking the creeks and often think how much more I could cover in a yak.