# boat vs. river question



## mr.whiskers (Jul 19, 2009)

i have a 15' glastron runabout with a 4 horse motor. my question is would that get up river or am i gonna have to go with a bigger motor? thanks for any info i sure would hate to find out the hard way.


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## FishStiks (Jul 23, 2009)

You'll be fine. I have a smaller boat than you, with only a trolling motor, and it serves well. Just be attentive as to when a barge wake or another boat wake comes to you. Angle your boat the right way, and your fine. Not really a swift current out there. Good luck to ya .


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## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

I'd caution you to be out on the river in that rig. I don't know how experienced you are on the river, but unless you have a lot of experience I would advise to have some more power before venturing out.

I ran a 14ft boat with a 9.9 for 5-6 years before buying a large deep V boat.
I wouldn't have even considered taking it out on the river - I may be conservative, but I surely won't take big risks for fishing either!

I know a guy that grew up on the river running a 14ft. Jon with a 15HP tiller and he was all over that river. He also would tell you now that he is older and wiser he wouldn't do it now and came very close to losing his life a few times back in the day. 

You would need to be careful when the river is down; if the river was to rise or was up and running......well I don't think you would like the ride.

Just my $0.02


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## catfishingforfun (Jul 22, 2008)

My son has a 14 deep v with an 8 hp on it. We take it out on the liking river all the time but always head south from fredricks landing. We took it one time north toward the Ohio river and the guy behind use could not wait so he decided to fly about 15 away from us as fast as he could go in his big boat. Believe me that was not fun at all. It is not as much how careful you are as it is all the pleasure boats that dont give 2 cents if you fishing and like someone said in an post like to pull kids on tubes 10 feet away from you. If you want to fish a river in a small boat try the licking till you get used to wakes.


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## ClickerCrazy (Feb 4, 2006)

I think it kind of depends on what pool your in too. I fished for years with a 14ft v-bottom john boat with a 9.9 yamaha, and never had a problem. If the river was crank'n I just didnt do out. Most of the time in my pool, at least this year, a gnat could move you up stream. The other thing to consider is how much barge traffic you have....I know down towards Cinn. the traffic is many times heavyer than here. Heck some nights will go by when you dont see one at all. 
Bottom line.....use your head...if you're not sure...dont risk your life, or anyone elses.
Pick a calm day and give it a shot...you will get more accustomed to what you and your boat are capable of doing.
Good luck!!!


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

I hae fished the river in the vicinity of Beckjord Power Plant many times when the river is in pool in my 14 foot deep V, with 9.9 on the back, and had no problems.

I don't think I'd want to go much smaller than that.

As the previous posters said, it's not always about how safe and experienced you are - houseboats make huge wakes, as do barges, and wind can be a problem at times.

Use good judgement. I'd put in at Fredrick's Landing at Wilder and venture down towards the mouth of the Licking and judge from there.


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## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

You guys realize he has a 4HP motor right And I believe the boat is a fiberglass boat - fairly heavy.

I'll leave hitting the OH River with a 4HP motor to you guys - not near enough boat and power for me personally. The river can be very dangerous and those barges are surprisingly quite. 

IMO you wouldn't have proper control over that boat with such minimal power.
If you go out - wear your vest and pay very close attention to traffic. 

I'd find a smaller river or a larger motor if it were me.


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Fish-N-Fool said:


> You guys realize he has a 4HP motor right And I believe the boat is a fiberglass boat - fairly heavy.



*BINGO!*

Let's face it on a calm , non-active day it's possible a 15 foot boat w/ a 4 HP motor might be fine. Let's face it folks 'yak it very frequnetly, however Fish-N-Fool is right, this is a fiberglass boat (ie: HEAVY !) and not a simple jon boat. The 4 HP motor just isn't big enough for the Ohio.

Mr.Whiskers, chances are you'd be fine. You'd probablly live to see another day, but you really need to think about it. I personally would not do it. I currently have a 17.5 foot Deep V w/ a 75 HP, the boat I had before was a 14foot Tracker Pro Guide w/ a 9.9. The 9.9 pushed the 14 footer okay and I had it on the Ohio several times, but I would not have felt comfortable in anything less than the 9.9 and that boat was much lighter than yours.

Whatever you do, please be safe. I'd also suggest taking one of the free State of Ohio boating corses before you ventured out.


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