Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I'm going to add lifting strakes, to my boat. I'm looking for information, i did a search and couldn't find it.

1) what i want to know is measurements for the strakes (as manufactures measurements seem to be a matter of national security)
there is a very limited number of dealers in my area that have these types of boats is stock to look at.

2) what real gains where achieved when they were added v/s before ?
such as speed,fuel burn etc.

3) how much prop change was required, I'm not overloaded with money and i haven't found a prop shop around here with a swap-out program

I don't like beating a dead horse, but this is stuff i have not been able to find in my searching.
I want to thank ya'll in advance

toon shape has everything to do with the size and shape of the strakes. So the only choice you have is to find someone with the exact same toon, that is straked. My opinion is sell yours and buy one that is straked by the factory. If you have to pay a welder, that will be atleast $1000 min. just not worth it. If you want a fast pontoon, unless you are a fabricator (Althemithmaker), you need to buy a fast pontoon.JT

The advice you have gotten is good. It's not just the strakes it's the total package.
1. three toons
2. larger dia. toons
3. strakes
4. more horse power

I'm assuming that your 94 toon has small dia poontoons and with the 90 h.p. your not going to gain anything.

Hey Rick,
I have been thinking of doing the same thing to the logs I have on the outside of my center toon, but only on the inside of those. I'm thinking 6 inches wide, just above the bunk boards and not coming all the way to the back. So far it's just "thinking" , and I will do more research. If I come up with anything I will get in touch with you. Let me know if you start. I'll help if I can.

pond tuuunes,
the welding is not a problem, i got that covered. not really looking for fast, looking to cut fuel use because on any given weekend i will burn 100 to 200 hundred dollars in fuel alone.i want to cruise at about the same speed as i do now about 15-20 mph at lower rpm's. and finding another 94 smokercraft around here is impossible. the fabricating is the easy part just don't want to waste a lot of material figuring out the dimensions

jimrs,
my toon actually has 23" toons, not big i know but i feel is big enough to do what i'm looking for.

randy,
thanks, i will be starting this project soon as i already have the materials

i think it will work as i have run this toon up to 27 mph gps without strakes so i don't feel as the boat is a bad set-up.i think i can make it work cause as most things i'm to dumb to know it won't work.


again thanks for the replys

I'm kinda in the same boat as you... literally! And figuratively! We have a 21' two tube toon with a 90hp... I've been looking into several options on our boat as well... like you I would like to decrease fuel consumption and run low twenties mph... not looking for a speed boat... just comfortable cruising without having to run WOT all the time...

From everything that I have read and people I have talked too... I'm leaning toward either adding a third pontoon or a pontoon waterglide...

The lifting strakes will actually hurt a minimum powered boat such as our 90hp... especially when a little additional weight is added... not enough hp to get up on the strakes... I have also been told by an individual who has a boat identical to mine with factory strakes that it effects the handling and ride of his boat as well... the example he gave was that it could be difficult to turn in certain situations...

If you can get the waterglide set up correctly it will do exactly what you and I are after... more flotation. .. better handeling... more speed... and a huge jump in fuel economy. .. because you can cruise mid 20's at a much lower rpm...

What puts me on the fence about the waterglide is that it's a foam filled fiberglass "v hull" "third toon"... I just wonder about the durability and longevity of it...

So as for me and my boat... I'm still trying to make up my mind on third toon or waterglide... I have crossed strakes off the list...

The cost for what I want in a third toon is double the cost of the waterglide. .. That's the deciding factor for me...

That's

one of my friends added strakes to his 22' suntracker, It cost him $1800 "hes not a welder" and it did nothing,no performance or fuel upgrades. He wishes he tried water glide instead. I dont know anything about them but if the claims are true it makes a huge difference in mpg an speed. oh he also has a 90hp.good luck,tough decision.

Strakes my reduce MPG esp on a boat like yours (I assume you have no center tube but you weren't specific). They add resistance in the water, until you get up on them they are dragging. As you know the strakes are not just a guess- they are engineered for the boat.

$200 in gas on a weekend with that setup? Wow.

I don't think you will gain much with the 90, I think may just waste your $$. They may have an adverse effect.

I thought about adding strakes (09 JC Neptoon 21TT) but have decided against it - at least not with the manufacturer or JC dealer. We have a triple toon with a Suzuki 150 that was ordered w/o strakes (I bought the boat off the showroom floor not special order). Manufacturer recommends dropping the tubes or a tube swap as the welding on the boat is a challenge due to space constraints - or so they say. Not sure I buy that but anyhoo they are talking several thousand. Don't think so. Couple yrs I'm going to buy something else, maybe a Hampton or a Playcraft. Our boat is more than good enough for now. And there are a couple advantages to not having strakes so I look at it that way (sort of a consolation prize). The 4MPH I am losing top end I gain some smoothness in ride and handling/control. And I still love my boat.

I was considering adding strakes but decided against it primarily based on many comments on this forum about the ride being much rougher, some sayng it felt more like a flat bottomed boat hitting waves. The comments I've read on the Water Glide have been positive, other than the cost.

My 2 year old Bennington is the Express Tube with lifting strakes and underskinning. I find the Bennington hulls to be buoyant, and they're capable of handling large waves and it's certainly seaworthy. My Bennington just comes to life with 150 hp and between 30 mph to 40 mph.

Manufacturers spend quite a bit of time engineering strakes for their hulls. The strakes on the Bennington could be copied, however there is a concave curve on the bottom of the strakes.

Putting in so much efforts to add strakes should be reserved for a late model pontoon/triton that has 115 hp or more. Anytime you want to make modifications to a boat, you've got to consider what you presently have, and what you'll have after the modifications are made.

Sometimes it's best to sell your present boat and go for a newer model boat equipped like you want. I promise you won't be disappointed