ok.just joined and was wondering about these type of motors. I'm in northwest pennsylvania, most of our waters are rocky and vary in depth from damp to deep! our lake mostly have a 20 hp limit on them.would like a boat to fish,hunt and trap out of, probable less than 17 ft.would like a center console to help level the boat and see better.

You should move

wow, with wisdom like that you should be a lawyer! thanks for your reply, but it isn't gonna happen!

I don't think this type of motor is going to benefit you if you have rocks. I would suggest an outboard with jet drive for running shallow in the rocks.

Need a bit more info to not agree with Jimmy (and I never agree with Jimmy lol) but once you answer these, I'll elaborate and try to answer for the purpose of helping.
What do you forsee your typical load in the boat to be (how many people, how much extra gear besides the battery and gas)?
Is the center console because you have long runs, or just because you want to move yourself out of the back of the boat to keep it from squatting as bad?
You want shorter than 17ft for whatever reason, but is there a width that's too wide?
How important is speed?
I'll try to tailor my response based on some facts, and not suggest you move just because it's the easy answer lol

http://seaarkboats.com/boat_models/view/72
this is the boat I like, looking at a copperhead 18 hp on it.
thoughts?

If your going with a v hull get an outboard, that boat with any mm is not a good combo. Mm need to be on a mud hull, or atleast a flat bottom

You want answers but haven't given some information that we usually use to decide what boat we get for ourselves. Help us help you.

Or, you could buy now and maybe be happy or be unhappy with the results, and spend more overall because you didn't want to include information that truly would help us give informed opinions.

http://seaarkboats.com/boat_models/view/72
this is the boat I'm looking at. it is a flat bottom with a 15deg front, not a
"v" hull.