I just wanna go fast… Wanna know how to make your jon boat faster? Well we’ve covered that and more in this article. A jon boat can typically go 15 to 25 mph. If you want to know how fast can a jon boat go, consider some of the tips below, and find out for yourself.
You can increase a jon boat’s top speed and make it go faster by changing the prop, getting a higher horsepower motor, trimming the motor correctly, adding a jack plate, and reducing the weight of the boat.
How fast will a 25 hp jon boat go?
As a baseline, a 25 hp jon boat should go between 25-30 MPH. Obviously, the size and weight of the boat play a big role. Also how the motor is set up can have a big change on speed. A motor that is properly trimmed and optimized while at full throttle will go faster.
Changing propellers and jon boat prop pitch
According to Mercury Marine’s manual, Everything You Need to Know About Propellers,
Going with Bigger props
Pitch is defined as “the distance a propeller would move in one revolution if it were moving through a soft solid, like a screw through wood.” A lower pitch prop means the prop would not travel as far in one rotation as a higher pitch prop.
In general, going with a higher pitch prop will increase the top speed of an outboard. Thank of it like changing gears in a car or bicycle. A low gear starts the car moving but at a slower pace, you shift into a higher gear to get faster. Increasing prop pitch is like shifting into a higher gear. Be cautious though, just like it would be very hard going from a dead stop in third gear, it would also take a boat much longer to get the hole shot and get on plane with a higher pitch prop.
Putting a Stainless prop on a jon boat
If you are running an aluminum prop on 150 hp motor or larger, changing to even a basic stainless steel prop will usually improve top speed as long as the prop is not oversized or overweight for the hp motor. Because stainless steel is stronger than aluminum, the blades on a stainless prop are thinner, which reduces drag in the water. Those blades will also not flex under load like those of an aluminum prop, and so will maintain consistent performance.
Using jack plates
Jon boats can also gain speed by adding a jack plate setup on the outboard. A jack plate raises the outboard and prop higher and offers a setback from the transom and turbulent water. Raising the prop and setting it back from the transom allows the prop to get into clean less turbulent water that would typically happen just behind the boat transom. This clean water allows the prop to act more efficiently and produce a higher top speed. Lifting the outboard higher out of the water will also reduce drag as less motor is acted upon by friction.
Making a jon boat faster by adding horsepower and adjusting trim
Everything else is kept the same, you could just get a larger HP motor for your jon boat. Assuming weight is the same, more HP should equal a higher top speed. But have you maximized the outboard you already have?
Outboard trimming for max speed
Let’s look at using the trim function on your outboard for achieving the best top speed. Trim has two options, trim up or trim down.
Trimming up means you’re tilting the outboard up lifting the propeller higher and farther away from the hull, trimming up also tilts the bow of the boat upward.
Trimming down is what you might expect, tilting the motor down and bringing the prop closer to the boats. This also directs the bow of the boat downward. They get the best top speed trim all the way down until the boat is on plane. Once the boat is on plane, slowly trim up to increase speed. Monitor your speed and rpms during this adjustment. Also, listen for noises and vibrations. If you trim up and hear noise and vibrations, your rpms go up and your speed isn’t increasing you’ve probably trimmed up too much and need to trim down. Make slow adjustments to dial your trim in for maximum speed.
Boat weight reduction: trim the fat on your jon boat to go faster
So you got your motor trimmed perfectly but still want more speed out of your boat? Well, the next step is to trim the fat and get rid of any unnecessary equipment that is weighing the boat down. If you have a full cooler, fishing equipment, bimini top, and other accessories cluttering up a boat you cant expect it to reach peak performance. You have to take the essentials ad other safety equipment required by law but I bet a good cleaning and reducing the junk would add a MPH or two to your top end. In jon boats with large fuel tanks, you could even reduce weight more by not having a full tank.
Jon boat hull types for speed
Slowest jon boat hull
Flat bottom- the flat bottom hull is going to be the slowest hull in terms of top speed. A flat bottom hull has more contact with the water surface which means more friction to overcome. Your outboard is working harder to overcome this friction rather than increasing speed. a flat bottom jon boat bow also crashes into a wave, slowing speed.
Fastest jon boat hull
v hull the v hull is going to be the fastest jon boat hull type. The v-shaped bow slices through the water rather than crashing into it. A v hull also has less hull surface contacting the water which means less friction to overcome. More horsepower can be used for a higher top speed than overcoming frictional forces.
Modified semi v hull
a modified v or semi v hull is going to be between the v hull and flat bottom. The v-shaped bow will still slice through the water but the flat bottom still has a lot of surface area contacting the water and more forces to overcome.
If you’re going for pure mean nasty speed then look to a v hull jon boat, with a lot of horsepower in your outboard that is trimmed perfectly and has been optimized with a jack plate. Maybe you could even run with extreme jon boat racers in the videos. Good luck, tell us what mods you did in the comments and sign up for the email list.