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Yamaha 115hp or Evinrude ETEC 90hp

If the 150 is out of the picture (sounds like it is) then stick with the Yammy.
 
My story.

2010 - bought my dream boat.  2009 Bennington 2275GSi.  I upgraded the motor to from a 50 merc that was part of the package to a Yamaha F115.  I felt an F150 was just way overkill and $3K more as I recall (hell, I grew up with a 17' Misty Harbor with a 28 Johnson).  I was proud as hell pulling out of the dealer's lot and putting her in the water at the cabin.   Loved how quiet the motor was.  Could go all day putt putt...no loading up, no 2 stroke stink.  Loved it.  It would go 28 on GPS with just me.  Kids liked tubing at first, but then realize I could barely get them outside of the wake.  Motor would just ventilate when trying to turn sharp enough to swing them out.  Out grew the motor after the first year.  Out grew the floor plan after the 4th year.

2015 - Wife and I decided it was time to upgrade.  We bought the boat in my signature. 

In all honesty - Had I put  a 150hp with strakes on the original boat, we very likely would not have upgraded.  Had we spent the $3-5K more then, we wouldn't have spent the $65K now. 

As others have said...spend a little more now to avoid spending A LOT later :)

BTW...Pontoons deserve 4-stroke motors!  2 stroke should not be allowed on them ;-)
 
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Thanks everyone again. The boat will be ordered this week and after a discussion with the wife, I think we are sticking with the Yamaha 115hp. I have also looked at "downgrading" to the S series with what was mentioned, but can't convince the wife. She wants what she wants when it comes to the selected amenities.

Im sure I will have more questions as they come along. This site is AWESOME, and has tons of info for this newbie.
 
Rbol121 said:
Thanks everyone again. The boat will be ordered this week and after a discussion with the wife, I think we are sticking with the Yamaha 115hp. I have also looked at "downgrading" to the S series with what was mentioned, but can't convince the wife. She wants what she wants when it comes to the selected amenities.

Im sure I will have more questions as they come along. This site is AWESOME, and has tons of info for this newbie.
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Hey, nice job sticking to your guns and not letting us spend your money!!  You will love the boat and the motor for most of what you do.  As long as your expectations are tempered, you'll be fine.  

I know what you mean about "the wife wants what the wife wants"...She wanted the R when I was OK with the G.  Goes both ways...She was fine with the F115 and I wanted the F300 LOL
 
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I feel the need to comment after seeing all of the downgrade to the S in order to fit the 150 into the budget.  I have an RL with a 115 and my WOT is currently about 26 mph.  I bought the 115 instead of the 150 because I knew how it was going to be used, slow cruising 90% of the time.  As I have stated many times recently, I made a mistake and should have bought the 150.  The 150 would have come into play when I am crossing a large body of water and there is nothing to see, when I have the maximum amount of people on the boat, when I am in danger of being late for Happy Hour.

One of my best friends is taking delivery of a 21SLX with a Yamaha150.  We went to the marina with him when he test drove it and we hit 42mph.  I have to admit it was exhilarating.  Undesirable for me was the bumpiness and the difficulty to converse.  Not even going to tell you I spilled my beer.

Obviously he paid quite a bit less than I did.  One of the things he asked me was "is my boat wider than yours, there seems to be a lot more space between the seats?"  That is because my seats are not only deeper but much more plush and comfortable.  I love the look of my boat especially the next generation elevated helm with the R series captains chair.  

Bottom line if I were on a strict budget I would still take the higher series with the smaller motor and less speed.  Why? because it fits my lifestyle more, I love the comfort, luxury and definitely the looks of my RL.  We have never towed kids and never will because it is my understanding that if you don't have children then you probably wont have grandchildren.  

This is exactly why Bennington makes so many models and options.  Pick the one that is right for you.  Therefore the S with the larger engine is the best choice for many, actually probably most of those on this forum.  Please don't label me an R slob [label me as a Q wanna-be] as every boat made by Bennington is a quality boat and we should all be proud it is a Bennington.  

That being said somehow mange to buy the 150 on your original choice as it will be so much cheaper to do it now, otherwise you will end up living with regret and being a 150 wanna-be. 
 
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Well said Mark .

And your understanding is correct ,No Children ,No Grandchildren .

Ask your dealer what it would cost to upgrade later .

I checked on going from a 150 to a 200 in December ,The dealer  would have gave me $11,800.00 for the 150 I still would have to pay another $7200,plus tax 

All 3 tubes ,and the wave shied would have to removed to change the controls .

It would be less ( out of pocket )  to purchase a New Boat 
 
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Rbol121- Being married is all about compromise. Happy wife=happy wife. Good luck and lets see some pictures when it comes in. And as for those stating you can downgrade to an S. You can pretty much get any option on an S aside from a tower as all the other series. I'd take my S over my neighbors G with two toons and a 115 any day.
 
lakeliving said:
Rbol121- Being married is all about compromise. Happy wife=happy wife. Good luck and lets see some pictures when it comes in. And as for those stating you can downgrade to an S. You can pretty much get any option on an S aside from a tower as all the other series. I'd take my S over my neighbors G with two toons and a 115 any day.
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That's exactly my point lakeliving. When I wrote my opinion I was worried that it might sound snug or may ruffle a few feathers but I sincerely only meant that desires and needs are different for many of us. For an old and feeble guy like me comfort is number one. If I had a son on the way that will definitely have some of the traits of his father than you have done right with the SPS [wish I had] and the big motor.

Come to think of it, you may have to trade in for that new super mercury for that kid :lol:
 
Indeed, a happy wife means a happy life. Plus, it is a lot more expensive to upgrade the wife. The trade in usually costs you more than you expected and the new model usually has a much higher cost for upgrades and maintenance.

Cheers, Steve
 
Thanks again everyone for the feedback, I do appreciate it. This forum has been great so far, searched tons of of topics and there is a wealth of information here. I get what everyone is saying about the regret on 115hp. Hope I won't be one of those also. I forgot to mention we have 2 sea doo 1200's that we both wakeboarded/skied and tubed behind last year. This boat will be for cruising, fishing, and BEER drinking 95% of the time. So yes I may regret not getting 150hp but for now and our pocket book the extra $$, just won't fly. Thanks again look forward to getting this awesome 'Toon.
 
Well there you have it. The jet ski's fill the void. And I bet the pontoon will be "base" while others are on the jet ski, Great combo.

Now we have to start asking people... Do you have any other watercraft? Lol
 
Rockie69, I have two seadoos and mine does 74mph, I still want a 150 on my pontoon
 
Rbol121 said:
Thanks again everyone for the feedback, I do appreciate it. This forum has been great so far, searched tons of of topics and there is a wealth of information here. I get what everyone is saying about the regret on 115hp. Hope I won't be one of those also. I forgot to mention we have 2 sea doo 1200's that we both wakeboarded/skied and tubed behind last year. This boat will be for cruising, fishing, and BEER drinking 95% of the time. So yes I may regret not getting 150hp but for now and our pocket book the extra $$, just won't fly. Thanks again look forward to getting this awesome 'Toon.
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We're just glad you looked at it closely and made the best decision for YOU.

Be sure to post pics!
 
Link said:
I feel the need to comment after seeing all of the downgrade to the S in order to fit the 150 into the budget.  I have an RL with a 115 and my WOT is currently about 26 mph.  I bought the 115 instead of the 150 because I knew how it was going to be used, slow cruising 90% of the time.  As I have stated many times recently, I made a mistake and should have bought the 150.  The 150 would have come into play when I am crossing a large body of water and there is nothing to see, when I have the maximum amount of people on the boat, when I am in danger of being late for Happy Hour.

One of my best friends is taking delivery of a 21SLX with a Yamaha150.  We went to the marina with him when he test drove it and we hit 42mph.  I have to admit it was exhilarating.  Undesirable for me was the bumpiness and the difficulty to converse.  Not even going to tell you I spilled my beer.

Obviously he paid quite a bit less than I did.  One of the things he asked me was "is my boat wider than yours, there seems to be a lot more space between the seats?"  That is because my seats are not only deeper but much more plush and comfortable.  I love the look of my boat especially the next generation elevated helm with the R series captains chair.  

Bottom line if I were on a strict budget I would still take the higher series with the smaller motor and less speed.  Why? because it fits my lifestyle more, I love the comfort, luxury and definitely the looks of my RL.  We have never towed kids and never will because it is my understanding that if you don't have children then you probably wont have grandchildren.  

This is exactly why Bennington makes so many models and options.  Pick the one that is right for you.  Therefore the S with the larger engine is the best choice for many, actually probably most of those on this forum.  Please don't label me an R slob [label me as a Q wanna-be] as every boat made by Bennington is a quality boat and we should all be proud it is a Bennington.  

That being said somehow mange to buy the 150 on your original choice as it will be so much cheaper to do it now, otherwise you will end up living with regret and being a 150 wanna-be.
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Excellent post Mark! Great advice!

I originally wanted a pontoon to just sit on the water with. I was hoping to get a slip on a 9.9 HP limit lake when we first started looking at pontoons. That would have been a big mistake for my family. However, if I didn't have a family, Sempefi's boat would have been WAY overkill. Which is the point of all these posts. How you use the boat is SO important in the decision process.
 
Lots of new boats being ordered, power plants and pontoons being thought about. It's that time of year...

Let me add one thing. Please, when you're placing your order, specify exactly the prop you want attached to it. As boats start arriving in the spring and people invariably come back here to the conference to ask questions about the performance, or lack of performance they are experiencing, it really is something that should be considered and dealt with NOW.

Don't let the dealer just brush off the prop issue with a wave of his hand and a "tutt tutt". Now is the time to select the right prop and get it on your contract right down to the manufacturer name and model number.

If you're going to hang a Yamaha on the back there's a lot of information here and at Yamaha's web site about what props work best with what motors and Bennington boats. I made this mistake last season when I bought my GCW. The dealer was not interested in talking about propeller choices, I trusted his mechanic, and while they did an OK job at mating the prop to the motor and boat, I'm re-doing this again this year.

Anyway, good luck with your choices. One thing is certain, you're selecting one of the finest pontoon boats on the market. 

Oh yeah, have you considered the elliptical pontoons and lifting strakes? If you're not going for 3, this configuration will give you a whole lot of performance and added load handling capacity.
 
Good call on the prop. I had my dealer put it in writing that the deal included the Yamaha reliance stainless prop.
 
Back to the original question, as someone else already noted, I will repeat that a 2 stroke has no place on new pontoons.

Noise, resale, noise, ability to putz around a low speed w/o "loading up", noise, price, filthy oil reservoir & the freaking noise.
 
kaydano said:
Excellent post Mark! Great advice!

I originally wanted a pontoon to just sit on the water with. I was hoping to get a slip on a 9.9 HP limit lake when we first started looking at pontoons. That would have been a big mistake for my family. However, if I didn't have a family, Sempefi's boat would have been WAY overkill. Which is the point of all these posts. How you use the boat is SO important in the decision process.
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Trust me, the ONLY reason we ended up with the one we have is leftover pricing. I've stated before, but we started with 20SLX, then said eh... Let's go 22'. Dealer said, well 24' is basically same price, so we built our 24. After that we checked and a G with basically the same options was only a little more and I believe the deck on the 24G was actually 24' vs 23' on the 24slx, so for the couple extra bucks we went G. Bear in mind, I'm driving my dealer bonkers with these changes, but he said I had till January till he placed order. Well they had their leftover RLI Model boat that I kept drooling over on sale, but it was just out of our budgeted number. Well needless to say they dropped price again, so it ended up cheaper than the G we were going to order, so we pulled the trigger. I NEVER would have thought I'd have an R model, but the ONLY thing keeping me from trading to a bigger S model ...... The elevated helm. That is the absolute deal killer for me. It's no matter, S, G, R, or Q, you are still buying the highest quality toon out there. Yes, they may have some issues here and there, but so does Mercedes, Ferrari, Cadillac, etc......
 
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I was at Bass Pro yesterday looking at their toon brand.....Wow what a piece of crap. It is almost inhumane sitting there watching people spend their good money on one of those. 
 
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