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Cruising too slow?

big shooter

big shooter

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Swan Lake Maine
Hi, I am seriously considering getting a new Bennington. Right now I have a 16' starcraft fishing boat. We have a place on a small, about 1300 acre, lake. Almost daily we take a cocktail cruise around going quite slow, maybe 5mph.

My question is if I were to get a 150hp is it a problem to go that slow? I am trying to decide if the few times we might tube would be worth getting the bigger motor or not. Plus I think the ability to sell the boat with the bigger motor would be greater.

We are looking at 22-23 foot, probably one of the pd's. Our main purpose will be entertaining. I think we would probably be happy with the 50hp, but I don't like regretting things.

Thanks for any advice.
 
150 will happily idle along all day if you want. I'd recommend opening it up once in a while, but that's completely fine. I have a channel on my chain of lakes that's 90 minutes of no wake, and we enjoy going up and exploring. You'll be fine.
 
Welcome! First of all love that picture of you (relaxed).We have a Yamaha 150 h.p. and do alot of slow cruising and like CLDave said we get her out and open it up also. You can slow your 150 h.p. down but you can't make your 50 h.p. go any faster! Good Luck !
 
I moved to a new marina a few years ago , it is now a 40 minute ride in a no wake zone to get to a lake . At the same time I started fouling plugs .Service tech asked what I was doing different ,I told him that I had moved ,( he is familiar with the area ) he said that is the problem .Once I get to the lake open it up for 5-10 minutes . I haven't fouled any since
 
Jack M said:
I moved to a new marina a few years ago , it is now a 40 minute ride in a no wake zone to get to a lake . At the same time I started fouling plugs .Service tech asked what I was doing different ,I told him that I had moved ,( he is familiar with the area ) he said that is the problem .Once I get to the lake open it up for 5-10 minutes . I haven't fouled any since
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Please tell your tech to call my wife! She likes to cruise and I like to speed.

As for the original question. I echo what everyone else said. You'll be fine going slow, and having the additional HP is always a plus. We dock on a no wake lake with two speeding areas. 90% of the time we putz around. To your point it will help the resale. When we started our search for a pontoon boat we started looking at used boats first. They were either 15 years old and beat to crap or 2 years old with 50HP motor. That's called buyers remorse!

I love the cocktail cruise. Enjoy!
 
Welcome to a whole new world of cruising! Oh, you're going to love the ride, space and comfort. And if springing for a 150 won't break the bank, by all means do so. Better resale for sure, but also more fun on the tube, even if you don't do it very often. The combo you're thinking about (22-23/150HP) is very popular because it gives you the best of both worlds (cruising and watersports ability). Build you last boat first!
 
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BTW, my wife is all about the entertaining part so we went with a "midship" layout that includes a sink, plenty of counterspace and two chairs at the bar.
 
What's the price difference between a 150 and a 50? Just curious. Get what you are comfortable with and can afford..... (But I would get the 150. Ha!))
 
About $8k msrp difference in 50 to 150. But it was the creep that got me. Only $4k more from 50-115. Then I read about the 115 and thought only $4k more to the 150. I played right into it.

And then part of me keeps coming back to the 50. It will work fine for what we want. Analysis paralysis setting in.
 
big shooter said:
About $8k msrp difference in 50 to 150. But it was the creep that got me. Only $4k more from 50-115. Then I read about the 115 and thought only $4k more to the 150. I played right into it.

And then part of me keeps coming back to the 50. It will work fine for what we want. Analysis paralysis setting in.
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I hear ya. It can add up quick! If you can’t pull the trigger on the 150 hp the 115 hp could allow you to tube also but agree with others that a 150 should help when / if you were to sell. Let us know what you do!
 
If you are comfortable with it go with the 150. My first Bennington had a 150 and the guy in the slip next to me had an identical boat with a 115. When we got out on the water at the same time there was no comparison. He constantly told me he wished he had gone with the 150.
 
big shooter said:
We are between the bar or table. But then I keep coming back to the stern recliners and imagine myself sitting at my dock watching the world go by.
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We have had the stern recliners in both of our Benningtons and love them. They are the seats that the guests on our boat fight over.
 
Decide what you want (and budget) and are going to do with the boat. I have a 50 hp on a 400 acre lake. We’ve had it for 8 seasons with still no intention to sell or “upgrade”. Enjoying every minute of it. We don’t travel to other lakes - just generally slow cruises with snacks or lunch on ours. We had a bowrider for 6 years previously but kids were never into skiing or tubing so we sold it and bought the pontoon which they love. They are older now though - mid twenties back when we started really boating around 2006, only fishing rowboat before that at our previous cottage on a different lake.
 
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VitiminJ said:
Please tell your tech to call my wife! She likes to cruise and I like to speed.

As for the original question. I echo what everyone else said. You'll be fine going slow, and having the additional HP is always a plus. We dock on a no wake lake with two speeding areas. 90% of the time we putz around. To your point it will help the resale. When we started our search for a pontoon boat we started looking at used boats first. They were either 15 years old and beat to crap or 2 years old with 50HP motor. That's called buyers remorse!

I love the cocktail cruise. Enjoy!
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Have you fouled your plugs ?
 
We have a 22GSR tritoon with a Yamaha 150, great combination.
 
big shooter said:
We are between the bar or table. But then I keep coming back to the stern recliners and imagine myself sitting at my dock watching the world go by.
Click to expand...
We also have the stern recliners and love them!
 
Fouled plugs in 2021... and evinrude wonders why they couldn’t sell motors like the 4 stroke competition
 
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