New purchase xcursion

[Gonefishing]

Getting ready to purchase a 2013 xcursion X23rfc 115 Yamaha anyone have one with some feed back. From what I have seen and read it is a good one. Was looking at the South Bay and found out South Bay, Berkshire and xcursion are all made by the same company. The xcursion has the features of the South Bay 700 series.

[Just Laxin]

Nice Toons!! They are pretty much the same as the Southbay, little minor differences here and there. Our SouthBay has been flawless, love it.

[Bamaman]

If possible, make sure you've got lifting strakes on the hulls. Getting the nosecones out of the water is such a positive for performance. They're very nice boats.

[Texoma Toon]

Nice toon. I am sure you will like it! Pics are required

[Capt Sully]

I'm very happy with mine

[1roadking]

Is it a tritoon? Are you getting strakes? If so I would bump to a 150 hp.

[Gonefishing]

No just got the two toons.

[Bamaman]

Still get strakes if they're available--even with twin toons.

[Just Laxin]

Very nice!! If you can get the XS package that would be a big plus. Which is with lifting strakes, full under skin and center tube. You will be very glad you did!

[NCBOATER]

I am a first time pontoon owner, but have owned several boats in the past.
I researched pontoons, but should have researched the options for the hulls more before purchasing one. I hope the story below will help someone else from making the same mistakes I did.

I just purchased a 2013 Xcursion X23RFC with a 115hp Yamaha a week ago. It has 2 25" pontoons, no lifting strakes, and no under skinning. Took it to the lake last Saturday with me, wife, and 4 kids, I could only reach a 23mph top speed with the in dash GPS. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I love the boat, but not the performance. I plan on using it for tubing, skiing, fishing, and cruising. I don't think the kids would have enjoyed tubing at 23 mph, and I certainly didn't like not being able to get back to the dock any faster.

I called my dealer last week, and told them I was not happy with the performance of the boat, loaded down with 2 adults and 4 kids. I asked them what my options were. I asked about the XS and the X2 performance options. They said they could install the under skinning, but not the center sport tube or the lifting strakes at the dealer. They spoke with the Xcursion Rep, and he recommended, under skinning and upgrade to a 150hp. I also asked about trading up to a tri-toon Xcursion, but after being quoted what that would cost, I definitely am not going that route. Now my boat is back at the dealer having the under skinning put on and a new Yamaha 150hp with power steering. They traded the engine out new for new, but it is still an expensive upgrade.

Needless to say this is an expensive upgrade, but I don't have a lot of options now.
I am very happy with the boat and the layout of the boat, but not the performance.
It may not be important for everyone to run over 30mph on a pontoon, but for my needs and uses, it is for me. I couldn't believe the jump in price from a 115hp to a 150hp. Granted the power steering is required at this hp, but just the price of the engine upgrade alone was high.
My dealer has been great, and they have great customer service, but unfortunately it has been a costly learning experience for me so far.

The reason for me writing this long reply to this post, is for anyone looking at buying a pontoon for the first time, or upgrading from an older one. If you are buying new, order what you want if the dealer does not have what you want on the lot. DO NOT compromise just because he has some in stock. As I have read and now recommend, get the max HP you can possibly afford, get lifting strakes, and get under skinning. Get a Tri-toon if you can afford one, and want to do a lot of water sports.

I am hoping to get 33 to 34mph out of the upgrades, but it will be a couple of weeks before it will be ready. I will post results once I get it back. Thanks for reading.

[Littlehoe]

Hey, I have a 2012 x23 rfc 2 toon with strakes with the 115 yamaha on it and the dealer told me 30mph but after 7 different props the best we could see with 2 adults was 24 mph on the gps. I as well was not happy. What kind of price did they tell you to trade up to a tritoon with 150? They are supposed to be working out a price for that for me as they think it will be cheaper to do that than to put the 150 on my current boat and switch the steering out... I don't know yet what kind of price they will work out but I hope they can do something for me.

The part that made me most upset was that the dealership told me 30 mph easy with the 115 and I made it clear I was buying a boat to last not one I will need to upgrade when my kids get older and bigger. As well they continued to send me different props all last year insisting that it was a prop issue and now with 20 hours on the boat/engine that I am sure will affect my trade value. But wait and see what they come back with I guess...

Overall beautiful boats though... .just to slow for my liking...

[Bamaman]

NCBoater:

A 2 toon boat with strakes will outrun a 3 toon boat with strakes due to less drag and less weight. They just don't handle as well in tight turns and cannot carry as many passengers.

My new Bennington has SeaStar steering, but the $2K power steering pump is really not needed until you go over 150 horsepower. SeaStar steering effort is just fine until I get between 32 & 40 mph. And I seldom make any tight turns going that fast.

If I had my druthers, I'd leave off the power steering pump and put the $ into a set of factory built strakes. Speed only comes from getting the nose cones out of the water, and it requires strakes.

And to Littlehoe: Do you know that your engine is at the right height? You can try out every propeller made on a boat, and if the engine height is not right, it will never perform to its potential. If the engine is too low, it'll drag and be slow. If the engine's too high, propeller ventilation will be experienced. The max rpm's will also tell. My motor is lifted 3/4" off the top of the transom, and the 15 pitch Reliance tops out @ 6000 rpm's and 40 mph--just right.

[sunnyside]

About 5 mos ago I was looking to buy a new toon like you. Found this forum and got the best advice one could find anywhere. The feedback I got was very much like above in this thread. I started out looking at what was in stock at local dealers and getting quotes. All boats had twin toons -- no tritoons available. So, using the advice here I ordered a new 2013 South Bay 522 CR with Trifecta Pkg, Yamaha F150 outboard with Reliance 14-1/4 x 17 SS Prop, and double axle trailer. The Trifecta pkg includes full tritoon, lifting strakes, under skin, power steering, and etc. Boat was delivered mid September 2012 and was only able to get about 15 hrs run time. With 15 hrs on the meter it will do exactly 40 mph gps at 5700 engine rpm's with two adults, 50 plus gallons of fuel and lots of gear onboard. I am glad I got the performance upgrades -- very happy with the toon thus far. Thanks to the folks on this forum.

[smoker62]

I did the same thing. Bought a Southbay 522CR with a 115 Merc. Talked myself into a twin tune , thinking why spend the extra money, I will just be cocktail cruising. I find myself running wide open to get most places . I do putt around at 12-15 sometimes but where we hang out on the flowage, I have a 1/2 hr run to get there. I am kicking myself for not going tri . I gps at 25 tops with 3 adults. I contemplated trading in my 115 for the new merc 150 and was quoted 4000 k to swap. Not terrible but I dont have strakes so I figured it would be a waste. I wish I could get someone to add strakes to my existing tunes.

[Littlehoe]

NCBoater:

And to Littlehoe: Do you know that your engine is at the right height? You can try out every propeller made on a boat, and if the engine height is not right, it will never perform to its potential. If the engine is too low, it'll drag and be slow. If the engine's too high, propeller ventilation will be experienced. The max rpm's will also tell. My motor is lifted 3/4" off the top of the transom, and the 15 pitch Reliance tops out @ 6000 rpm's and 40 mph--just right.

When I first got the boat I couldn't find a prop that would hook up in the water... Everything would spin out until I went to a stainless 16 pitch. it was better but still spun out... after a couple more tries I now have a Mercury 4 blade 15 pitch aluminum prop on my Yamaha and it grabs and holds great but still the best we had with 2 adults and perfect calm was 24. The dealership checked the engine height and first thought it was too high but it was already as low as it could go. Maybe now with the better prop we should look at going up with the engine. I don't think that will make a 6 mph difference though or even 4 mph... Or do you think it could make that much of a difference?

Still haven't heard what type of upgrade costs I am looking at either...