Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Will be trading for a 22' Suntracker in either DLX Fishn Barge with 115 Merc. Command Thrust and lifting strakes or 22' XP3 With Mercury 150. Big difference in price for sure. Will the 115 Merc and strakes do a good enough job so I don't have to spend another $10K? I'm sure the XPE3 would be faster, but for difference? Mostly used for fishing, but pulling grown grandkids on skis/tubes some, too. Any advice?

I have a 24 footer with the Merc 115 (no command thrust) and it works fine for me. See about 28 top speed and can cruise in the low 20's without issue. Works great so far pulling kids on tubes with adults in the boat. Would I like to go faster? Sure. But do the math...an extra 10mph you get with the 150HP will get you to your favorite fishing hole how much faster...a minute or two? I pay cash so I just couldn't justify the extra $'s for the limited time it would save. If you are paying monthly, some people justify the bigger motor because "it's only a few dollars extra per month".

Everyone has to make their own decision based upon their budget.

I have the 24 xp3 fb with the 150 mercury. We test drove the 22 xp3 fb with the 150 and it was fast!!!! Great hole shot! We had 4 adults and 3 teens and still hit 38 mph.
It is definitely faster than my 24 ft xp3.
Don't know about the 115 with strakes but just giving my knowledge on the 22xp3.
I know it's more money but I think in the long run you will be happier with the tritoon and the 150.
Hope this helps.
Robert

I think the better ride is more important to me then the speed. the underskin also helps there, But 10 or 12 mph doesn't sound like much but if you can swing it you won't regret it. On the other hand if you don't go big you may think about every time out. I know many people that have recently traded old and bought new and stuck with 2 toon who are perfectly happy.Good luck.

I have a 22' DLX Party Barge w/ Merc 90, bought new in 2012. If I had it to do over again, I would have gone with the 22' XP3 w/ 150.

Get the XP3. You'll be kicking yourself in the butt every time you go out if you don't.

You'll be kicking yourself in the butt every time you go out if you don't.

Yep!

To add to what everyone else has said...... just look at how many threads on THIS forum are from people seeking to figure out how to get more out of their pontoon..... in most cases, it's always the same, add a third toon with lifting strakes, and more horsepower.

If you can swing the difference, now is the time, so you don't get buyer's remorse later....... Couda, Wouda, should have

GGALVIN
I traded a 20' pontoon Landau Fish and Ski with a 90hp Merc for a 22' Bennington SCWX with a 150hp Yamaha. I wanted to put the largest motor the manufacturer would allow, that would have been a 175hp Yam. The dealer actually talked me out of spending the additional $2500 for the 175. His reason was the difference between the 150 and the 175 was negligible. My understanding is that the difference between a 90 and a 115 is about the same. The jump from the 115 to the 150 is huge. I also have to say the jump from two logs to three is huge as well.
Four adults three kids one dog and full fuel doesn't even hardly affect the performance of the SCWX. I still have to be careful not to give it to much throttle when pulling my skiers up ( slolam or double). Pulling a skier at 26 to 27 mph around 4550 to 4650 depending on skiers Weight. Can easily pull faster if needed. Not sure about tubing, we have one but prefer to do the other water sports, skiing, knee boarding, and surfing w/rope. I would recommend the tri with the 150, it will produce many more grins

I recommend a tritoon with a 150. I also recommend looking into all the hulls with respect not only to speed but to handling. There is a big difference in handling versus some of these hulls. My PTX hull isn't as fast as some with with the same HP, but it will carve turns like a runabout. I have a 200 but honestly would be happy with a 150. I like the fact you can cruise at 26-30 mph at a reasonable RPM. Another factor to remember is boats are very condition dependent when it comes to speed as in number of people, location of people, temp, humidity etc and that extra HP comes in handy. I've seen my top speed vary from 37 gps to 44 gps with all of these factors combined.

Personally I think it depends on the lake(s) you plan on using it on and if water sports are a big concern. A straked twin tube with a 115 will run low 30's in a straight line but will turn horrible compared to a triple that can pivot on its center tube. You would only gain 4-5mph with the triple/150 combo but the handling/load rating improves greatly over the straked twin/115 combo.