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Read this if you are trying to decide between a 115 and 150 HP

mtudb24 said:
Dano has a 24 SSL express toon package with lifting strakes on all 3 logs

Todd
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Gotta love it when someone else knows your boat that well!
 
3SugarBugs said:
Congrats on the new motor kaydano! My husband thought we only needed 115 hp on the new boat (coming from a 90 hp on the old toon)...but I told him we weren't buying without going to a 150 hp. Fast forward and he loves it, as do the kids. I really like to be right! :p
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You are very wise. Much wiser than your husband and I.
 
My boat's max is 115, we have a 115 though so I didn't leave any regret on the table there. Glad you are finally happy with the setup Dan. Now you can focus your energy back to picking on Derrick!
 
Thanks. That don't take too much energy though.

Sorry Derrick! You really do have a really, really nice boat! This time! Ha ha. He's going to get me for that one...
 
Haha, don't worry about picking on me, I just look at who it's coming from! :D it will be a nice boat if I can figure all this crap out.
 
Kaydano,



Great report! I think your report is going to help a lot of people. I wished more dealers or salespeople were as knowledgeable as you and others on this website. The first questions they need to ask someone purchasing a boat is the primary use. Another one is what lake do you normally boat on. I’ve made some mistakes by not knowing how important those questions are, I really needed to spend more time on the forum before buying.

I am on my second Bennington in just over two years. First one was an 2010 2250GCW bought in May of 2011 and the second was a 2012RCW purchased in August 2012. Mainly bought second one due to the fact that it’s the boat I originally wanted but couldn’t afford to buy at the time and it was a good end of the year deal.

It ended up not being what I wanted since I started getting waves over the boat due to size of lake(strong winds), and combine with wakes of other boats. Both boats only had two pontoons. I ended up getting a third tube (esp package added in the fall) but now I wish I had a motor bigger than the 150. With the elements I mention earlier, my boat is normally 3-4 miles slower than the test reports with the same exact set up. I think it cost me close to $3000 more for the package than if I bought it originally. Costly mistake and now I will probably have another costly mistake because I want to trade or sell my F150 and buy a 250.
 
For those people with the Mercury Enertia 15" x 15P propeller.

Has anyone tested or changed the size of the Performance Vent System? Or just stuck with the factory default of small, medium, large or solid plug for the vent hole?

Mercury website link explaining the Performance Vent System

http://www.mercuryma...chnologies/pvs/

Back in May (of 2013) I bought a 2002 Bennington 2275 FSI tri-toon with lifting strakes inside and outside on all 3 tubes. Its got a 2003 Mercury XR6 150 HP 2 stroke (max. HP allowed) and it has an S\S 15" x 17P propeller (prop manufacturer unknown).

So I'm shopping for a spare or possible replacement propeller now. I'm about sold on the Enertia purchase but curious of any tuning adjustments?
 
Agree with Floves, well written article with insight Kaydano, should definitely help those considering [also wish I had the advantage of reading prior to my purchase as well]
 
The tuning is mostly for bass boats. I have the solid plugs in and it's good for me.
 
floves said:
Kaydano,

Great report! I think your report is going to help a lot of people. I wished more dealers or salespeople were as knowledgeable as you and others on this website. The first questions they need to ask someone purchasing a boat is the primary use. Another one is what lake do you normally boat on. I’ve made some mistakes by not knowing how important those questions are, I really needed to spend more time on the forum before buying.

I am on my second Bennington in just over two years. First one was an 2010 2250GCW bought in May of 2011 and the second was a 2012RCW purchased in August 2012. Mainly bought second one due to the fact that it’s the boat I originally wanted but couldn’t afford to buy at the time and it was a good end of the year deal.

It ended up not being what I wanted since I started getting waves over the boat due to size of lake(strong winds), and combine with wakes of other boats. Both boats only had two pontoons. I ended up getting a third tube (esp package added in the fall) but now I wish I had a motor bigger than the 150. With the elements I mention earlier, my boat is normally 3-4 miles slower than the test reports with the same exact set up. I think it cost me close to $3000 more for the package than if I bought it originally. Costly mistake and now I will probably have another costly mistake because I want to trade or sell my F150 and buy a 250.
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Excellent point. Big lake = Big waves = Bigger hull (tri-toon, ESP) = Bigger motor... Hadn't thought of that one.
 
bkw12345 said:
For those people with the Mercury Enertia 15" x 15P propeller.

Has anyone tested or changed the size of the Performance Vent System? Or just stuck with the factory default of small, medium, large or solid plug for the vent hole?

Mercury website link explaining the Performance Vent System

http://www.mercuryma...chnologies/pvs/

Back in May (of 2013) I bought a 2002 Bennington 2275 FSI tri-toon with lifting strakes inside and outside on all 3 tubes. Its got a 2003 Mercury XR6 150 HP 2 stroke (max. HP allowed) and it has an S\S 15" x 17P propeller (prop manufacturer unknown).

So I'm shopping for a spare or possible replacement propeller now. I'm about sold on the Enertia purchase but curious of any tuning adjustments?
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Thanks to Todd, I now have the same prop (15x15p Enertia).

One thought that crossed my mind was to buy a second solid plug as a backup, then start testing vent hole sizes by drilling a small hole in the existing plug. Keep a cordless drill on the boat with a set of drill bits. Test the performance, drill the hold just a little bit bigger, test performance, etc, etc. Hopefully you will slowly creep up on the "just right" hole size, and be able to stop before it gets too big. If you go too far (too big of a hole), that's what the backup solid plug is for. Or if the first hole makes it worse right off the bat, then you have a solid plug to replace it right away.

A set of plugs is expensive, and this way you just need one more plug. Maybe. And, there's probably a dozen drill bit sizes you could test this way, vs the 4 plugs Mercury sells.

Anyone think of a reason not to do this?

My understanding is you want the engine to rev up as much as possible, but not over-rev, before the prop bites into clean water. This PVS thing, to me, is pretty much like flooring a stick shift car, and letting the clutch out slowly and spinning the wheels. Not good for the clutch or tires, but the idea is to get the engine up into the peak HP range first, then engage the clutch. The PVS pretty much does the same thing but to a boat prop. I'm thinking this would be pretty fun to play around with.

I'm also wondering if this would get you the accelleration of say an 11p or 13p prop, while still having the 15p for speed. Like two props in one. Maybe I'm not looking at this right.
 
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I also read a few times online things similar to what Carl mentioned above. And that the PVS really isn't for pontoon boats. But it still sounds like a lot of fun to experiment with!

"Pontoon boats" have evolved significantly in recent years, and what used to be a "pontoon boat" years ago isn't what a "pontoon boat" is today. So, when I read things like the PVS not being for pontoon boats, you have to wonder a little.

Worse case, you buy a second solid plug and put it back in and be done with it. But it seems like a lot of fun to be had for the price of a solid plug!
 
FYI: We have a 2275GCW twin tube no lifting strakes etc. with a Yamaha 115, clean tubes we reach 27 and a couple tenths. Dirty logs right now, its been in the water two months, I was running 24 last night heading to a cookout. After some grub we had a bunch of people wanting to take a moon light cruise, they wanted to ride on the Bennie with loungers. After cruising around for a couple hours we headed back in, could resist had to see what WOT did, with 10 people on board, 1/2 tank of fuel, gear coolers etc. we only dropped 4mph.... 20mph on GPS. Keep in mind our typical day on the lake is two to four people just cruising about 12 to 14mph. Kids gone, fits our boating needs perfectly.
 
I have the 150 etec absolutely love it we are glad we went with the 150 pulls anything or anyone you want. I have a 24sslx with the elliptical package. Everyone at the lake I live at can't belive a pontoon boat can turn or dangle the way it dose. Thank you BENNINGTON and EVINRUDE.
 
StevL - That's exactly the type of info I think is needed here for people trying to decide 115 vs 150. You and I have different boat models, different hulls, and different brand motors, so ANY info like what you posted I'm sure is a big help to others. 20 mph is pretty good with 10 people especially if you got 24 as a max on a light boat. But, throw a tube back there, and take a turn, and it will drop to 15-16 mph in a hurry. Then there's not enough speed to whip the tube outside the wake. Again, not criticizing your numbers, just pointing out for others if they boat how you do (no kids, no tubes), the 115 is fine. If you want to pull a tube, I think your numbers confirm the 115 is marginal.

The props and power section is awesome, don't get me wrong, but the real-world numbers you posted were sorely lacking here when I was trying to make my decision the first time around. Anyone else that wants to post those kinds of stats about your boat, please do so.
 
Fischer said:
Sorry my mistake I have the express tube package
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I too am pretty impressed with the tight turns the Express will do. It doesn't bank, and it's far from ESP, but the turn radius ain't bad.
 
Just another thought for all those going to the open house, and able to test drive all the different boats... Please come back and post your thoughts. Doesn't have to be on this thread, start a new one if you want. But the rest of us would love to hear your thoughts...
 
kaydano said:
But, throw a tube back there, and take a turn, and it will drop to 15-16 mph in a hurry. Then there's not enough speed to whip the tube outside the wake. Again, not criticizing your numbers, just pointing out for others if they boat how you do (no kids, no tubes), the 115 is fine. If you want to pull a tube, I think your numbers confirm the 115 is marginal.
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If pulling a tube is important or any water sports behind the boat is important I agree, a 150 would be much better, you also need to at least get the lifting strakes too.
 
I had 6 guys on the boat the other night. 4 of them were big guys. I still hit 39 mph. Funny part is the two biggest guys each sat on both the bow couches at the far bow end of the boat, and only dropped 2 mph from just me in the boat (41 mph). Confirms a statement I think I made with the 115 that I seemed to get better speed with more weight forward than backwards... Might be an express package thing...
 
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