Buying a 2015 Berkshire STS 231RFC 115 Mercury is it enough

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cesteb
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2016 1:32 pm

Buying a 2015 Berkshire STS 231RFC 115 Mercury is it enough

#1 Post by cesteb » Thu Mar 03, 2016 5:38 am

I'm finally pulling the plug trading my Baja islander in on a pontoon. Having a family that enjoys fishing and tubing it was really hard to do both with a Baja. So my question is will Mercury 115 be enough or will i regret buying this one as well. The Baja never lacked speed so im wondering should i pay 7,000 to upgrade to the 150. I will only be cruising and tubing and fishing.
2015 Berkshire STS 231 RFC merc 115
2015 FORD F150
INDIANAPOLIS, IN

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PlaynDoc
Posts: 1600
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 7:32 am
Location: Milner, Georgia

Re: Buying a 2015 Berkshire STS 231RFC 115 Mercury is it enough

#2 Post by PlaynDoc » Thu Mar 03, 2016 8:05 am

Only you and your wallet can decide if the "Mercury 115 be enough or will i regret".... Everyone here will agree... as large as the boat rating, and as large as your wallet can tolerate.

I will tell you, I have a 22' pontoon, with 115hp. Although 'regret' is a strong word, if I did it all over, I'd go for the 150hp, and add strakes, and add vinyl floor. Now, my 115 does what I need it to do... Pulls tubes, skiers, and has taken me on some awesome river trips. Lil more 'umph' would be nice.
2011 SunChaser DS22
Mercury 115 EFI
13.75 x 15p

Bamaman
Posts: 3679
Joined: Fri May 06, 2011 1:44 pm
Location: NW Alabama--Tennessee River

Re: Buying a 2015 Berkshire STS 231RFC 115 Mercury is it enough

#3 Post by Bamaman » Thu Mar 03, 2016 5:57 pm

$7000 to upgrade from a Merc. 115 to a 150 hp motor? I can buy a new Merc. 150 FourStroke for $10,500 at my local dealer which is about $2000 more than the 115.

See JacosMarine.com for relativity. And boat manufacturers purchase outboard motors in volume numbers much cheaper than dealerships can purchase motors directly through Mercury.
'12 Bennington 24' SSLX Yamaha 150

Maholli
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2015 6:54 pm

Re: Buying a 2015 Berkshire STS 231RFC 115 Mercury is it enough

#4 Post by Maholli » Thu Mar 03, 2016 8:59 pm

Def go to with 150 for a boat 23'9. Top end on that boat is 27mph with yam115.. Also my boat has 3 tubes and lifting strakes inside and out of every tube, also big nose cone wave deflecters, also undershielding or underskinning.. All these greatly increase perfromance.

Here is article on your boat with 115 and performance specs:

http://www.boatingmag.com/berkshire-231-rfc-sts

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