Grizzly 1860 Motor Selection

[FFGomer]

Looking at buying a Grizzly 1860 and wondering if anybody else has one and could offer some insight into which motor to get? Is the 60hp sufficient? Would the 90hp be better? Is the 90hp too heavy and makes the stern sit low? TIA

 

[Chobeemauga]

What is the max HP for the boat? I would go the max. If it is too expensive I would not go lower than 75% of the max. You want the boat to perform at a certain level when loaded to fish. If it doesn't you will be disappointed in the long run. At least I would be. YMMV. Nothing sucks more than a boat that will barely plane out when loaded, not to mention the wear on the motor because it is under powered. Just my .02 cents. Buy once cry once.

Edit: I see it is max rated for a 90 and they sell it with 60hp as an option. 30 hp seems like a big drop of power to me. I would test drive if I could knowing that you would have some gear in the boat when you have it rigged and are fishing it. Mercury does make a 75hp motor, I would check on that as a possible alternative. Good luck.

 

[DONAOL]

I had the Mercury 75 hp four stroke on a Crestliner 1650. Top speed about 36 mph by GPS. It weighs about 400 lbs. I fish mostly the Finger Lakes in NYS. If your fishing larger lakes and need to make longer runs I would go with the 90 hp motor. You would be over working the 60 hp running wide open to maintain a fair speed and keeping a loaded boat on plane. A lot definitely depends on how and way you fish. Also is this strictly a fishing boat or do you use it for pleasure too. The 75, 90 hp motors were based on the same engine block so the 90 would not be much heavier than the 75. This was a 2006 Mercury motor. Hope this helps some what.

 

[FFGomer]

I had the Mercury 75 hp four stroke on a Crestliner 1650. Top speed about 36 mph by GPS. It weighs about 400 lbs. I fish mostly the Finger Lakes in NYS. If your fishing larger lakes and need to make longer runs I would go with the 90 hp motor. You would be over working the 60 hp running wide open to maintain a fair speed and keeping a loaded boat on plane. A lot definitely depends on how and way you fish. Also is this strictly a fishing boat or do you use it for pleasure too. The 75, 90 hp motors were based on the same engine block so the 90 would not be much heavier than the 75. This was a 2006 Mercury motor. Hope this help some what.

Fishing, crabbing, waterfowl hunting, and running around for pleasure on the Chesapeake Bay and lower Susquehanna. Thank you for the input.

 

[Pungobob]

Completely agree with Chobeemauga above. It’s always better to have extra power and not need it than to need the extra power and not have it. Go with the max horsepower when possible.