Third Bennington Purschase

[Dtaylor2954]

Took the third Bennington out yesterday for the sea trail, before taking it down to it's new home on Lake Martin, Alabama. Traded the second Bennington for a Crest two years ago, glad to be back in the Bennington family. Nothing fancy just the 200HP, Power Steering and the Reliance Prop.

 

[White Laker]

Congratulations!

 

[goldnrod24]

"I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see!"

LOL. Welcome back, brother!

 

[ILLINOIS AVE]

Nice!

 

[Vikingstaff]

Welcome back. Is the “third time a charm” for you? Hope so, and have fun!

 

[Potomacbassin’]

Congrats on the “boomerang”. What pitch prop?

I personally found the Reliance didn’t have enough bite below 4K rpm (terrible slip%, poor efficiency etc) but mine was a 14.25 x 17. Top speed was adequate. I think with pontoons and how heavy they can drag in the water diameter is critical. Hopefully you have a 14.5d or greater.

See you on the water!

 

[lakeliving]

Congrats on the new boat!

 

[sjhorner9475]

Sweet! Welcome home.

 

[DejaWiz]

Wow - very sweet SSRX SPS you got!

 

[Dtaylor2954]

She is settled in at her new home, very pleased with the performance and my dealer Woods Surfside in Pell City, Alabama for a smooth delivery.

 

[lakelifeMN]

Very sharp looking boat! It’s nice to see water... ours is frozen over up here. Congrats and enjoy!

 

[VitiminJ]

Nothing fancy... just a 200hp! Good for you. We are on winter break as well. Counting down the days. And there are a lot of them left!

 

[The Hillbilly Barge]

Congrats on the “boomerang”. What pitch prop?

I personally found the Reliance didn’t have enough bite below 4K rpm (terrible slip%, poor efficiency etc) but mine was a 14.25 x 17. Top speed was adequate. I think with pontoons and how heavy they can drag in the water diameter is critical. Hopefully you have a 14.5d or greater.

See you on the water!

Are 14.24 a bad prop for pontoons?

 

[Potomacbassin’]

Are 14.24 a bad prop for pontoons?

Not necessarily - for 150hp and lower it's appropriate, but for larger HP the slip will probably be very high and a greater diameter should be explored.

 

[The Hillbilly Barge]

Not necessarily - for 150hp and lower it's appropriate, but for larger HP the slip will probably be very high and a greater diameter should be explored.

I have a 300hp so sounds like it isn't the correct pro

 

[Vikingstaff]

I have a 300hp so sounds like it isn't the correct pro

You really should like the specs and performance thread that is stickies in one of the sub-forums. I think you will find your motor, and a similar boat so as to check out what prop(s) to explore. Is it a Yamaha 300? Model, hull, layout? Some of this might lead to someone with nearly your exact boat chiming in with a good recommendation.

 

[Potomacbassin’]

I have a 300hp so sounds like it isn't the correct pro

Holy cow! Yes, if you have a 14.25 diameter you are just wasting that power (imo). I would think at least a 14.5 or even 15" diameter, but as Viking mentioned lots of posts on this. Also go to Yamaha's performance bulletin page and look up your model or similar and that can be a starting point.

Do you have any performance numbers at this time?

 

[The Hillbilly Barge]

Holy cow! Yes, if you have a 14.25 diameter you are just wasting that power (imo). I would think at least a 14.5 or even 15" diameter, but as Viking mentioned lots of posts on this. Also go to Yamaha's performance bulletin page and look up your model or similar and that can be a starting point.

Do you have any performance numbers at this time?

47mph @5500rpm, two people 50gal.fuel, it fills as if it gets to 5500rpm with little to no strain on the engine, almost like it hits the rev limiter @ that rpm

 

[Potomacbassin’]

47mph @5500rpm, two people 50gal.fuel, it fills as if it gets to 5500rpm with little to no strain on the engine, almost like it hits the rev limiter @ that rpm

That's actually pretty good top speed, but the RPM is curious. From a previous post looks like you have an 18p? which that 300 should have no problems hitting 6000rpm with, especially with a 14.25 diameter. For reference I can hit 5800 RPM with a 17p on a 250HP with 1.75 gear ratio.

Something seems off. If you have a mechanical throttle maybe a cable needs adjusting. Or something is inducing drag on the boat - wave shield (y/n)? toon growth? Motor could be raised to gain some RPM, top speed and efficiency.

I still think more diameter would help - maybe a 14.5 x 17p Enertia which is a very popular prop on pontoons. But ultimately consultation with a dealer or prop expert (Ken @ Prop Gods or Brett @ BBlades) should be considered. I think you have you definitely have some performance improvement available.

 

[The Hillbilly Barge]

That's actually pretty good top speed, but the RPM is curious. From a previous post looks like you have an 18p? which that 300 should have no problems hitting 6000rpm with, especially with a 14.25 diameter. For reference I can hit 5800 RPM with a 17p on a 250HP with 1.75 gear ratio.

Something seems off. If you have a mechanical throttle maybe a cable needs adjusting. Or something is inducing drag on the boat - wave shield (y/n)? toon growth? Motor could be raised to gain some RPM, top speed and efficiency.

I still think more diameter would help - maybe a 14.5 x 17p Enertia which is a very popular prop on pontoons. But ultimately consultation with a dealer or prop expert (Ken @ Prop Gods or Brett @ BBlades) should be considered. I think you have you definitely have some performance improvement available.

They are going to be on my call list this week, I feel 5500 rpm is the rev limiter because it doesn't fluctuate any even if you adjust the trim either direction, but we have had the boat it the water once for about a 30 minute trip and this is my first outboard and first pontoon, the engine is a demo off of a saltwater twin engine boat, I feel certain it had that prop on it for that use.