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Did I buy enough?

PonTuna Salad

PonTuna Salad

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Lake Norman, NC
Ok. All the talk about the nice 300 and 350 HP motors has me wondering (haven't even gotten the boat and have PADS). I ordered a 24 SSBXP SPS Performance Package with a 150 Yamaha. I know that boat will only handle a 200 max, but will I be happy  :lol:  with the 150? That is the smallest motor I have had on any of my boats. Mine you they have all been 21' Sea Ray bow riders. The current one has a 260 with a Bravo III outdrive and will hit 52 mph, but I hate seeing 26 gph on the display when I do that. $$$$$$.


I told the salesman that I didn't need to be the fastest boat on the lake, but didn't want to be the last one home when a storm hits (maybe if I am on the south end of the lake, CWAG will let me tie up). That 200 motor had a pretty good additional price tag, and remember the dog is expensive (see other posts).  I did drive a 150 on a 24' on the test drive and saw 39 mph. 


Tell me I will be happy  :wub: .
 
If you still can go with the 200 ,ask me how I know  :lol:
 
PonTuna Salad said:
Clue me in please!
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I think Jack would've bought more HP if he'd known then what he knows now. He also has the weight of the sport arch. The 200 won't make much difference in speed but will handle more weight better. And yes you're always welcome on the south end.  :)
 
We have the 200 on our 24 and love it. Great power and speed. But, there are many on here with the 150 and sps setup like you have on order and love it. I think it was around $3k to jump up to the 200 but for us it was worth it. My friends down the street ordered a new bennington that should be arriving soon and I think they went with the 150. It will be interesting for us to do a side by side comparison when it shows up.
 
PonTuna, I have a 115hp and wish I would have ordered the 150.  IMO there isn't much of a difference between the 90 and the 115 but the 150 seems to give a big jump over the 115.  IMO the 150 is definitely the biggest bang for the buck.  I would expect you to get 43-44mph with the 150 and the 200 would only bring you up a few more although as CWag said would handle a heavier load much easier
 
PonTuna Salad said:
Ok. All the talk about the nice 300 and 350 HP motors has me wondering (haven't even gotten the boat and have PADS). I ordered a 24 SSBXP SPS Performance Package with a 150 Yamaha. I know that boat will only handle a 200 max, but will I be happy  :lol:  with the 150? That is the smallest motor I have had on any of my boats. Mine you they have all been 21' Sea Ray bow riders. The current one has a 260 with a Bravo III outdrive and will hit 52 mph, but I hate seeing 26 gph on the display when I do that. $$$$$$.


I told the salesman that I didn't need to be the fastest boat on the lake, but didn't want to be the last one home when a storm hits (maybe if I am on the south end of the lake, CWAG will let me tie up). That 200 motor had a pretty good additional price tag, and remember the dog is expensive (see other posts).  I did drive a 150 on a 24' on the test drive and saw 39 mph. 


Tell me I will be happy  :wub: .
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We have a couple that we're great friends with that just purchased a 22S with the Merc 150 on it and SPS package. Their boat with 6 adults, couple of coolers, and necessities on it will hit 36 mph on good water and it cruises very nicely, lighter load and it does 38 mph. You just have to make that hard decision on if it's worth it to go up to the 200. In my opinion if you're just looking to cruise the lake the 150 with SPS is a good option for the price point if that's the main concern. I've been on a Bennington with pretty much every outboard except a 200hp so I can't say how much difference there is. Try to find one somewhere to test drive even if it's a weekend trip somewhere to do it, that's cheaper than PADS lol. We actually drove 6 hours to do some test drives back in the winter.
 
Todd & Amanda said:
We have a couple that we're great friends with that just purchased a 22S with the Merc 150 on it and SPS package. Their boat with 6 adults, couple of coolers, and necessities on it will hit 36 mph on good water and it cruises very nicely, lighter load and it does 38 mph. You just have to make that hard decision on if it's worth it to go up to the 200. In my opinion if you're just looking to cruise the lake the 150 with SPS is a good option for the price point if that's the main concern. I've been on a Bennington with pretty much every outboard except a 200hp so I can't say how much difference there is. Try to find one somewhere to test drive even if it's a weekend trip somewhere to do it, that's cheaper than PADS lol. We actually drove 6 hours to do some test drives back in the winter.
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Little surprised to hear those numbers as my friend bought a 21 SX with SPS and a Yamaha 150 and he does 44 on his with 4 of us aboard
 
PonTuna Salad said:
Clue me in please!
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When I 1st ordered it was an express tube and the max hp was 150 .


A few days later I changed my mind and upgraded to the SPS ,I forgot to max out the HP . While getting ready for the 2015 season I asked my dealer about upgrading to the 200 . Trading in the 150, the cost of the motor it self was only about $3000 . Then I find out that the 150 has analog controls and the 200 is digital . Even changing the the brand of motors the controls still would have to be changed . It ended up costing too much I and I would have been better off trading the entire boat and buying another new one 


I can hit 38 with clean toons , full tank ,2 people and the added weight of the arch .
 
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Link said:
Little surprised to hear those numbers as my friend bought a 21 SX with SPS and a Yamaha 150 and he does 44 on his with 4 of us aboard
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That seems high Link. I'm not aware of a non elliptical boat hitting that with a 150. After how many Michelob Ultra's was this?
 
Link said:
Little surprised to hear those numbers as my friend bought a 21 SX with SPS and a Yamaha 150 and he does 44 on his with 4 of us aboard
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That's a very impressive mph for a 150, I was impressed with the 38mph on my buddies.
 
I'm just shy of 42 with the Suzuki hitting 6100, that's on a 22'/sps.  I can still hit 36 with a big load.  I'd go for 200.  I wish I would've went 175.
 
Curious so I went to Eric's List Your Specs.  I went through the first 4 pages and only took note of S models with 150hp, here are the results:


Kaydano - 24SSL - Express - 42mpk


LilJake - 22SLX - Express - 42


RiverBill - 22SLI - SPS - 40


Walleyeman - 24 SFX - Express - 40.2


Bamaman - 22SLX - SPS - 41


SnakeByte - 22SLX - SPS - 38


JFrack - 24SWX - SPS - 42


So I would guess low 40's is a realistic figure for the 150 unless you are in NY where things are a little faster.  To show the advantage of 150 over 115;


Lakeliving - 22SLX - 2 toon w/strakes - 115hp 35,
 
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Here is my thoughts...


I had a 250 VMAX and was able to hit 49 MPH with me 1/2 tank. Bugged the heck out of me that Tom could go 51 MPH with his Verado :p . One season, I dropped like 6-8 MPH due to growth on the toons. It bothered me that I spent all this $$ to be able to go faster, so I spent even more money to keep her on a lift. So, if your like me an want to go as fast as you can, go with the max motor your capacity plate will let you (assuming you're trailering or have a lift). It'll help when PADS hits and it will keep your from asking yourself...what if? I still ask myself what if...but my what if includes a large windfall of cash and me connecting Seven Marine and Bennington on a conference call.


Honestly if I had to do it all over again I'd be going with a twin eliptical and a 150. I didn't do as many water sports and my lake is a long narrow mud hole. Good luck in your decision.
 
Buy the most hp you can afford now!! There was an option on the boat builder I saw that let you go to 225 (evinrude) if you went with the heavier spec toons. We have a 200 on a 24SSLX and I can hit 41 all day long with a light load (dam you lakeliving! ;) ) so you won't add a bunch more on top but we do 37/38mph all day long 8 to 9 people on the boat. It comes out the hole faster than any of the runabouts in our group. My only regret is not getting the HO model!!! We'll maybe ESP! :)  
 
adkboater said:
We have a 200 on a 24SSLX and I can hit 41 all day long with a light load (dam you lakeliving! ;) )
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What can I say...the f200 is a beast!!


Salad, you can go up to 250hp now on an S if you really want to be sure you have enough. Figured I'd throw that out there. :D  But for normal usage the sps 150 is the sweet spot and an economical way to get into the 40's and have a pontoon that banks in turns.
 
lakeliving said:
What can I say...the f200 is a beast!!


Salad, you can go up to 250hp now on an S if you really want to be sure you have enough. Figured I'd throw that out there. :D  But for normal usage the sps 150 is the sweet spot and an economical way to get into the 40's and have a pontoon that banks in turns.
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Going to a 200 prices out about $5000 more. I am sure I could negotiate, but that always gives me an excuse in a few years. 
 
PonTuna Salad said:
Going to a 200 prices out about $5000 more. I am sure I could negotiate, but that always gives me an excuse in a few years. 
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Trust me!! In a few years that number will easily be 2-1/2 time higher! Chime in here Bob, he tried the same upgrade and it gets crazy expensive.
 
Woah woah woah.. you could go with a 250? That's where I'd go, get the Verado.
 
Salad,


I'm not sure what you have in mind for your craft. I have my 22' SCWX with a Yamaha 150 and can say it has never been anything but adequate. Even just plain fun. Believe it or not my dealer convinced me, who was absolutely sure I had to have the 200 to be happy, that the 150 would be more than adequate. I have yet to be  disappointed. With six adults and three little ones 38 mph is normal. However running down the lake at high speed in a Tritoon/Pontoon without a window to hunker down behind is just not fun for any of my crew or me. We find that 20 to 26 mph is a good speed for a cruise down the lake. Just my opinion. The 150 will do any water sports you will want to do. We don't do high speed tubing so can't speak to this activity. I have to say I don't have a need to be the fastest boat on the lake. It seems it be lots of dollars per mph over 38 to 41mph. Once again just my opinion.
 
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