Talk me in or out of strakes

[DRock]

If you can run that 90HP up to 30MPH you are doing unbelievable on that boat. Is that boat an 8 or 8.5 beam? That's about the fastest I've seen a 90 push a pontoon of that size. Of course weight is everything.

Typically 115HP is considered the base minimum HP for strakes. Of course there are variables that come into play, maybe strakes would work for you. There is no way IMO you will ever get to the upper 30s with that setup, strakes or not. If you do you will be setting a record.

I've always heard, rule of thumb is 7%, MAX 10% increase with strakes. So if your boat does 30 AND you have the HP to back it, you may climb 2 MPH. If you have a 50 MPH pontoon the strakes could boost you 4 MPH. Maybe a hair more.

Strakes smooth out the ride more than anything, and get you higher out of the water for reduced friction. Note the engine size on the pontoon pic you posted - looks like a 150 etec.

If you are underpowered with strakes you will LOSE speed due to increased friction.

IMO never let ANYONE install strakes except the factory that made the boat. Fix is one thing. Getting the geometry right, that's another.

The boat in the picture was a 20 or 22 footer with a 115 etec. But yes i agree with what you're saying. My boat is running extremely well right now, and i'd hate to risk losing speed. I attribute my speed to the jack plate. Originally my motor was 8.25" too low in the water and would only run 25mph gps. When i raised it i gained 4-5 mph and it completely freed up my boat. I gained another 1 mph by going from a 4 blade prop to 3 blade and going up in pitch slighly.

If i were lucky i could gain 2-4mph IMO with strakes, but the risk is not worth it to me anymore. I'm going to leave my set up like it is and i'm just going to try a SS prop to see if i gain anything. That's my last hoorah for gaining speed.

In the future when i want to upgrade, i'll end up with a 21-23 ft tritoon with strakes and atleast 150 hp. Until then i'm going to enjoy what i have

[jayw]

I have a Suzuki DF150 on a JC tritoon, no strakes but the JC supertoon Utoons with 50% more buoyancy than typical round toons. With the 3x15.25x18 PowerTech prop I can get to about 38 GPS, alone, lightly loaded and fueled (she holds 53 gallons) in the right conditions. That motor has almost 3 liters of displacement, about the size of my Ford V6 in our SUV. With the wife and I, we can run to about 37 MAX w/like conditions.

I run on the busiest inland waterway in the US - the Fox Chain of Lakes in IL. 8500 acres with over 20,000 registered boats. We have everything you can imagine, from 45' express cruisers, salon cruisers, 40' offshore boats, cats, I/O SouthBays and Playcrafts, Allison racers, etc etc. We even have hot dog barges and ice cream boats.

There are more and more triple toons with huge engines every yr, it is the most popular rec. boating segment right now. And we have TONS of pontoons with 90s and 115s. When I say tons I mean literally about two thousand I'd surmise. Or more.

I have never seen a 115, let alone a 90, even come close to keeping up with me at full throttle. I blow by every one. I don't think I've ever seen a 115 push a pontoon of any sort past about 32MPH. I know some do in certain conditions, I've seen YouTube tests where certain (stripped) pontoons that are small and narrow can run surprising speeds. I am talking production, off the showroom floor boats here.

Other 150s keep up, some pass me. The Yammys seem fast. Had a guy with about 5 or 6 adults/large teens on a 23' ish tritoon G3 with a Yammy 150 ALMOST keeping up with me & my wife the other day, and that was with our recently altered (problematic) prop. I was gonna stop him and ask him what prop he runs, that HAS to be the key. I know lots of 150s can do 40, usually with strakes or enlarged diam. center tube or something else (Premier PTX, JC Classic, Manitou V-toon). We have ALL of those out there too.

Also strakes on a 2 toon boat? Never seen or heard of it. That's not to say it aint so or possible, just a new one on me. I've been boating since childhood really, the mid 70s.

[DRock]

Also strakes on a 2 toon boat? Never seen or heard of it. That's not to say it aint so or possible, just a new one on me. I've been boating since childhood really, the mid 70s.

The NV strakes on the Tracker pontoons were great. Several on here have them and most run in the 35-39mph range lighltly loaded on a 21' 2 tube pontoon with 90 hp merc 4 strokes. Tracker had those boats figured out!

It sounds like you have a very nice rig. Maybe one day i can upgrade to a triple toon

[wrd1972]

Also strakes on a 2 toon boat? Never seen or heard of it. That's not to say it aint so or possible, just a new one on me. I've been boating since childhood really, the mid 70s.

Here are the Suntracker NV performance toons with factory strakes. The inner strakes run almost full length of the toons and the outer strakes run about 2/3 length of the toons. Suntracker definitely had the design nailed but they only really worked well on 21-22 foot two log boats according to the local dealer.

Check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D0JwePW21I

[ROBBSRACINGENGINES]

WOW. Interesting video. Makes me want to build replica NV strakes for my toon. In the video it says the strakes work with 60hp motors. Every other strake combination I have heard about says 115hp for the strakes to work. I may have to start looking for one of those in my area to get some build ideas.

[rancherlee]

I say you only need 70hp for strakes to work, ONLY my center tube it straked and it will stay up on top the water until I get about 5 adults on board. Can't wait to find a nice used Johnson/Suzuki 115 to replace my 70hp with, It should run high 30's with ease then! MY current best speed is 31mph on a GLASS smooth lake and the top down, 28mph is my everyday realistic top speed. My toon has octagon tubes that are only 20" equivalents, and did 23 mph as a 2 log boat sitting REALLY low in the water. 3rd tube got me 27mph and it actually planed out with only 2-3 people due to the flat bottom tubes. Adding strakes to the center tube allows me to plane with 5 adults and also gave me another 1-3mph above the bare 3rd tube and with just Me, the Wife, and 6yr old daughter I can cruise just on plane ~20-21mph and sip 2.5 gph of fuel.