Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I have a 2011 Aloha 25' Sundeck that I purchased used last year. The engine is a 115 Yamaha Fourstroke with 365 hours on it. The engine runs good and the boat overall is in good condition. This is a heavy boat and I have thought about needing more power. My local dealer that I have bought many boats from over the years offered me the following deal. A brand new 150 Yamaha Fourstroke and also adding the hydraulic steering all for $8000 plus tax. Does this sound like a good deal and will I see a difference by adding 35 horsepower to this boat? Thanks. Diamondjim.

Repowering your boat would only be worth it if your boat is a triton with strakes. Otherwise, you'll hit a 30 mph speed wall with only twin toons due to an unstraked boat being a displacement hull. A 25' boat with one of the sundecks is a pretty heavy animal. Your engine's worth in the $7000 to $7500 range to your dealer. A 150 hp Yamaha is available for about $13K where you can get a 150 hp FourStroke Mercury for about $10.5K, not including a $250 control box or installation. I would think you could end up with a much better deal than what you've been quoted by shopping around. See http://www.jacosmarine.com for a dealer that's 135 miles east of Memphis--not that far from you. He sells cheap and takes trades on motors. If your current steering was not up to the job, SeaStar can be added for about $700-800 plus installation--$1K total. My SeaStar also gets hard steering at about 32 mph, but steers easily up until then.

Thanks for the input Bamaman. It looks like my dealer is pretty well in line with what you have given me. The deal was $8000 and that did include the Seastar steering system. I had also rather have the Yamaha engine and I know they are typically somewhat higher. What I failed to mention above was that it all included installation and the dealer goes to the lake and gets the boat (about 20 miles away) and I don't have to touch it. I keep mine in a wet slip year round and I don't own a trailer either. This boat really needs a third log but that will have to come on the next one. I thought it was a fair deal plus I have a new warranty just in case.
What you may not have noticed is that I am in Nashville, AR, not TN. I am in the southwest corner of AR so that is a long way away. Thanks again.

What is your top speed with your current Yamaha 115? Whether that 35 hp will make much of a difference may depend on what speeds your getting right now.

Is 150hp the max allowed for your boat?

I was only getting 22 mph with the 115 but I think there was a prop issue there. I am now getting 31 with the 150 hp Yamaha running a 15 pitch prop. I am thinking about going with a 13 pitch as I am only turning 5300 rpm with the 15. My mechanic says this is a 6000 rpm engine.
The 150 is what the boat is rated for.

We went with the SEAstar steering system and I am very pleased with it. There wasn't a huge difference in price between the BAYstar and the SEAstar systems except that the BAYstar was rated only up to 150 hp. That was the reason I went with SEAstar. I didn't want to be at the upper limit of the BAYstar system.
Thanks for the input.

Diamondjim wrote:I was only getting 22 mph with the 115 but I think there was a prop issue there. I am now getting 31 with the 150 hp Yamaha running a 15 pitch prop. I am thinking about going with a 13 pitch as I am only turning 5300 rpm with the 15. My mechanic says this is a 6000 rpm engine.
The 150 is what the boat is rated for.

We went with the SEAstar steering system and I am very pleased with it. There wasn't a huge difference in price between the BAYstar and the SEAstar systems except that the BAYstar was rated only up to 150 hp. That was the reason I went with SEAstar. I didn't want to be at the upper limit of the BAYstar system.
Thanks for the input.

A very wise and prudent decision...

Rascal