f150 vs f200 & SPS vs Express vs Eliptical w/strakes

[lakeliving]

Kaydano's recent upgrade to the 150 got me thinking. What is the best package for top speed, handling and capacity. I know hp is hp but I'm not seeing the gains one would expect getting another 50hp jumping to the 200. It appears that the 150 and 200 have the same top speeds, low 40's, high 30's on 3 toon boats. And the 200 on a two toon elliptical w/strakes will do around 45. Top speed is great and all but handling should be taken into consideration as well. When we upgrade down the road we'll probably stay in the s series so the sps option seems to be the best you can get for handling. (I heard esp is coming though for s....) I've tried to search for videos but cannot find any to see it in action. I guess the question for everyone here is, what motor would you buy and why. Is it worth the extra $$$$ to go to the 200? And which toon package would you get? I'm hoping this thread will someday help someone pick the right combo for them before they sign on the line.

 

[kaydano]

I will be very interested to read what all is said here. very good question.

 

[Calamus]

We just got our 22ssx with the f 150 yamaha this summer. For the last 14 years I have had a 18' Nitro bass boat with a merc 115 top speed of about 47mph with a 32 gallon gas tank. The dealer only offered me $4G so I decided to keep it I had figured we would need it to teach the kids to ski, however I was very surprised to see that the benny handled very much like my bass boat! WOW! it is awesome! and runs 40 mph with me and the wife and kids. I had never owned a pontoon before and only one friend had one with a 85hp so really didnt know what to expect. but we wanted a pontoon and were ready to settle for less, however we got much more. I thought about the 200 but my salesman told me for the money it was not worth it unless you jumped to the 250. hope this helps.

 

[clrd]

That is one of the reasons we are going to the show, to help us figure out what would work best for us for our next order. And I believe that right now you can get ESP on an S series it has to be 22 or bigger. If you spec out a new one on the Benny web site ESP is an option. We are looking at 22SFFX with ESP and a Yamaha 150 SHO. Not sure if that would be a good combo or not.

 

[lakeliving]

Hopefully this thread will help others make the right choice the first time down the road!

 

[Fastoon]

As a 350Yam owner I would be interested in the comparison to a 300Yam. Bigger may not be better in this case.

 

[dasalmon]

I have a 2013, 2375GCW, eliptical tubes with strakes and a F150 Yamaha I am very satisfied with the top speed. But I must admit if the boat had been rated for a 200 HP I probably would have gone for it. However having said that about top speed what really sold me on the boat was the ride. We had also narrowed the search down to include an express toon at another dealer. I really thought I had to have a triple toon. The local dealer raved about the eliptical toons and wanted me to take a ride before I bought a triple toon. Well we went out on a cold and windy Sunday. Dale Hollow is a big lake and can be very rough. I had to tie down my hood to keep my hat on, it was so windy. The ride was amazing. I have never had a better ride on a pontoon. Four months later and I have never been disappointed. But I must admit if more HP had been available (being a power nut) I would have gone there.

Hope this helps.

David

 

[Wild and Free]

I can say from having the same engine on both of my 22 foot Benningtons that a 150 is perfect on a fully straked triple tube I could run 41-42 light loaded with my 2007 2275 GL but swapping it to my 22 foot 2250 GCW esp with 60 gallon center tube tank and storage and the cornering capability makes the 150 earn its keep and it does fall short if wanting to tube and carve corners. straight line in the esp it does good at 38 light loaded but could still use a bit more oomph if loaded heavy, a 200 would be a perfect match for a 22 foot esp boat from my personal experience and seeing folks like Bullgogs 22 foot esp with a 200 run 42 makes me think it is the perfect size, anything bigger on a 22 foot would be a waste.

 

[Rockie69]

I can say from having the same engine on both of my 22 foot Benningtons that a 150 is perfect on a fully straked triple tube I could run 41-42 light loaded with my 2007 2275 GL but swapping it to my 22 foot 2250 GCW esp with 60 gallon center tube tank and storage and the cornering capability makes the 150 earn its keep and it does fall short if wanting to tube and carve corners. straight line in the esp it does good at 38 light loaded but could still use a bit more oomph if loaded heavy, a 200 would be a perfect match for a 22 foot esp boat from my personal experience and seeing folks like Bullgogs 22 foot esp with a 200 run 42 makes me think it is the perfect size, anything bigger on a 22 foot would be a waste.

Opinions are like arm pits. Quite a few people have one or two, and most of the time they stink.

Granted I have a 23' but those with a 250 on a 22' might beg to differ.

 

[Wild and Free]

Opinions are like arm pits. Quite a few people have one or two, and most of the time they stink.

Granted I have a 23' but those with a 250 on a 22' might beg to differ.

I am talking about what is a good match to a boat and nothing more. If one wants to fork out an extra 4-6K for the initial purchase price and then fork over the added cost every day at the pump for just 2-5 extra mph and no additional performance then more power to you, I am specifically talking what would be a good match and not being under powered or having power most probably do not want to pay for and is not needed.

Like I said my comparison is from having and swapping the exact same engine from one boat tube style to another in the same length and size.

 

[lakeliving]

This is why I think it is so hard to choose the "perfect" package. How do the eliptical's turn? Our two toon with strakes banks to the outside like a 66 impala on air bags. And also, I see kaydano is happy with the express tube so how does that mix in? Is the sps that much better handling than express? is there any additional capacity gained? and it appears the 200 would be an additional $2800 over the 150.

 

[kaydano]

Opinions are like arm pits. Quite a few people have one or two, and most of the time they stink.

I have never felt this way about the opinions on this site. I would pay money to have access to this site and the opinions of the members.

 

[kaydano]

When I was deciding the motor and hull options for our boat, I looked pretty hard at the cost vs benefit of each upgrade. I think this is what Lakeliving is getting at when he started this thread, wanting to give guidance or provide a "buying guide" of sorts to those trying to make these decisions. My list of the order of upgrades based on cost/benefit, went something like this.

1) Start with the two 25s. Don't "cash them in" for 23s.

2) Add HP up to around 90 to 115.

3) At the 90/115 HP point, switch over from HP upgrades to hull upgrades. As I recall, ellipticals vs express were neck and neck on both cost and their "pros and cons". Opinions on this site seem to be elipticals are a bit faster (and more bouyant/stable), and Express turns (and possibly planes up) a bit quicker. I have never been on a boat with elipticals, so I don't know personally.

4) After adding elipticals or express, the next $ should be spent on strakes.

5) Next, turn back to adding HP. Add HP up to 150. This is where my list ended for me, as my 24SSL had a 150 max rating, but I think this would be the point where you would consider ESP vs HP. Not sure which comes first, ESP or a 200 HP motor...

When we bought our boat, SPS wasn't an option. Today, that would need to be thrown in on the list somewhere. I haven't researched it, but I recall seeing it was pretty pricy. Not sure how close the $ for SPS is to the cost of ESP, but it almost seemed to me one would just skip over it and go with the ESP. But again, I don't know, and my list was made a couple years ago. I hope others will comment on that though and add to the list.

If someone wants to continue this list (in their opinion) out to 300 HP, go for it.

Another consideration is S vs G vs R vs Q. At some point, even within my list above, you should factor in where your next $ will be spent: Should it be HP, Hull, or Model upgrade? The model upgrade does have a real-world impact in the extra weight it puts on the "hull vs HP" decision. So maybe model upgrade points should sprinkled into the list somewhere. It seems it would be hard to know where to put the model upgrade points in the list, as it's a highly individual choice, but it also would be very odd to buy an S and put 300 HP and ESP on it (if you could). So, each model upgrade probably has its natural position in the list at certain price points. If some one wants to opinionate on that, I'm all ears as I see a model upgrade down the road for us. All my life I've wanted to be like Derrick. He's my hero. I won't be able to do it as well as he does though.

 

[BulldogsCadillac]

I can say from having the same engine on both of my 22 foot Benningtons that a 150 is perfect on a fully straked triple tube I could run 41-42 light loaded with my 2007 2275 GL but swapping it to my 22 foot 2250 GCW esp with 60 gallon center tube tank and storage and the cornering capability makes the 150 earn its keep and it does fall short if wanting to tube and carve corners. straight line in the esp it does good at 38 light loaded but could still use a bit more oomph if loaded heavy, a 200 would be a perfect match for a 22 foot esp boat from my personal experience and seeing folks like Bullgogs 22 foot esp with a 200 run 42 makes me think it is the perfect size, anything bigger on a 22 foot would be a waste.

Well I hope you're wrong since we put a 250 on this one!! Haha I can't comment yet on top speed, only time I had it out we had a boat load. Although that does give me the info to make this next statement, the 250 is great with a bigger group! I was pleasantly surprised to hit 39.3mph with 8 + 1kid on board, full gear and full tank with the big heavy tower and my 300lbs of batteries, not to mention and extra 150lbs of stereo gear, at least! My 200 wouldn't have been able to hold speed that well.

I have never felt this way about the opinions on this site. I would pay money to have access to this site and the opinions of the members.

I agree, I love this site!! I've said it before and I'll say it again!! Bennington is smart, how many times have you seen a new buyer come on here and say that they were looking at X brand, but all the information and deviation from originally posted topic made them buy a Bennington? Okay, so never, but the information part of that statement has been said a lot!! Haha

 

[BulldogsCadillac]

If some one wants to opinionate on that, I'm all ears as I see a model upgrade down the road for us. All my life I've wanted to be like Derrick. He's my hero. I won't be able to do it as well as he does though.

I'm pretty sure no one has ever said/typed those words before!! I'm no hero, but I do get to play Santa Claus most days! People sure do get excited when I ring there doorbell with some random package they ordered online!! Makes a guy feel special! Haha

 

[Rockie69]

I have never felt this way about the opinions on this site. I would pay money to have access to this site and the opinions of the members.

Guess I'll wait to hear what someone that had a 200 vs a 250 feels. If they say it's a waste, I'll retract my statement.

That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

 

[BulldogsCadillac]

Guess I'll wait to hear what someone that had a 200 vs a 250 feels. If they say it's a waste, I'll retract my statement.

That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Hey Jared, let me chime in here, I for one know that you were making your armpit comment in a joking manor. It's a funny saying, I originally heard it with a***oles being the armpit reference, but this is a family site so ya cleaned it up a little! no problems! I believe Kaydano was merely making reference to how helpful This site has been, and how valuable it is to everyone involved with Bennington, both selling and buying.

Now to stay on topic before someone reminds me again and slaps my fingers, h34r: , is a 200 enough? Well sure it is! Let's be real, there is no reason that you NEED to go faster than 42mph unless in an emergency. BUT, do I love going full out? ABSOLUTELY!!! Do I know that it costs me more to fuel up and more fuel burns, ABSOLUTELY, but hey, I just traded in a less than one year old boat with no hours on it, so I could add an $11,000 option because it looks cool and holds 2 speakers! Rational thinking isn't my forte! This topic is more directed at the first time buyer, or first time upgrader, that are wondering if they should STRETCH their budget to squeeze in an extra option that will provide them with the boat that does everything they need it to do. Not idiots like me that KNOW they are going to go way over their budget if the bank will just say ok!! Haha

 

[Rockie69]

I agree with Kaydano, this site is very useful and has tons of information, my comment was in jest. The bur under my saddle is the anything over a 200 is a waste. It's not a fair comment to those making a decision, it depends on what you need the extra HP for. It'd be like making a statement that and R is a waste over a G. Not true to those that like the comfort, and upgrades of an R.

In my opinion.

And I'll leave it at that. I will agree to disagree that the 225, and 250's are a waste on a 22'.

 

[lakeliving]

I think many buyers including myself are looking for the best level of performance at a reasonable price. Sure you can go all out esp, 350 hp and call it a day but what is an economic, well rounded package. Based on from what I've read the elipticals are nice for straight line and adding weight, express is a good inexpensive option to get the bow up and get some speed. and the sps is a little heavier and has some better handling in turns as it has the 25" transom. But the SPS is heavier which will slow the boat down so now you might have to compensate with more hp. As we thought 115 and strakes would be plenty, like others have noted, it is not. So this that said. I'll point out two scenarios and see what everyone thinks. What would you buy for a 24sslx, boat 1, express package and a 150? boat 2 sps and 150, or boat 3 sps and a 200? And to muddy the water is sea star steering a must? I know Kaydano posted that it was a little harder with the 150 but still doable, I think going to the 200 would require it.

 

[Ben & Suzy]

Each engine has its place. The benefit of extra hp is the increase in torque that comes along with it. A 250 hp will cruise quite effortlessly at 30-35 mph with a fully loaded boat while a 150 hp would be working hard. The 250 hp would also get better fuel economy while doing it. But if you like to cruise at 15-25 mph, the 150 will do the job nicely and more economically. Our next boat will have more power simply for the increased cruising abilities. The extra speed will be nice also. If we're only talking 150 vs 200, I'd take a 200 all day long for those same reasons for our type of toon'in. My 2 cents.