Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I'm ordering a new 24ft tritoon, and i'm unsure which engine will be my best choice. The tritoon will be used for family cruising, skiing, wakeboarding, tubing and a small amount of fishing. After doing numerous searches it seems like most say get the most hp possible (within reason). I'm considering an Etec, 200-300hp. Is the 300 complete overkill or is there such a thing. Any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm not an expert by any means, but a 24 foot boat is a pretty good size toon... I would say at least nothing smaller than a 200, especially if you're going to have a lot of people on the boat or if you're going to use it for water skiing... the "stock" answer is to get as big a motor as your budget ( and boat requirements ) will allow....

The Etec 250HO is a hot motor. It has the same 1.85 ratio gear case as the non HO V6's but has heavier duty lower unit gears, and approximately 275 HP, at the prop. Its a good go between for the 250 and 300, non-HO's. My theory is go with the highest HP you can afford and the capacity sticker allows. The Etecs are a good motor. My old one never failed me. Easy to maintain and winterize. Kinda fuel/oil hungry, but its a 2 stroke.
Good luck shopping!

Bryon has done alot of testing, my money would say to follow his recomendation. I find that the extra HP is only bad on gas when you are really using it. Mine is pretty good on gas until over 50mph or pulling tubes. JT

Ours with three people on board and tops down(we have full length tops) will do 43, with the tops up it still does 41. Last year we had it well loaded with 9 adults(5 over 250lbs), and 4 kids, we were able to do 35 wide open. We were able to stay above 25mph the entire time even when cutting hard turns and donuts pulling a very large 2-4 person tube(its a seadoo tube from long ago, that could easly seat 4 kids or two adults sitting with legs full out in front of them, its wider than the pontoon). That said the 150 when pulling the tube was near WOT or WOT the entire time and just swallowed and amazing amount of gas(and oil).

The transisition to a pontoon boat has been a little harder for me, I grew up on a 18ft 4in, v-hull ski boat that my dad ordered the 305 V8 in, even when he went stainless steel prop and two steps towards power it could still run 57 mph with 4 adults and 2 kids in it. That tube was around for those days as well(my parents divorced 12 years ago) so that tube lasted at least 16 years of pulling.

TL:DR- As much as you can afford without a doubt, even if you get more than you need, your cruising speed will be higher and less gas used when cruising/pulling tubes.

I have a 25 footer with a Mercury Verado 150. We do everything on it...cruise, fish, tube, and ski. WOT for me is about 36 miles per hour, but I have a lot of stuff loaded...6 gallon full spare gas tank....Magma Grill...extra batteries....battery jump starter....and tons of stuff I never use. I have not had any regrets going with the 150. No Motor Envy of 200's and higher. I think it really comes down to how much you want to spend, and whether the difference to you is worth it. I would not go lower than a 150...but that's just me. Good luck!

I currently have a 2013 South Bay 522 CRTT with trifecta pkg (tritoon, strakes, under skin, 54 gal fuel, power assist steering) with 2013 Yamaha F150 outboard and use it very much like you will be using yours. The deck is actually about 24' in length. It does fine doing everything asked of it but I do wish I'd gone a little higher in HP. With 2 people, full tank of gas, and gear it will go 40 mph exactly on the GPS. Pulling skiers and/or 4 people on a large tube it runs about 4000 rpm's (not wot) with 6 or 7 people in the boat.

I have a new 2014 23' Bennington R with ESP (triple toon) ordered now with a 2014 Evinrude E-TEC 225HO (just under 250 hp). According to what I can find on the web this setup will be close to 50 mph. You may already know this but the Evinrude E-TEC website has lots of test data for their outboards which may help you in your decision.

EDIT: According to data I've found, the fuel economy on the Yamaha F150 is quite a bit better than the E-TEC 225HO and 250HO at both cruising speed and WOT. In fact regarding larger engines, I haven't seen a 2 stroke that can match the 4 stroke in fuel economy with comparable hp.

You don't say what brand and model of boat you're considering.

I have a new 24' tritoon with a Yamaha F150, and it does 40 mph. On a 125 mile cruise last week, and we got somewhat over 4 mpg. Larger motors on tritoon boats only get 2.5-3 mpg at cruising speeds. And ETEC's appear to be slightly more expensive to run (Fuel/Oil), but they're easy to winterize for your cold climate.

Your gasoline right now converts to $4.82 (U.S.) per gallon ($1.229 Canadian $ per liter) , and I would think fuel usage should be a serious consideration. And some of the 250 hp motors require premium fuel, which is another 40 cents per gallon. 150 hp 4 strokes appear to be a much better compromise for power and speed.

I'm just so sorry that Canadians' cost of gasoline is so outrageous. And Canadian fuel prices are not likely to come down in the future due to your high taxation and world politics. No wonder Florida has so many Canadians from December to April.

I have a 23.5 ft tritoon with a 150 merc 2 stroke. It will run in the high 30's cruise comfortable at 30mph all day long. I am very satisfied with it but something larger and 4 stroke would be better.

Thanks for all opinions and advice, greatly appreciated. My apologies for not giving more info on the pontoon i'm purchasing. I'm purchasing a Berkshire 231 RFC (BP3).

Getteh biggest motor teh boat (and your budget) can handle.

I've got a 175 on mine (The boat is rated for a 200 but it moves up to the next block size and I was worried about my towing vehicle and the weight. I should have got the bigger motor and a newer tow vehicle). I go 41 top speed. about 36 with a full load.

(Of course my motehr in law thinks even 30 is too fast but what does she know!)

I had a 28' with a 70 merc was Ok on the Missippi but don't get in any big hurry . Sold it a few weeks ago and bought a 24' Smoker craft with a 90 merc It's better but I wish I would have gotten a 150.

We've got a 24' tritoon with a Etec 250 HO on it. Honestly the motor does everything we want and more. We could probably have been just as happy with a 150 HO or a 200 HO. My challenge is keeping myself reigned in and driving smart and fun, not merely "fun" on every trip. If I drove "fun" ever trip it would be a blast, but fuel costs would be a lot higher.

If your looking for an all around motor to do everything from Cruising with a load of people, recreational activities. I would recommend you power it with 80% of what it's rated for. You will not regret having the extra power to get off the water quickly and for all the sports if you plan on any.

Cheers

Henry Nguyen
Legend Boats

jediger wrote:We've got a 24' tritoon with a Etec 250 HO on it. Honestly the motor does everything we want and more. We could probably have been just as happy with a 150 HO or a 200 HO. My challenge is keeping myself reigned in and driving smart and fun, not merely "fun" on every trip. If I drove "fun" ever trip it would be a blast, but fuel costs would be a lot higher.

What kind of top end speed are you getting? I have a 250HO on order and was curious about top end. Have 2 neighbors that have the Merc 250 Pro XS. Want to out run them.