max hp rating

[HandymanHerb]

I talked to the coast guard this morning and the had me called Florida fish and wildlife and they told me there isno statute for any vessel max HP for anything 20' or larger.

Dam I could have put that 220 on my 20 footer, I would have to move all the seats up front and had everyone hanging ten to keep the nose down, but what a ride

[badmoonrising]

Best answer I've seen it 5 years of reading forums on pontoons, this needs to be saved for future use.

Yep !

[dragonx]

This subject is giving me a headache, I bought my boat and 18 footer with the motor on it 90hp, it only weighs 50lbs more then the original motor it came with (took forever to find it online) I really can not afford another motor at this time and am hoping it will not be an issue, I'm old and going fast is not on my agenda, just want to get where I'm going and seeing what there is to see. Think they put that motor on it because they where in the Gulf a lot but not sure.

[vlxerdon]

This subject is giving me a headache, I bought my boat and 18 footer with the motor on it 90hp, it only weighs 50lbs more then the original motor it came with (took forever to find it online) I really can not afford another motor at this time and am hoping it will not be an issue, I'm old and going fast is not on my agenda, just want to get where I'm going and seeing what there is to see. Think they put that motor on it because they where in the Gulf a lot but not sure.

Not a legal issue in Florida. Only you know if your boat is safe the way it is set up.
My 20 foot toon listed a 75 hp as max on the capacity plate. When I went to repower I found out that the new 75 hp motors ( Every brand ) weighed more than the 90 horse two stroke I ended up installing. The closest to it in weight was 22 pounds over. Most of the other ones were as much as 69 pounds heaver. My boat sits higher in the rear than a lot of the boats I have seen pictured here on the forum,so I am happy with my setup.

[Towdaddy]

I agree this is one of the best threads on this topic. I know that years ago, BASS used the Coast Guard formula for calculating max HP on Bass boats which limited the 18 footers to 150 HP. This is part of what drove the move to 20 and 22 ft bass boats. I don't recall the exact formula but it was based on length x beam but also incorporated the hull style as well. At the time, everyone was ignoring HP ratings and it was getting out of control. This was about the same time they changed to staged starts rather than blast-off starts.

I lived through a couple of those and each one was an experience.

[teecro]

... My 20 foot toon listed a 75 hp as max on the capacity plate. When I went to repower I found out that the new 75 hp motors ( Every brand ) weighed more than the 90 horse two stroke I ended up installing. The closest to it in weight was 22 pounds over....

What I found most frustrating is that in my situation my new 18' toon is max rated for a 75 HP motor and considering that Sun Tracker is hand and foot working with Mercury so you have to assume they meant the current crop of 4-stroke motors right? Well the current 90 and 115 motors weight exactly the same as my newly purchased 75 as all three are from the same 2.1 liter class of motor... Yet the 20' toon is rated for a 90 so the extra 2 foot of flotation must be what makes it good for more HP as that is the only discernible difference between the two boats.

In my case going from a 60 to a 75 equalled a 50 % increase in speed. Makes me wonder what a 90 would have done?

[vlxerdon]

... My 20 foot toon listed a 75 hp as max on the capacity plate. When I went to repower I found out that the new 75 hp motors ( Every brand ) weighed more than the 90 horse two stroke I ended up installing. The closest to it in weight was 22 pounds over....

What I found most frustrating is that in my situation my new 18' toon is max rated for a 75 HP motor and considering that Sun Tracker is hand and foot working with Mercury so you have to assume they meant the current crop of 4-stroke motors right? Well the current 90 and 115 motors weight exactly the same as my newly purchased 75 as all three are from the same 2.1 liter class of motor... Yet the 20' toon is rated for a 90 so the extra 2 foot of flotation must be what makes it good for more HP as that is the only discernible difference between the two boats.

In my case going from a 60 to a 75 equalled a 50 % increase in speed. Makes me wonder what a 90 would have done?

My thoughts are that the hp rating is based on weight ,could be wrong. I have the correct weight according to what a 75 would weigh with my older 90. I have been boating since I was 17 years old and am very safety oriented.
With just my wife and I always the only people on the boat with, fuel,fishing gear and goodies I am well within the weight capacity listed on the plate. I don't think there would be much difference in power if I had gone with a new 75, however I purchased the 90 with a rebuilt power head and new lower unit for $1500.00. That included wiring harness and controls. Could not pass that up.

[ron nh]

... My 20 foot toon listed a 75 hp as max on the capacity plate. When I went to repower I found out that the new 75 hp motors ( Every brand ) weighed more than the 90 horse two stroke I ended up installing. The closest to it in weight was 22 pounds over....

What I found most frustrating is that in my situation my new 18' toon is max rated for a 75 HP motor and considering that Sun Tracker is hand and foot working with Mercury so you have to assume they meant the current crop of 4-stroke motors right? Well the current 90 and 115 motors weight exactly the same as my newly purchased 75 as all three are from the same 2.1 liter class of motor... Yet the 20' toon is rated for a 90 so the extra 2 foot of flotation must be what makes it good for more HP as that is the only discernible difference between the two boats.

In my case going from a 60 to a 75 equalled a 50 % increase in speed. Makes me wonder what a 90 would have done?

50% gain is pretty impressive.

[teecro]

... 50% gain is pretty impressive.

Yes I'm quite pleased as we went from an average of 16 and no better than 17 to dam near 24 I think that there is a little more hiding in there with a 3-B SS 12P prop...