New pontoon er with few questions

[Twoods196]

Hello all, me an my wife bought our first pontoon about a week ago. We got. Encore bentley 240 with a 115hp Suzuki. We have took it out about 3 times already an we haven't had any problems with it. The first two times we had 4 people on the boat an I was able to get around 23mph. Yesterday we took it out with 8 people an I couldn't really get over 15. I've been doing some research on here an I would like to add some lifting strakes to it an/or make sure im using the proper prop. As it is at the dealership at the moment I can not look an see what prop is currently on it. Was curious if anyone else would think a better prop or lifting strakes would help me get a little more speed for when I got a few more people on the boat! Thanks!

[teecro]

Without knowing what dia and pitch prop it is currently spinning as well as WOT RPM it is difficult to call out a better prop... Personally it sounds like 8 people is going to slow you down a lot more than 4 especially if they are sized like real humans... Lifting stakes are not going to provide the magic here either you are going to need MORE horsepower to maintain your 2 to 4 person speeds with 8 person on board....

[Twoods196]

That's what I was afraid to hear. Dealer told me I wouldn't notice much difference in the 115 an 150. According to the Suzuki website my exact boat they did a test with an the 150 did 37mph WOT. (With three people on board an little over half tank of gas). Wonder if my dealer would trade up to the 150. Anyone ever did this?

[NonHyphenAmerican]

You can do most anything with enough money.

The question you'll have to answer is are you willing to spend the money to increase the horsepower to increase the speed.

Before trying to upgrade the motor though, what does your HP Rating Plate on the boat say?

Will that boat take bigger than a 150 hp motor?

[Twoods196]

Biggest motor it will take with 2 toons is 150. If it was a tritoon version 150 is the minimal an 250 is the max. The way I understood it was with the dual toons anything above 150 wouldn't matter as the dynamics wouldn't allow it to go any faster. Whereas with the third toon it lifts it off the water more making it capable of going faster but adds more weight requiring the bigger engine to get there.

[Scott1]

This is exactly what the biggest difference between the 115 and 150 is. As soon as you load up the boat, the 115 doesn't have enough ponies to give you the performance you want. If you had a 150 it has that extra HP so you won't notice the loading of the boat as much. Of course it will still hurt the performance, but not as bad. Most people say the biggest noticeable difference in performance is between the 115 and 150, so I don't know why your dealer would tell you what he did.

Get your boat on the water and at WOT with trim down log your top speed and rpm's. Do this also with your trim up allowing the best performance and record the same. With that information and knowing what prop is on your boat now will help determine what prop is best for your boat.

[Bamaman]

Two toon boats are displacement hulls, and they'll just go so fast with 115 hp. To get them any faster takes massive horsepower.

Lifting strakes on a pontoon boat get the nosecones out of the water and make's them 4-5 mph faster and more fuel efficient at cruising speeds. Most think 115 hp is required to take advantage of lifting strakes. But they're actually much more effective with 150 hp, as it's a lot more motor.

Suzuki's are different engines with a 2 piece driveshaft with a reduction gear that slows down the propellers. They push large diameter, very high pitch props. And Suzuki props are not as near easily found as Mercury or Yamaha props.

As to your dilemma--wanting more speed and carrying many people--I don't have an easy fix. Lifting strakes can be added, but they need to come from the Bentley/Encore and it would take an expert TIG welder to put them on. You might do best to trade the boat now for a Bentley 243 tritoon with 150 horsepower. I think your salesman/dealer dropped the ball when selling you a boat that really doesn't properly suit your needs.

[UPTHECREEK]

Just another case of a salesman selling what he's got..... Twoods196 I'm sorry for your experience or outcome with the performance. I must ask you did you guys do a test ride before you bought the boat ? I'm doing my research as we speak to purchase my first pontoon and I'm going with a tri-toon and a minimum of 150 or bigger. (probably bigger) Good luck !!!

[Twoods196]

No we did not take it out on the water first. With me an my wife on it, it will do everything we need. With two more people it does enough to get by. Any more then that it's down hill. Although majority of the time we will only have 4 people on it I still wanted it to be ready for more people. My dad is a professional welder so getting the lifting strakes welded on isnt a problem. Just gotta see if encore will sale me a set. When I get my boat back I will check on the prop info an report back


Just to add most of the time were on the TN River near pickwick. The water can get choppy an was hoping the lifting strakes would add little more lift on the front end an add few more mph

[Brashanic]

I have a tri toon with strakes and a yam 350.
On of the most shocking things I discovered was how much slower the boat is with a bunch of people on board.

I normally have 4-6 on board and the boat is quick. The first time I had about 10 people on board it was a real dog.

Getting the big boys off the bow helped some.

Just trying to point out that it doesn't really matter how big your engine is. When you load up a toon they are dogs.

[UPTHECREEK]

I have a tri toon with strakes and a yam 350.
On of the most shocking things I discovered was how much slower the boat is with a bunch of people on board.

I normally have 4-6 on board and the boat is quick. The first time I had about 10 people on board it was a real dog.

Getting the big boys off the bow helped some.

Just trying to point out that it doesn't really matter how big your engine is. When you load up a toon they are dogs.

Yep.... I think its just the nature of the beast..... I'll tell ya the more I read about pontoons the more I think I should just look at a big deck boat with a traditional fiberglass bottom.

[Brashanic]

I have a tri toon with strakes and a yam 350.
On of the most shocking things I discovered was how much slower the boat is with a bunch of people on board.

I normally have 4-6 on board and the boat is quick. The first time I had about 10 people on board it was a real dog.

Getting the big boys off the bow helped some.

Just trying to point out that it doesn't really matter how big your engine is. When you load up a toon they are dogs.

Yep.... I think its just the nature of the beast..... I'll tell ya the more I read about pontoons the more I think I should just look at a big deck boat with a traditional fiberglass bottom.

I was in the market for a deck boat when I stumbled across my toon on accident. I am so happy with the toon. I have never regretted not getting the deck boat. It fits my family and boating style perfectly.

[Twoods196]

Took the boat out today to do some fishing. Had 4 people on the boat with two full coolers an all our gear. Got up to 25mph which is pretty decent. I looked at the prop an it's a 3x14x17. Not able to tell them rpm as of right now as the dealer had to order me a new rpm gauge. Showed my father an example of some lifting strakes an he said he pretty sure he can make them. Would only cost me the cost of the material, so my dealer has a boat coming in next week with lifting strakes on it (same model as mine ) he is gonna snap me some pics an get measurement an placement for me. Anyone else ever built/installed there own before?

[Bamaman]

A good fabricator can make a set of lifting strakes for a boat.

Bear in mind that the manufacturers have "engineered" strakes to fit on their specific hulls. If you can get your dealer to order them from the factory and sell you a set for a fair price, it would be easier than making your own.

But if the dealer has a boat on the lot with strakes, you'd have to see more than a picture. You'd want to measure the length of the strakes, the angle on the bend, thickness of the aluminum and how far they're mounted up from the keel. In other words, duplicate them and their installation.

FYI: A 2 toon straked boat will outrun a tritoon with strakes because of less weight and less drag. It just won't corner as well as the outside toon in a tight turn will dig into the water with shifting weight.

[Scott1]

A good fabricator can make a set of lifting strakes for a boat.

Bear in mind that the manufacturers have "engineered" strakes to fit on their specific hulls. If you can get your dealer to order them from the factory and sell you a set for a fair price, it would be easier than making your own.

But if the dealer has a boat on the lot with strakes, you'd have to see more than a picture. You'd want to measure the length of the strakes, the angle on the bend, thickness of the aluminum and how far they're mounted up from the keel. In other words, duplicate them and their installation.

FYI: A 2 toon straked boat will outrun a tritoon with strakes because of less weight and less drag. It just won't corner as well as the outside toon in a tight turn will dig into the water with shifting weight.

Tritoon's also run much smoother in rough water, also are much more quieter because not as much spray and waves are hitting the underside of the boat. The thing with the Tritoon is you can put a much larger engine on the same size boat. If you are into water sports and a great ride, I would say you cannot compare the two. Resale value is much more for a Tritoon also.

Bamaman, if we have the same boat accept mine is a Tritoon and yours a Pontoon, I guarantee I will out run you, I can put a bigger engine on mine