tritoon vs elliptical with strakes? which should I buy?

jasonW

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Hello all, I am an inshore fisherman (saltwater) so I am trying to find the right fishing version of bennington for me. here are my requirements...
Shallow draft (for drifting over grass flats)
The boat must plane and cruise at 20-25mph...at 3500 rpm (5 gal per hour)
The boat has to handle a 2.5-3 foot wave (pine island sound can get a little rough)
21-23 foot long.
I would very much like to get by with 2 elliptical logs with planing strakes...(less weight/cost/draft?) but it seems that if I want to get my cruise speed of 25mph and "get on top of the waves" a tritoon is the pick. what do you guys think?
 
Ellipticals. Not sure about the strakes. Did I only imagine a story about how strakes and ellipticals don't play well together?

Someone will correct me, I'm sure.
 
i would think twin Elips would be more Bouyant.
 
What are others in your area using?
 
For what it sounds like the ellipticals would be best, they’re just as fast as the triple toon, just doesn’t turn like one.
 
We have a 2015 22' fishing model with the elliptical tubes with strakes. 2 live wells. 150 merc O/B. It is a great fishing boat. If you PM with an email address I will send the build sheet. We fish with 10 family members in Canada. It can get whitecaps quickly and the boat handles them well. We cruise at 3000 rpm which I think is 20 mph. We can get 40 mph at WOT. It rides dry with the extra 1000 lb of flotation. It does turn flat.
 
I have a 2016 21SLX twin elliptical tubes with strakes powered by a 150 Yamaha SHO with reliance SS prop. Fuel consumption is about 3.7 gallons per hour, at 33 - 34 mph. Top speed, top down, 3/4 fuel, one person, light chop right at 43 mph. Handles the big waves well, high and dry. Overall ride of the boat maybe a little rougher than a tritoon of the same length, in rough water, but I am well pleased with the boat. If I was ordering the boat again, I would get power assist added to the steering. I have the hydraulic and it works well, but the power assist would just add so much more to the overall driving experience.
 
Something to think about but the tritoon gives you more storage in the center toon. That sold me on my boat. Water Ski's and fishing poles get stored in there
 
I have a 2016 21SLX twin elliptical tubes with strakes powered by a 150 Yamaha SHO with reliance SS prop. Fuel consumption is about 3.7 gallons per hour, at 33 - 34 mph. Top speed, top down, 3/4 fuel, one person, light chop right at 43 mph. Handles the big waves well, high and dry. Overall ride of the boat maybe a little rougher than a tritoon of the same length, in rough water, but I am well pleased with the boat. If I was ordering the boat again, I would get power assist added to the steering. I have the hydraulic and it works well, but the power assist would just add so much more to the overall driving experience.
3.7 gallons per hour seems too good for 33 mph, are you sure about this stat?
 
Thanks for catching that. The 3.7 gallons per hour is at 23 - 24 MPH, big typo on my end. Guess I was dreaming of a warm summer day.
 
The ellipticals with lifting strakes is Bennington's fastest hull in a straight line--good for long distance cruisers. Ellipticals are more expensive than my Express Tube (3/4 length) and I seldom even see ellipticals on the lake. With my 150 hp Yamaha, I get the same 40 mph top speed as the SPS (full length center toon) but I give up a little in handling and weight carrying capability. My Express tube is much cheaper (than SPS) because it doesn't have that huge fuel tank or in tube storage--neither of which I desire anyway.
 
If draft is your main concern, go with elipticals. You could always have your dealer look into it further and get some rough ideas from Bennington. Obviously it will change with motor size, fuel, gear but maybe there is a rough estimate they can provide.
 
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