Torn between these two motors to use on my recently acquired 14/48 Jon boat. Not sure if it's worth all the extra weight of the 24 opposed to the lighter 16? Any thoughts or experience are greatly appreciated

I have a 14x44 flat bottom rivited jon boat with an ol skool 15hp go devil long tail that has low hrs on it that I advanced the timing, changed exhaust & dialed in th ed carb. Open water with my son 65lbs myself 185lbs & fishing gear we will do 16 mph all day. For what its worth a vanguard 23hp is only 3lbs heavier than the 15 or 16 v-twin. But I picked up the 15 too cheap to pass up. Im happy with my 15 (ish) on my 14x44. The boat is fairly light too.

Cool that's not too hateful. The price will be similar, so that's not my main worry. I was just thinking the weight vs power gained ratio if it's worth it. I'll just say some of my duck hunting buddies are small haha so I don't wanna be reduced to a crawl either

Get the 24. The power difference is noticable.

Agree, go as big as your boat will be able to handle if $$$ is about the same.