I want to buy a used17-20 foot fiberglass bass boat , BUT.. due to local laws my best lake has a 50hp limit. I am not too concerned with speed, just plenty of comfortable fishing room for local tournaments.  Will such a set up still "plane out" the boat?

I don't have a lot of knowledge on the subject, but I can say that a 50 may be a little under powered... You could maybe a try a smaller aluminum boat that still has lots of features?

A 17' might plane but i doubt it. With a 50 hp limit why go fiberglass? A 17' aluminum would perform much better with a 50 on it.

A 17' might plane but i doubt it. With a 50 hp limit why go fiberglass? A 17' aluminum would perform much better with a 50 on it.

X2

A 17' might plane but i doubt it. With a 50 hp limit why go fiberglass? A 17' aluminum would perform much better with a 50 on it.

X3.  You can find something like the Tracker 175W which would give you just about the same amount of room or their 19ft model (don't know the model number).

While I agree on the aluminum being the better option for a 50, I have to ask if that one particular lake is that important to you to make a decision like that. I have a local lake I fish once in a while that has a 9.9 limit. I found out who the warden for that area was and asked him about it. I explained I'd like to take my Nitro in there just to have electronics but it has a 75 on it. He said "Just don't let me see you fire up the big motor and you'll be ok". So, is it small enough that you could just stay on your TM the whole time?

And not that an aluminum is a bad choice, but if I had my heart set on a glass boat, I'd have to think long and hard about that one lake.

X2

 

X3

If you got a 17 footer with a 50 on it and put a low pitch prop on and a fin you'd most likely get it up on plane. It probably wouldn't be ideal, but you could do it.