Wondering if any Hewescraft owners could post some opinions .....

Have a friend on the cusp of buying a 16' Sportsman but trying to figure out which kicker motor to put on it. He is looking at either an 8 or 9.9 but the question is this. THe salesman where he is looking to purchase the boat is telling him that he has to go with an XL shaft kicker vice just a long shaft kicker. He called Hewescraft and was told he could really go either way. Is there any Hewescraft owners out there with a 16 Sportsman that runs a standard long shaft vice the Extra Long shaft that would post their experiences as to how the long shaft performs? Any issues, etc...



Thanks!

i had a 20 foot searunner with an extra long shaft kicker and it was way to long

Normal shaft will be fine I ran a 8hp on my when I had my searunner

Go over and ask the question at: www.hewescraftowners.com

Someone over there should have the same boat.

I have the same boat....16 Sportsman and I just have a normal Long Shaft 9.9 4-Stroke Suzuki and it works just fine. I would suggest getting the 9.9 instead of the 8 because if your friend is anything like me the boat will be heavy and if you need to get in the 9.9 will do a much better job. I actually like my normal Long shaft because it doesn't sit as low as my 50 Suzuki because it is set to the side and if you launch in shallow water its much easier to get out to deeper water. Personally, I think that extra Long shaft would be a dissadvantage.......Les

Thanks for the inputs, I will pass them along.