Adding Lifting Strakes a good idea

[ducati1212]

So I had not been on here in about a year and reading through the posts im feeling a little behind. I have a new 2015 Avalon 20 with a 90 HP Honda but its a standard 2 toon setup with no lifting strakes. Reading the threads on here I feel like im the only guy without 3 toons or strakes. Is it easy to add them to an existing boat or not worth it?

Using GPS the Honda will push the boat about 24 MPH max which for the small lake im on in Maine is fine but wouldnt hurt to get a little more out of the Honda and my kids are just getting old enough it would be fun to ski off it

Thoughts

[Bamaman]

If you need more performance, you might be better served selling (or trading) your boat and buying a tritoon with strakes and 150 hp or more. That's the point where they get so much more seaworthy.

You might could obtain Tahoe lifting strakes through a dealership, however delivery costs and the strakes themselves will be expensive. And 90 hp is very marginal on a straked hull.

[BIGFOOT63]

So I had not been on here in about a year and reading through the posts im feeling a little behind. I have a new 2015 Avalon 20 with a 90 HP Honda but its a standard 2 toon setup with no lifting strakes. Reading the threads on here I feel like im the only guy without 3 toons or strakes. Is it easy to add them to an existing boat or not worth it?

Using GPS the Honda will push the boat about 24 MPH max which for the small lake im on in Maine is fine but wouldnt hurt to get a little more out of the Honda and my kids are just getting old enough it would be fun to ski off it

Thoughts

I have seen people take a pontoon to a weldingshop and put them on ,,I think they use an aluminum angle like a 4" ,,as far as mounting heighth on the toons I wouldn't know but it would definatley impove your toon speed

[solidhadriel]

If you need more performance, you might be better served selling (or trading) your boat and buying a tritoon with strakes and 150 hp or more. That's the point where they get so much more seaworthy.

You might could obtain Tahoe lifting strakes through a dealership, however delivery costs and the strakes themselves will be expensive. And 90 hp is very marginal on a straked hull.

That's pretty harsh advice.

I don't have tri-toons, but I do have a 115 with lifting strakes. I'd say do it if you can source them cheap enough and have someone weld them to your logs.

[MattGent]

24mph is fast enough to ski (at least on two skis), and plenty for kneeboarding or tubing with younger ones.

I would just use the boat as-is until you find that it isn't working for you. I pulled kids around this weekend on my 30hp two-tube toon, and waterskied behind it myself. It goes 19mph top speed.

[ron nh]

Don't take it lightly, people have ruined there tubes and performance when not done right. Especially on a new boat.

[Bamaman]

If you need more performance, you might be better served selling (or trading) your boat and buying a tritoon with strakes and 150 hp or more. That's the point where they get so much more seaworthy.

You might could obtain Tahoe lifting strakes through a dealership, however delivery costs and the strakes themselves will be expensive. And 90 hp is very marginal on a straked hull.

That's pretty harsh advice.

I don't have tri-toons, but I do have a 115 with lifting strakes. I'd say do it if you can source them cheap enough and have someone weld them to your logs.

Strakes really work so much better with 115 hp or more, and yes 2 toon'd boats with strakes are faster in a straight line. When taking tight turns with my old pontoon, the outside toon would dig really deep in the water and I'd slow way, way down. 90 hp just wouldn't have the power to immediately get my boat back up to speed as my 140 horsepower 2 stroke.

The other issue is that you cannot just weld some aluminum angle on the toons. They've got to be just long enough, a certain angle and a certain distance up from the keel. The manufacturers have engineers that spend a lot of time studying these things--for best performance. And really great quality TIG welders are not on every corner. The toons really need to be pressure tested after adding strakes to you can be assured the boat's not going to sink if left in the water. Many strakes have resulted in leaking toons on the welds. These modifications just get complicated.

[willy13]

They do not need to be TIG welded. MIG should be fine. Since your boat is newer you should be able to find out how thick the aluminum pontoons are from the manufacturer, this way you can tell the welder the thickness. Also if strakes were an option, order the strakes seperate and copy the location.

[rancherlee]

Most manufactures lately have been building standard tubes out of .080 and straked tubes out of .090 stock, that extra .010 makes a big difference in strength and the "weldability" of adding strakes to the tube. Having Mig/spool gunned strakes on my old .070 tubes and having trouble with pin holes I wouldn't recommend it. I just did strakes on .090 and it went without a hitch and leak free but this was NEW scratch n' dent tubes and fresh clean aluminum makes a huge difference.

[justfishing]

you have a new boat. I would ask the manufacturer what is the minimum hp they recommend to benefit from strakes. I have always been told 115hp but I really think is depends on length and number of tubes.

The strakes arent going to benefit you until you have enough speed to lift you out of the water.

[RcgTexas]

Most manufactures lately have been building standard tubes out of .080 and straked tubes out of .090 stock, that extra .010 makes a big difference in strength and the "weldability" of adding strakes to the tube. Having Mig/spool gunned strakes on my old .070 tubes and having trouble with pin holes I wouldn't recommend it. I just did strakes on .090 and it went without a hitch and leak free but this was NEW scratch n' dent tubes and fresh clean aluminum makes a huge difference.

This!