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max hp on a 21' sl 2015

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Jenneral

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first boat
bought from a family member
has a Yamaha 70hp on it
kinda slow when I get up to 5 adults bimini down
kids wanna tube....

thinking of upgrading the engine
I have 2 teens so weight is always gonna be adults
is a 90 enough. not buying a new boat maybe a bigger Yamaha on the back
115 150

is a 150 too much on a21' hull?


pardon my newbiness
 
Jenneral said:
first boat
bought from a family member
has a Yamaha 70hp on it
kinda slow when I get up to 5 adults bimini down
kids wanna tube....

thinking of upgrading the engine
I have 2 teens so weight is always gonna be adults
is a 90 enough. not buying a new boat maybe a bigger Yamaha on the back
115 150

is a 150 too much on a21' hull?


pardon my newbiness
Click to expand...

Some more information will be helpful. Dual toon, correct? Lifting strakes on it? With this information, people with similar uses and boats could give first hand experience. Others of us can provide some “opinion” based feedback based on experience and word of mouth.
 
Last edited:
There should be a tag on the panel next to the Captains chair .It will have the maximum HP .
If the tag is missing you can email Bennington with your hull ID and they will give you the information
 
Vikingstaff said:
Some more information will be helpful. Dual toon, correct? Lifting strakes on it? With this information, people with similar uses and boats could give first hand experience. Others of us can provide some “opinion” based feedback based on experience and word of mouth.
Click to expand...
dual toon yes. lifting strakes yes
 
Jack M said:
There should be a tag on the panel next to the Captains chair .It will have the maximum HP .
If the tag is missing you can email Bennington with your hull ID and they will give you the information
Click to expand...
thank you so much!!!
 
Luther Lovell said:
I have a 22’ dual pontoon Bennington with a 90hp merc and it pulls an adult fine. Having said that....I’ve never met a pontoon owner who regretted getting something a little larger than they really needed;-)
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thank you so much that is what I was looking into a 90 vs 115
 
Luther Lovell said:
I have a 22’ dual pontoon Bennington with a 90hp merc and it pulls an adult fine. Having said that....I’ve never met a pontoon owner who regretted getting something a little larger than they really needed;-)
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bigger is better always upgrade once.. I see.... the cost to upgrade a rebuilt motor vs buying new. ouch
 
There is only so much you'll be able to extract performance wise from that toon configuration. I can speak from experience as I had a 22 with two toons, lifting strakes and a 115. Even with that amount of power it didn't get the job done for us. I don't think you'll see the return on your investment to be honest. We ended up selling ours after 3 months and ordered a tritoon with 200hp. HUGE difference.
 
Jenneral,
You will need to tell us what you want to do with your toon. Are you looking to go water skiing or tubing on a regular basis or just once in a while? Are the skiers/tubers just wanting to be pulled in a relaxing/fun manner or want to go fast and get whipped around? If you read other posts, most people recommend a 150hp for any type of 'regular' water sports. If you will only go once in a while and don't need to get whipped around, a 90hp or 115hp will be okay. The last thing we want is for you to spend money on an upgrade to 90 or 115 and still be disappointed.
 
I went from a 40hp to a 120hp on a 2 log pontoon. The boat was still a dog but it went faster. Save your money for a new boat.
 
Some very good advice above that I will just ditto... I think Titletown Mike really hits the nail on the head. How often and what type of water sports do you want, and that can really help guide the best decision on your part.

Ideally you’d want to simply save the $$$ and upgrade to a tritoon/150hp combination if considering any level of regular and “very active” water sports. That’s the sweet spot for fairly unrestricted water sports of any kind.

IF that just is not in the cards at all, or anytime remotely soon, OR you are only looking at occasional non-aggressive tubing, then a 90 or 115hp can meet some basic needs in that area too. The dual toon is going to be a snag with whatever HP you go with. They just don’t get up on plane to really take advantage of the HP.
 
Titletown Mike said:
Jenneral,
You will need to tell us what you want to do with your toon. Are you looking to go water skiing or tubing on a regular basis or just once in a while? Are the skiers/tubers just wanting to be pulled in a relaxing/fun manner or want to go fast and get whipped around? If you read other posts, most people recommend a 150hp for any type of 'regular' water sports. If you will only go once in a while and don't need to get whipped around, a 90hp or 115hp will be okay. The last thing we want is for you to spend money on an upgrade to 90 or 115 and still be disappointed.
Click to expand...
You folks are WONDERFUL! I think my teens want to be whipped around but there is a huge price difference at each upgrade plus installation costs. I think we need to enjoy ownership a bit longer and tell my teens to save up to contribute toward the bigger engine! Tubing with gusto is what I would classify this as. Not investing in skis now. As Captain Mom I want to have more power in current and in wake swell etc to know I can get my ducklings back to shore safely.
 
lakeliving said:
There is only so much you'll be able to extract performance wise from that toon configuration. I can speak from experience as I had a 22 with two toons, lifting strakes and a 115. Even with that amount of power it didn't get the job done for us. I don't think you'll see the return on your investment to be honest. We ended up selling ours after 3 months and ordered a tritoon with 200hp. HUGE difference.
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wow a triton with a 200hp!!! wow.. that holds a lot of passengers too. ok . this confirms my gut reaction. Don't put 10k in to a bigger motor
 
Jenneral said:
wow a triton with a 200hp!!! wow.. that holds a lot of passengers too. ok . this confirms my gut reaction. Don't put 10k in to a bigger motor
Click to expand...

That would be a lot of money, and based on your reply above to wanting more aggressive tubing, you just wont get what you want on that dual toon. If you can wait, save, and eventually get into a tritoon with a 150, you will be able to do what you want.

Also, have you browsed the used Bennington market? Perhaps that is another way to make it work sooner rather than later. Sell your boat, buy a used tritoon with the engine that does what you want, and tube away.
 
lakeliving said:
There is only so much you'll be able to extract performance wise from that toon configuration. I can speak from experience as I had a 22 with two toons, lifting strakes and a 115. Even with that amount of power it didn't get the job done for us. I don't think you'll see the return on your investment to be honest. We ended up selling ours after 3 months and ordered a tritoon with 200hp. HUGE difference.
Click to expand...
wow the used market is a lot better priced than I thought!! thanks for the tips. everyone!
 
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