i have a 14 ft jon boat, it is a wide boat that weighs 270# empty. iam wondering what size motor to put on it. would a 5 hp work or do i have to go to a larger motor

Does it not have a boat capacity plate on the stern?

If not, I think the common practice is around 5 hp max. for 12 footers and around 9.9 to 15 max on 14 footers (depending on the beam width).

i think it may be between 15-25hp should say on the plate in the back of the boat

I have had a 14 foot john boat with a 5 hp on it. Pushed the boat fine for me. Depends on what you want out of it. I would not think you would want more than a 25 hp engine. I used mine for small river and 7-15 acre lakes. I choose the five because it was lighter and I fish alot by myself. Not much speed but it did the job just fine. A friend of mine has it now, he sold the 5 hp and put a 55 lb thrust trolling motor. He says it pushes the boat almost as fast as the 5hp. May be something to think about with gas prices like they are now.

i fish mostly small lakes alone. the boat is rated for a 25 hp, but that is way more than i want to spend.i would like to be able to fish some larger lakes on ocassion.so the question relly is would a 5 hp do the job well enough or do i relly need a larger motor?

Unless you want a motor for the "showoff " value or need a large motor for tournament fishing, all you need is some thing to get you to your spot and back.You'll be using your TM when you get there anyway.I have a 25  HP Yamaha on a 15 ft. Terry stick steering bass boat ,and it works just fine.

I have a 25 hp on my 14 ft. flatbottom. It does real well. I would actually like to have a bigger one myself, but I intend to get a bass boat sometime this summer.

This is crazy but have a 40 Hp on back of his 14 Lowe jon boat. It is really fast but you have to be careful when turning at WOT. His boat is 54in across the bottom and has alot of bracing in the transom. I would recommend it, I would get a 25 or smaller personally. I tried to trade that motor in a few years ago and the guy wouldn't give me anything for it and it still looks new, so I just keep it. Now I have a bass boat and just use that boat for bowfishing and duck hunting.