What size motor?

21SLXjrm

New Member
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Our new Bennington 21SLX tritoon is being built as I am typing this message. We went with a Yamaha 125 hp SHO for the motor. Second guessing myself if I should have went with a Yamaha 150 which we where old is the largest horsepower option for this tritoon. We mainly will be using for cruising and pulling small kids tubing & maybe an adult every once and a while. Most likely have 6 to 8 people on board.

Opinions if the extra ponies is worth a $6000 upgrade? Is there that much more performance, speed, power, etc?

Thank you in advance for your help!
 
Our new Bennington 21SLX tritoon is being built as I am typing this message. We went with a Yamaha 125 hp SHO for the motor. Second guessing myself if I should have went with a Yamaha 150 which we where old is the largest horsepower option for this tritoon. We mainly will be using for cruising and pulling small kids tubing & maybe an adult every once and a while. Most likely have 6 to 8 people on board.

Opinions if the extra ponies is worth a $6000 upgrade? Is there that much more performance, speed, power, etc?

Thank you in advance for your help!
If you are just going to be cruising and occasional pulling a tube I think you will be fine. As stated you can always use more horsepower but if it is really a $6000 upgrade it isn’t worth that. You would probably gain 2-3 mph on the top end. If you aren’t happy with acceleration with a fully loaded boat I would suggest you talk to you dealer about a different prop that would give you more oomph. The veterans here can tell me if I’m wrong but this seems like the best way to go for the money. Good luck.
 
Yamaha 125 SHO? Did you mean to say 115 SHO?!? Big difference in performance between a 150 and a 115. You'll notice it when you load your boat up with more people and try to tow something. I would say get the 150 minimum for water sports.......
 
On my last boat I upgraded from a 115 to a max of 150 2 weeks after I bought it new. I found the performance to be much better.
Especially when loaded. I only paid 2500 for the upgrade. 6K seems excessive, but that was pre-covid..
 
Initial Thoughts:

IF talking the difference between a 115 - 150HP, then the difference is very worthwhile. A 150 on your size tritoon really just opens up every possibility. You mention having 6-8 on board, and some tubing with kids and the occasional adult. Those kids grow up, and with 6-8 onboard, the tubing ability of the 150 will be much better with larger bodies and a loaded up boat. This is particularly true if using a multi-person tube like a Super Mable, or something equivalent to that.

Now if talking moving from a 125(?) to 150, you might be able to get away with the tubing just fine even if weighted down, especially in good conditions or more straight line tubing. If lightly loaded, it would be just fine.

Costs:
If moving from a 125 to 150, $6k seems very excessive. However, I am guessing the motor HP is a typo up above and you meant a 115 SHO...?

If talking moving from a 115 to 150, then price starts to seem a bit more in line. I’d have guessed about ~ $4-5k, so I guess $6k isn’t too far off. Given the market craziness currently with motors and boats, I am not dialed in on upgraded motor costs right now.
 
Big Kahuna is correct as Yamaha doesn't produce a 125HP engine (actually, no manufacturer does). Check this link out for yourself: Outboard Engine Comparison Matrix | BoatTEST. Like Daril said, there is a big difference between the 115 and the 150, particularly with 6 to 8 adults. You'll strain with a 115. And remember, if you feed them, small kids do grow! Either way, welcome to the Bennington family and post some pictures when she arrives.
 
I had a 22’ Bennington with a 115. Sold it after three months and ordered one with a 200. You will not regret the 150.

I told my wife this, we keep the 115 and don’t complain about the performance, or we get the bigger one and don’t complain about the cost. We’re happy we went bigger. Learn from our mistake if you have the funds to get the 150.
 
It’s possibly $6k more because he needs to also change the performance package to jump above the 115hp to a new line of engines.
So the real debate might be the extra cost for extra HP and a better performance package.

we went with the 175SHO and SPS on our 22’ and it’s the perfect choice for us
 
You’ll never buy horsepower cheaper them when you buy the boat. As stated in previous posts, no one ever complained of too much horsepower, fill out the horsepower tag on the boat you won’t be disappointed!
 
The 6k difference does not sound right. You are getting the sps package and to take advantage of that you may really need to consider the 150hp. I think there are several postings on here where people were disappointed with the 115 on a Tri toon. As already mentioned there is a significant improvement in performance and you will not regret it.
 
I had a Yamaha 115 on my first 2013 22' Benny with the 3/4 length center tube and it did well but you had to run it really hard to pull tubers with 6 people in boat. Had cable steering that you had to use both hands to force boat to give tubers a decent ride.......A year ago I traded it for a 2017 22' Benny with SPS performance full center toon and more seating and options with a Yamaha F150 and night and day difference. The sheer physical size of the F150 over the F115 says it is going to be a big upgrade in power, torque, and build internals strength. The f115 ran very well and was thrifty on fuel, but the F150 just runs smoother overall and is more responsive. It is still decent on fuel when not running high speed. Although I haven't actually pulled any tubers, the newer boat runs circles around the first boat. Besides, getting a F150 puts you into the entry level of the higher power motors and some tuning companies are working on reprogramming the PCM for more power since engine is capable to deliver more power with how it is built. I highly would vote for upgrading to a F150 with hydraulic steering (mine came with power assisted hydraulic power steering which is like driving a high end car!). My two Bennys' descriptions are below in signature. I hope this helps with your decision. The bigger motor will be great for resale value also.
 
Our new Bennington 21SLX tritoon is being built as I am typing this message. We went with a Yamaha 125 hp SHO for the motor. Second guessing myself if I should have went with a Yamaha 150 which we where old is the largest horsepower option for this tritoon. We mainly will be using for cruising and pulling small kids tubing & maybe an adult every once and a while. Most likely have 6 to 8 people on board.

Opinions if the extra ponies is worth a $6000 upgrade? Is there that much more performance, speed, power, etc?

Thank you in advance for your help!
I have the same tritoon with 150 HP Yamaha...love it...my previous 21 pontoon had 90 HP Yamaha

Before top speed WAS 23 mph...NOW 37 mph...also a little quieter and stable

Fast enough to water ski

You won't regret the extra HP
 
Back
Top