Repowering with a smaller motor

[mmaveal]

Greetings all from a "OLD" newbie,
I'm sitting in Michigan and its snowing so here's my question. I have a 1992 v-17 aluminum Tracker with a 1992 - 60 HP Johnson. The motor has a scored top cylinder and will cost bucks to fix it. I'm thinking of downsizing the motor to a 25 HP Evinrude. We fish SLOW and do a lot of trolling. Speed is NOT an issue for me.
Last spring I read on here one time about a fellow in Indiana who put a 9.9 HP on his Tracker, hooked it up to the steering, and was fishing crappie tournaments with it. He said he was very happy with the way it operated.
My question is what is the smallest motor I can put on this boat and still plane it out? Tracker sells new ones with a 25 HP. Tracker service rep told me not to go any smaller than a 25 HP. Does anybody have and wisdom to share? Anybody using small motors?
Waiting for Spring,
Mike

[lhumphre]

a 9.9 will definitely not get you on plane..my brother had a 25 on his old tracker semi-v 17 footer and it got up to about 25 mph with 2 of us..it got on plane but barely..25 should be fine if you aint worried about speed..im not sure about the "v" though since his was a semi...

[Gadget Man]

I understand your circumstances and a desire to go slow.

However, as a general rule, I always understood that most boats perform best when powered by (or near) the recommended maximum horsepower.

[TeqSheriff]

My boat isn't quite as big as yours; I have a 16 ft aluminum Starcraft with a wood floor, v-hull. We run a 15 hp on it, and it planes fine with two people, but doesn't quite get out of the water with a third. We don't often have that third person and I'm quite happy with the 15, so I'm guessing that the 25 should do what you need it to.

My personal opinion is that the fishing community as a whole has gotten drunk on horsepower. There is a big difference between sufficient power and excessive speed.

[CrappieHound]

It really depends on where you fish. If you don't need the HP then don't buy it but there are a lot of places out there that you just couldn't go to if conditions changed. Grenada, and Big Sandy, TN are just a couple off the top of my head that I would not even consider getting on in an underpowered boat. Wind turns the waves into A-Bombs out there.

If your fishing small lakes and stuff, you should be fine.

[Crappie Reaper]

It also depends on how much weight is in your boat. A 25hp should get you up on plane with no problems. You hole shot time is just going to be longer.

[mmaveal]

Greetings,
I just noticed that I said V It's really a semi-V. Thanks for the information. I have been looking at a used 25HP Evinrude. I think I'll buy it. This 60 HP is just too expensive to fix.
Thanks again,
Mike