Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

It's been a while since I've been on here. Had a lot of stuff going on. Hope everyone is enjoying the boating season. I have been thinking abt getting either a different boat that is a tri-toon or either just getting a different motor(mine is a 90. There's really nothing wrong with my boat except just wanting a bigger motor. So my question is... Would you spend the extra and get the tri toon or just save the money and upgrade the motor? My boat is rated for up to a 120 hp. I figure ill be happy jus going from a 2stroke 90 hp to a 4stroke 115-120. My other question was has anyone ever done or heard of anyone turning their pontoon into a tri toon? Is it worth the time to try it?

Jake202 wrote:It's been a while since I've been on here. Had a lot of stuff going on. Hope everyone is enjoying the boating season. I have been thinking abt getting either a different boat that is a tri-toon or either just getting a different motor(mine is a 90. There's really nothing wrong with my boat except just wanting a bigger motor. So my question is... Would you spend the extra and get the tri toon or just save the money and upgrade the motor? My boat is rated for up to a 120 hp. I figure ill be happy jus going from a 2stroke 90 hp to a 4stroke 115-120. My other question was has anyone ever done or heard of anyone turning their pontoon into a tri toon? Is it worth the time to try it?

Been lot's of 3rd log added here. Try search as it is your friend. As far as HP upgrade it is one way to get there faster.

Tri Toons really do best with 115 hp, and preferably 150 hp. And they need at least lifting strakes on the center tube to get your nosecones out of the water--for speed and efficiency.

You don't say what kind of boat you have, but 115 hp, a set of factory lifting strakes and underskinning might perform very well for you.

Lots of center toons on the net and EBay if you look around, strakes or no strakes it should get you a bit of speed as I've seen unstraked triple toons get the nose out of the water some. The transom on 2 tooners wants to ride up on top of the wake between the tubes which pushes the bow down, it was so bad on my 20' that the back was actually higher than the front @ WOT! 3rd pontoon on mine streamlined the flow so well I gained 5-6mph but which is well a above the typical 1-3mph with an 3rd unstraked toon. I added strakes to my center tube during my rebuild and didn't gain any speed BUT I also added 300-400# of extra stuff during the rebuild too and it now jumps on plane at 17mph with a light load and banks slightly into turns.

I just did what your considering, I went with the option of a new boat and motor. I sold my 22' bentley with a 90 hp and bought a 22' Southbay tritoon with a 150hp merc, OMG you can't wipe the smile off my face NIGHT and DAY difference, not only do I have unbelievable power but the handling of a tritoon is so good. The tritoon is the way to go!

It's a 25ft Bennington. I did a little bit of searching around nd didn't really find a lot on adding a third toon as far as where ppl got them, did they do it themselves or have a dealer install it. I did read abt strakes and want them on my center tube.

most of the ones I have read about are home brew projects that people had the skill and tools to do it themselves, you can find several people on ebay classifieds and craigslist that sell scratch and dent 3rd pontoons or left overs from a year model and they are changing the toon so they sell off the old ones and these guys are reselling them.

Jake:

You could order a Bennington Express Tube with strakes through any dealer, and install it relatively easily. The Express Tube goes to about 3' in front of your current engine pod, and it really does a good job.

But with a 25' boat, you're a little too heavy for 90 hp and a 3rd tube. But you'd have a completely different boat with Express Tube, a 150 hp 4 stroke and underskinning.

I put a factory center tube on my pontoon. The dealer installed it. Total cost about 3000.00. Worth every penny, and I gained 2-3 mph with the same engine. However it was still not fast enough, nor did it perform how I wanted it and I added a 150 yammy. Now I have a great boat. Doing it all over I think I would have just bought a tritoon with a 150

Question is
1. Are you just looking for speed, or a better all around boat (and I do not mean brand)?

If it is the later, then get a tritoon with a bigger motor. In my estimation, you will have close to the perfect boat.

Problem is a 115 will not get you much faster than your current 90.

Well there's nothing wrong with my boat, just looking for maybe a little better speed and performance.. I love the way a tri toon rides and preforms. I was just thinking it would be cheaper to upgrade the motor and add a toon vs buying a tritoon