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Yes, the 40hp is way better than the old 25. The new motor gets up on plane immediately, and pushes the boat much easier, especially with the added wind resistance from the console windshield. It also has power tilt/trim that the mercury didn't.

Thanks for the compliments guys. This has been a fun project so far with still a long ways to go.

Updates to the build.... I sold the 25HP Mercury on Craigslist and found a good deal on a used 40HP Yamaha at a local marina. Brought the Yamaha home, and installed it, and fired it up and it ran great. I immediately took it to the lake and took it out for a test run. The motor ran...

So now the boat and trailer are mostly complete. With the 25HP Merc, it will do 22MPH with 4 adults in the boat. Not bad. I wouldn't mind a little more go though. It's not really up on full plane with that weight at that speed. The manufacturer's max HP spec is 25. However I've seen many...

Next up was I needed a trailer. Again, I turned to craigslist and most of what I saw was junk or overpriced. There are some nicely built trailers manufactured locally, but I had some of my own ideas and I'm a sucker for a project. So I ordered up all the pieces and designed a trailer in...

I decided I wanted a little more protection from the wind, as well as some storage and places to mount accessories. I'm a sucker for a project, so I decided to design and fabricate dual consoles with windshields and a walk-through center door. I drew them up in cad and had the parts laser...

First up, I found a 25HP Mercury with steering console and controls from a Smokercraft Alaskan being parted out on Craigslist. I transplanted all of that into the Alumacraft and took it out on some small local lakes. I also added a couple of basic folding seats from Cabelas. The setup worked...

For the last year, I've been wanting a nice starter fishing boat. I watched craigslist and most boats were hammered or way higher priced than a what I could do in a DIY build. So earlier this year, I ordered a new Alumacraft V16 from Cabelas. It was pretty much a bare boat. The only options...