What size engine should I get?

[Bamaman]

"Screwball, you mentioned prop pitch. What is that?"

Pitch is theoretically how far your propeller will send you with one revolution of the propeller. A low pitch will give you good pulling power, but you'll be slow. A high pitch will give you speed, but your engine may not have the power to get to your engine's redline rpm's. It's like changing gear ratios on a pickup truck.

The trick is to have the correct propeller on your boat to push your engine to the factory's maximum rated rpm's--and not over or under rev. This is where a dealer's experience in setting up boats is mandatory.

[jafo9]

i agree with all the above comments. i wouldn't go below 60. even if you could live with a 25 with your boating habits, it would kill your resale value.

[Just Laxin]

i agree with all the above comments. i wouldn't go below 60. even if you could live with a 25 with your boating habits, it would kill your resale value.

X2

[Darin]

I agree with everyone. That is some really good advice. Personally I would go with the max I could afford. I could be wrong and someone please correct me but I wouldnt go OVER the max rating for the boat. I had an issue several years ago with a bass boat that was over the rated limit and I like to have never got someone to insure it.
As far as the dealer trying to sell you something "in stock", I think all he was trying to do was reduce his inventory. If he had something in house that would work he could get it sold before year end. If he had to order exactly what you wanted then it may be after the first of the year before he could "make the sale on the engine". Congrats on the purchase BTW!

[Mosnowman]

Landlocked.....I'm a newb so if you already know this my apologies...

My wise dealer said the following..."you are buying a motor and the boat comes with it"..

Point being ...what has been mentioned is that the main differences in prices of toons out there is the size of the motor. My personal opinion is 25hp would be a major disappointment and the dealer probably knows it. I just bought a new Harris toon last year with a 150 Verado on it and wish I still had more power. My top speed is around 35-38 mph.....I realize it comes down to what you can afford....I would have bought a 225 if I could have afforded it.

My advice get the largest motor you can afford....minimum..75-90..

[screwball]

Screwball, you mentioned prop pitch. What is that?

The dealer asked if we'd take a 2011 engine (new) if they had one in stock (versus a 2012 or 2013 version). Anything I should be concerned with there? I don't know the price difference yet, but it seems a newer year engine would be better for boat resale.

Thanks for everyone weighing in on the engine, etc. Also, we don't have rollers on the trailer. From what I was seeing on other threads, rollers are not the way to go.

VERY IMPORTANT!!

Your engine will have a WOT (Wide open throttle) value, in my case (75hp Merc 4 stroke) it is between 5000 and 6000 RPM. This will give your boat maximum power at that RPM. Propeller pitch effects the ability of the engine to reach WOT. If I use a 15 pitch propeller my engine won't spin faster than 4500 RPM, loosing power. If I drop to an 11 pitch, the engine will over-rev, the rev limiter will kick in, loss of power. Using a 13 pitch propeller with 4 adults on board and wide open throttle I will turn 5700 rpm, and about 26 miles per hour. Prop pitch is a fun game. Usually the dealer will have an idea what pitch you should use, or can offer advise. Otherwise you will need access to two or 3 propellers to 'experiment'. Google up propeller pitch, there are several methods to calculate correct pitch, most propeller sellers have them on their web sites.

Hope I didn't get too confusing. As I said, I opted for the biggest engine my transom was rated for, you don't have to go fast, it is just nice to have the ability if you want / need it. Pulling kids on a tube at 12 mph gets really boring, and getting to that 'perfect fishin hole' can take a while. Ever wonder why all those Bass Boats have mega-engines???

Good Luck and happy 'toonin'

[Silver Eagle]

My 24ft StarCraft gets 22.6 mph @5,000 rpm's. I've never tried on calm lake water.I'm in tidal waters.

[walter]

We also have a place and boat on Ky Lake, I definitely agree with everyone, I would not get a 25 hp, especially on that lake, there's way too much distance between everything and the lake is a lot wider than it appears due to it's length.

We have a tritoon with a 115hp, I do not attempt to out run any storms anymore, typically they pop up with very little warning and frequently come from the NW to the SE. And you do not want to get caught in the middle of that lake when a storm is moving in that direction and rolling right up the lake. Ask me some time how I know, it is not any fun, even in a tritoon! We typically stay put on the beach and ride it out.

So, what area of the lake are you at?

And by the way, if your boating on Ky Lake, you are NOT "land locked", Ky Lake is a leg of "The Great Loop".

[landlockedsailor]

Thanks all, we're going with a Merc 60 HP Bigfoot. It's what we can afford right now. It's our first pontoon, tho I suspect it won't be our best one.

Just ordered the Nav charts for KY lake, not sure yet what mile marker we're on. For now, I know we're on Chart #6, on West Bee Creek, Cozy Cove. Closer to the dam than we are to TN.

"Landlocked sailor" handle is from the old days when I had sailboat at LOTO. Considered buying a place at 6 mile cove but we ended up in KY after vacationing here last summer, catching 4 really nice bass, on a rented pontoon, and there was no one on the lake even over the weekend. For retirement, thought this might be the quieter place to enjoy the water.

The dealer's delivering the boat early March at our request. Didn't know we'd be buying a boat so quickly so loaned out the barn storage space to our neighbor who has a great tri-toon. I'm getting ready to send Bryan a check for EZ Fenders and I bought a pair for our neighbor for Christmas too.

You all have been terrific with feedback, advice, etc to this newbie! Thanks!!!