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Thread: 14' Ward Sea King.. motor upgrades, general duck boat building..... etc....

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Parksville
    Posts
    397

    14' Ward Sea King.. motor upgrades, general duck boat building..... etc....

    Hey all,

    As my duck hunting gear continues to progress, I've had the fortune of picking up a couple more items.. both of which may need to be upgraded in the future, but that will happen when money allows.

    Latest acquisition of mine...

    2001 9.9 Honda Fourstroke long shaft outboard
    14' Ward Sea King aluminum boat
    2012 Roadrunner trailer

    The questions I have relate to the Sea King directly, and indirectly to the motor I received with it. The original aluminum and wod transom that came with the boat had a hefty amount of play in it, even without a motor. I removed it all, and slapped on a 2x10 treated on the inside, and a chunk of 3/4" plywood on the outside, to stiffen it up. The rating for the boat originally is for a max 14 hp motor, and a max load of 600 lbs (I think). Obviously with two grown males and duck gear your already pushing it. Hence why it will need to be upgraded in the future.

    Anyway, to the questions:w

    1. Will the amount of timber that I added to the rear of the boat allow me to upgrade the 9.9 to the a 15?
    2. The boat is meant to take a short shaft motor, am I doing harm by running a long shaft, other than the added chance of running aground?
    3. If I replace the boat with a higher capacity boat, will it basically automatically need a long shaft? (Reason being is, if I replace or upgrade the 9.9, I would like to keep the motor through to the next boat).

    Currently in the process of patching two small leaks, as well as a new paint job.

    Keep in mind, I am choosing the cheapest way throught pretty much everything, as long as it isn't risking my life.

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Tsawwassen
    Posts
    5,694

    Re: 14' Ward Sea King.. motor upgrades, general duck boat building..... etc....

    In my opinion I wouldn't hesitate to run a longshaft 15 on that boat, but that's without seeing it. I ran a longshaft 15 on a pos 12' aluminium for years without problems. Good luck, K

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