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20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 6:50 am
by mikeb33
I currently have a 2008 Sweetwater 2386 rfe with Yamaha F115. It has (2) 25.5" tubes, lifting strakes and under skinning. Empty I have hit 28 mph, more like 24 with a bunch of people.
Looking for a new pontoon with a few changes. I'd like a different layout, no carpet, an easier to put on mooring cover, and more performance for tubing and such. Yesterday I saw a 2018 Bennington 20SSRCX triple tube that would get a 115 hp. It's a little smaller but I think it's big enough for my group. I wonder about the performance of it? Originally I figured my next pontoon would have a 150-200 hp, but this one being smaller and a triple would it move pretty good? Thanks.

Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 3:21 pm
by Marc K
Honestly, it sounds like you have the numbers and the experience to make the decision of what is good for you. If your main criteria is more "more performance", I would be thinking more horsepower because your boat scoots along pretty good already. "More performance" is pretty broad.

My neighbor here at the lake wasn't happy with his 33 MPH, pontoon so he upgraded - by buying a smaller boat with more HP.
Now he's not happy with 44 MPH, so he is looking his third third boat with an even bigger motor.

I realize that people have different needs, so MY opinion of "good enough performance" may be radically different than yours.

Marc

Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 4:15 pm
by mikeb33
My Durango has 350 HP and my son's Civic has 174 hp and accelerates faster and turns sharper. I just thought a smaller triple with the same power should be noticeably more "sporty"? Sporty enough? How do you know? I'm sure it's big enough anyway. It says max 11 people. I've had 13 on mine, but often it's just me and the wife or another couple. At those times a 23 footer seems ridiculous.

Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:07 am
by steve1313
Look at the capacity plate and see what the max HP it's rated for. If it's 115 and you like the layout, go for it. If the max rating is higher, always get the most powerful motor you can. Even if you aren't interested in top end, a boat with a bigger motor can typically run more efficiently at lower speeds than the same boat with a smaller boater.


Horsepower is like a TV. I never hear anyone say they wish they had a smaller motor or a smaller TV! :biggrin2

Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:41 am
by Bamaman
I am a 24' Bennington owner. Do yourself a favor and go a 22' or longer boat with a 150 hp motor. They are much more seaworthy, and the 150 hp motors are substantially stronger than 115 hp even on a shorter boat. The 22' may not be that much more $ than a 20' boat, but you'd find it much more comfortable of a ride.

Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 1:03 pm
by riplipper
I test drove a new 22 tri toon with a 150.
If you want better than 25-28 mph and want to pull tubes, I do not think the 115 is going to do it for you.
115 would be great on a 20 for easy cruzin and relaxing, but your not going to get "performance".

Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 8:25 pm
by captain28570
all the 150's of any make are much bigger displacement than the 115's and much faster all through the rpm range.

Its the best 2 to 3 grand or so you can spend on a motor. 5 to 7 mph faster easily.

I have a 22 with a 150 it does 43. My dad has a 2 tube same brand with a 90. It does 26.

Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 1:41 pm
by SouthernKomfort
I have a twenty foot tri toon with a 2016 Yamaha 115 on it. While it is no speed demon, it certainly is more than adequate for pulling skiers and tubes and gets out pretty decently. It's also very sea worthy as I often take it 10 miles or more out in the Gulf of Mexico. Sure, a 150 would be nice, but my boat tops out between 28-38 mph depending on the load and water conditions. The fuel economy is great and the boat sits pretty even in the water with the 115. A 150's additional weight is going to drop the rear a fair bit when placing the bigger motors additional weight on a 20 foot boat. I wouldn't want anything bigger than a 20 footer, I couldn't imagine dealing with a 24ft or bigger pontoon boat. 20 foot is plenty for me and the family/friends space wise.

Some pics of her.
Image
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Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2018 2:13 pm
by jlwardn
I was looking at 22-23 foot pontoons with 150 HP. Many places told me no problem to get mid to upper 30's for MPH. Only a couple of places told me I would not be happy and would never realistically get those numbers.
I ended up getting a 23 ft Manitou with a 250hp. Top speed for me is 43-43mph. When it is full of fuel, tubes, wake board, grill, coolers and people........I get 32 mph for max speed. Seems to cruise the best at 22mph.

Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2018 4:43 pm
by mikeb33
Thanks for all the feedback. I haven't done anything yet, but my current interest is in a Bennington 21' triple with an Evinrude 135. I am told the E135 puts out closer to 150?

Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2018 8:33 pm
by captain28570
jlwardn wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 2:13 pm
I was looking at 22-23 foot pontoons with 150 HP. Many places told me no problem to get mid to upper 30's for MPH. Only a couple of places told me I would not be happy and would never realistically get those numbers.
I ended up getting a 23 ft Manitou with a 250hp. Top speed for me is 43-43mph. When it is full of fuel, tubes, wake board, grill, coolers and people........I get 32 mph for max speed. Seems to cruise the best at 22mph.
Something doesn't seem right. I would think you would hit 46 or 47 easily with a 250 on that boat.

What motor and prop?

Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 4:01 am
by steve1313
We have to be careful here when quoting speed/HP numbers to differentiate between pontoons and tritoons. There's significant performance characteristics between the two with a typical tritoon usually planning more than a pontoon.

FYI, my 23' tritoon with a 150 Yamaha 4 stroke, fully loaded with 35 gallons of fuel and all the normal stuff we keep on board (coolers, toys, safety equipment, etc) , and with two people will run anywhere between 38 - 40.1 mph (GPS). From what I've read here and elsewhere and heard from others, that's pretty typical performance.

Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 6:13 am
by Oldchuck
I would second what Steve said in that there are many differences between different boats. Even two tube pontoons will get different speeds due to tube buoyancy, surface area and any aids to help the boat get up on a plane or getting the tubes out of the water. Also, weight plays a significant role in speed with the less buoyant and less surface area tubes getting less speed. A two tube pontoon can get fairly good straight line speeds as evidenced by Bennington's published speeds of their two tube 32" elliptical getting mid 30's on a 25'' with a 115 Yamaha. This is one, if not their fastest boats they have in a straight line however the 32" elliptical has far more surface area combined with strakes and foils then their standard 25" two tube vessels and less weight than their 3 tube vessels. It will not however work as well for water sports as their 3 tube vessels (tritoon) will turn much better. Point being, there are many differences in manufactures' vessels as well as differences between models and we need to be careful in trying to state the exact performance between vessels. Combine that will different props and how a person loads their vessels can account for 10+ MPH differences...You can however get fairly close if you can find an identical boat and take note of how it is loaded and make sure the engine is running up to the manufacturers top rpm and not over or under...

Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 6:01 am
by mikeb33
We went to the Milwaukee boat show yesterday. Placed an order for a Bennington 22SSRX with "Express Performance Package" and an Evinrude 135 HO. The Boat show price had a Yamaha 115 and the normal step up is the Yamaha 150. They had a "promotion" price for the Evuinrude where you can get the 135 HO upgrade for the same price as the Yamaha 115. I've never has a 2 stroke before but I've been reading good things and the HO is supped to close to 150 HP anyway.
I have a week or so to make changes. Any input?

Re: 20 foot tri toon w/115... is it enough?

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:52 am
by Oldchuck
I am not too familiar with the new direct injection two strokes but many like them. There is a longer initial service interval but you will have to buy two stroke oil. They are lighter then a four stroke and provide more power per cubic inch. I would suggest going into the Bennington forum and ask someone there about that boat and motor combo. The site is exclusively Bennington and joining the site can get you more warranty at times. The site is All Things Bennington and would highly suggest it. They are biased toward Bennington and the site is managed by Bennington and they do not like you to bad mouth dealers etc but there is excellent information about Benningtons and the folks are more then happy to answer any questions you may have about certain models or motor combos.
Better to hear from folks who have the same boat and motor then folks who may guess. The SSRX is a good boat..
The Express hull set up is not their higher performance hull but a compromise between the two tubes and a Triton. It will do water sports better than the two tube but not as good or fast as their SPS or top of the line ESP hulls. The catalog I have describes the Express Tube Package and the Sport Performance System and not sure which yours is but the SportPerformanceSystem will out perform the ExpressTube by a significant margin so which you have will effect performance...
Again, would talk to some Bennington folks prior to finalizing the deal if you have the time.