Calling all sled runners

[Bay wolf]

Hey guys,

I'm thinking about getting a sled. Saw a nice boat but I've never owned a sled and I'm not sure what to look for.

Question. It's a 19ft alumaweld Stryker with a 80 Merc pump on it (2001). Is that enough motor for that boat?

Any other advice and information would be appreciated.

Thanks

[sickbayer]

The wider the better, tunnel hulls are as low as you can go regarding shallow running. That particular boat 80hp motor prob fine. Go buy it and have fun.

[Bay wolf]

Is a styker able to run in skinny water ok? Say, like up the Nisqually?

[sickbayer]

Well that depend on he hull...and the size of your knackers! Post up the spec there are a bunch of guys who run sleds.who have way more knowledge on sled and Nisqually.

[rusty]

Im not a ob jet expert but 80 hp seems a little low for a 19' boat. Don't forget to consider how many people will be in the boat, gear, and fuel. My vote is for a inboard v8.

[Idstud]

When you add a pump to an outboard you loose a percentage of HP at the pump. Your probable looking at a 115 hp. Manufactures are known to put a sticker over the the original hp to rate it where your at with the pump. A friend of mine had that done on his alumaweld 18' found out when he took it in to be worked on. If your very serious with the purchase take it for a test run to see it on the water. good luck

[Gringo Pescador]

When I was looking, I quicky ruled out an inboard because for what I wanted to do it just took up too much space. I have a tiller and love it. Lots of floor space and everything is right there, going from main to kicker or kicker to main is a simple step to the side. Wider is definately better in my book (Mine is 20' with 100" beam, take the seats out and you could put a fooseball table in it and still have room to play ).

BlueRock guides out of an 18', not sure of the beam or the motor size though I am sure she'll jump if she sees this thread (if she doesn't I can find out for you). Hers was a center console when she bought it and she converted it to a tiller for fishability as well.

Taking for a test run is a good idea, but I would also reccomend taking it to a dealer and paying to have them do an inspection before buying. If the seller isn't happy with that then you know somethings up, and when you get the dealer report you can use it for negotiation purposes. Small price and a little hassle but it could save you a lot down the road.

[Steelheadin360]

80 hp will be enough to push a 19' but your not gonna have a lot of power to spare. One thing with a sled is you need plenty of go juice when you start getting into riffles and shallow more techy water. The Customweld is an inboard 350 and even with that I still changed the impeller and added a programmer to make it a little more snappy. If you are looking for a sled that is gonna be easy to fish out of, look into a tiller.

Wider is gonna be better, its gonna allow the boat to ride higher and help it get on step faster with minimal bow rise. When your side drifting and getting into some skinny water at the tail out its nice to be able to jump up quick and not slam your shoe into the bottom of the river. But at the same time your gonna need that power to do that. With a 19' boat I would be comfortable with a 150 2 stroke on the back.

Bluerock has a 18' Willie with a very peppy 150 Yamaha and that boat is perfect. You can have 3-4 people in it plus gear and still be able to scoot all over the river.

And as Gringo said, get everything checked out.

[spoonman]

Im still pretty new to sleddin, but that seems under powered to me. I have an 85 on my sixteen foot valco and it flies! But it is very light. Also I think a styker has a pretty good v to it. So not sure how shallow it would draft as compared to like a super vee or flat bottom

[Bay wolf]

Thank you all for the great insights and information. It is very apparent that I am going to need to do A LOT more homework!

[Sixgill]

I have a 19 foot Freedrifter with a 115hp tiller. I'd like more power and a tunnel hull, but it gets the job done.

[Bodofish]

Deck windshield seats and lots of storage all equals more weight. I'd say 150 minimum. I have 19' Customweld with a 225 Kodiak and an AT Pump, it throws 4 to 5 times the water of an OB. That's about 160hp spinning the pump but way more torque than any OB. Sometimes I wish I had more for the instant punch but it gets me there. You just have to plan getting it on the step. I'd definitely say the more the better when it comes to HP on the river. So no, 80 aint even going to come close. And you can't compare sleds and boats with windshields, totally different animal.