re: Was given a boat. How to find a motor?

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Looked at the boat a bit more. It is only rated for a 5hp. Anything over is illegal.

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If it is 17' and only rated for a 5 HP, it must be a very narrow boat,so don't go on any big open water with that one,especially if there is much big boat traffic,and don't overload it.
Also, the HP rating is pretty much just for insurance purposes,you wont get a ticket for having a 10 or 15 HP on it.

My first boat was a long narrow one like that, had an 18 Johnson on it,and would fly.Pretty soon after I got it, took 2 friends out on the river with me,both were pretty big guys. I've got it opened up and we are cruising up river,when one of them goes to the front of the boat,water started coming over the front of the boat and it was about to dive like a dolphin. Filled the boat about 1/2 way with water in just a split second,could have ended very badly,but we were lucky and only had to bail water for a while.