Horsepower question

[Dawgtoon]

Hey folks. New to the board and to pontoons.

I'm looking at a number of used boats and rarely seem to be comparing apples to apples. In general, on the same 22 ft pontoon, would there a big difference between a 4 stroke 90 hp and a 4 stroke 115 hp in terms of speed, tube pulling capacity, other factors? I've always thought bigger is better...but is it necessary and worth the extra cost? Just when I think I've found the pontoon I want with a 115, I'll find another that I like better, but it will have a 90. It's as confusing as hockey!

Thanks

[Drifter]

A friend of mine has a g3 lx22f/c with a 115 yamaha 4 stroke. It does fine pulling tubes and wakeboards. A while back he had it in for service and the technician told him that the 90 hp and 115 where basicly the same. Not sure about that but thats what he was told.

[rdeterman]

Im sure you have heard this before but... Buy the largest HP motor you can afford. You don't always have to use the power but when you need it you'll be glad you have it!

[Bamaman]

Many of the 90's and 115's are the same basic motor. Sometimes it's just a programming of the ECU that's the difference.

The difference in the bigger motor is more than just 2-3 mph. I like the bigger engines because you can run a higher pitch prop--resulting in lower rpm's and quieter running.

I have a Yamaha 115 hp 2 stroke motor on my old 24' pontoon. It's a quite strong performer--up to 30 mph where it just won't go any faster. But it planes off @ 2800 rpm's, and cruises effortlessly. It accelerates very well, and gets very good fuel mileage.

My Bennington 24SSLX triton has a F150 Yamaha, and it's a 40 mph boat. There's really a big difference between 115 hp and 150 hp. I'd tell anyone to go with a straked hull and the biggest motor the hull's rated for--or the biggest motor you can afford.

[RcgTexas]

If you want to pull tubes or skis with a family onboard.........size matters! As has been said, get as big as your boat will take and your wallet can afford,

[BobG]

I know that the Merc 75, 90 and 115 are all the same motor - just a different program in the ECU. Which means, that it's actually possible to reprogram it for even more horsepower. There's a company that specializes in that. That's Simon Motorsports. http://www.simonmotorsports.com/

Let's see... Because I routinely run at 7,500 feet above sea level, I'm not getting 115 HP out of my 115, I'm getting about 91 HP out of it (derate by 3% for every 1,000 feet of elevation), hence (.97 ^ 7.5) = .79577, X 115 = 91.51 HP. You pull the ECU, send it to them, and they reprogram it and send it back within 3 business days. They say they can get me about 10 more HP. Cost? $650 back in June of 2013. I still haven't pulled the trigger on that deal.

[JeffS]

"I sold my boat because the engine was too big" said no one ever.

Just my opinion, but if I were looking for used, I'd start with the engine - setting a min HP. And if the boat didn't have the minimum HP, I wouldn't consider the boat. That way, I'm not clouded by great layouts on a boat with an engine that won't do what I need it to do.

[LittleRiver]

My guess 28 mph
The 24 I have with a 50 will do 18. With a 115 its suppose to do 28. Your a little shorter but the 90hp 2 stroke will be down just a little fro a 115 so I'm sticking with 28mph. Just a guess.