I owned a '91 14 ft crestliner sportsman and started with a 15hp merc. That was OK but didn't get up and go with a couple of people. I replaced it with a 25hp merc after some A@#HO$% borrowed my motor in the middle of the night and never returned it. The 25 would get up and go faster then I cared to go and would still troll down slow enough for fishing salmon. Look at the weight in the back of the boat, I am pretty big and when I was alone in the boat with the motor and downriggers and all the other stuff I found I needed to keep some weight forward for a nice dry ride.