Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I really love my Sweetwater 18 foot boat and the mods I have made to it. But I need more power I think. I have a 25hp Tohatsu.
It's reliable as can be but I hate being the slowest thing on the water. I am getting about 10 knots at wot 11.51 mph going with the tide.
Now I am looking for a new outboard. I think for weight a two stroke is the way to go.
So what size boat are you pushing and what motor do you have.

Sweetwater 2086 (20') with a 90HP Yamaha. Top end with 2 people is just shy of 30 MPH on GPS. What is your HP limitation (boat and lake)?

2001 Millinium Odyssey. 25ft. 135 Johnson 2 stroke. Top speed with 2 people- 29mph

20' - 115HP Yamaha

I lost 3 to 4mph going from saltwater to freshwater. I didn't think it would matter that much. Guess it really doesn't matter much...

My search for a good two stroke in the 50 to 90 hp range has started.

My last three

20' with 90hp
22' with 115hp
23' with 150hp

I guess I am living proof of a guy that wants more length and power.

Two pontoon boats are a displacement hull. At one point, the boat will hit a wall where it just won't go any faster--without substantially increasing horsepower. When the same hull is equipped with lifting strakes, the nosecones come out of the water with the engine trimmed up, and it's going to be much faster--even faster than a tritoon by 1-2 mph.

My last boat was a 24' twin pontoon with 115 hp 2 stoke Yamaha. It accelerated great and ran fine--until hitting that wall at 30 mph.

Since switching to the 24' Bennington tritoon, I cannot tell you how much we're enjoying the seaworthiness of the tritoon. And the 150 hp 4 stroke Yamaha is a fine balance of speed and economy. It's just so much stronger of an engine vs. the 115 hp motors.

24' Manitou tritoon with strakes. 175 HP Yamaha two stroke. (I'm under-powered!) Extreme top end as 41.1MPH, normal top end (loaded) is about 36MPH

18' with 115hp.

Obv you will be limited if your 18ft is 2 toons. i think max hap prob 60-75hp on 18ft 2 toon boat.. i think with max hp you prob would get mid 20's... My boat like rons is Qwest 2016 818 fishtail 18'4 length and 19'4 overall but with triple tube and i get low 40's pretty regularly with 26 gallons gas and full gear and 2 adult males... i just got back from lake this weekend and had 4 adults and still could hit 39mph and cruise 35mph at 4900-5000 rpm.. if you ever are looking for another less than 20ft then give Qwest a look.. I also spent 2 weeks on Crystal River Fla and the thing handled the waves awesome.. Even out in Gulf... If i was you i would try to stick 90hp on ur boat and u prob could get maybe 28-30..

22' w/115hp Yamaha. 35 mph on gps

2010 Bennington, 20 footer with a Yamaha 75 hp 4 stroke... last time I checked with gps was 23 mph @ wot with 2 people on board.

28' Tracker Party Hut with a 115hp 4 stroke Yamaha. Don't WOT speed because I only cruise with the grandkids and great grandkids.

24 foot Bennington triple tube. 40mph GPS with 2 adults (I am about 260lbs.), dog, full tank of fuel, 2 batteries.

20 Ft Lowe-90 Merc Optimax-25 in pontoons. 29 GPS. But yep it's like pushing a loaf of bread thru the water.