Question for all pontoon boat owners ?

[Deer Hunter]

Ok i bought a older pontoon boat 24', It currently has a 90 hp force motor on it that is not running. And according to the boat shop i am looking at two power packs to start with to get it running. The power packs are $400 each.

So i am thinking about getting another motor all together. I have herd alot of bad things about force boat motors. The guy i got the motor off of said the boat originally came out with a 40 hp motor. But that seems awful small for such a big boat ?

But then i dont know nothing about pontoon boats. How big is to big and how small is to small for a pontoon boat ? Someone was telling me that pontoon boats dont handle very well at high speeds ?

I would apprechaite any information anyone has to give about them ? Thanks.

[Multidigits]

Check the tag and see what the rating is and what is max. Don't go over max. I've seen some poontoons with 150's on them.

[hunteatsleep]

my buddy just did the same thing. he had a 40hp on his 21 ft pontoon and bought a 90 hp and put it on it. most larger pontoons are rated for up to a 90hp.

[quackrstackr]

Check the tag and see what the rating is and what is max. Don't go over max. I've seen some poontoons with 150's on them.

X2

There is a placard there somewhere that tells you the maximum number of people/lbs you can have aboard as well as engine size.

Pontoons are cruisers, not speed demons and you are right.. they don't handle well at high speeds.

[WBBP]

For older pontoons, 90-100 HP is about the biggest you need. The law of diminishing returns applies after a 100 HP for older pontoons. Just too much drag and poorly designed pontoons. Yes, you can mount a 150 on it, but it will suck the gas and not do what you want it to.

Please do not spend one cent on that Force. They do make good anchors though.

I have had several pontoons. The motors were between 70 HP and 225, but the 225 had hydraulic steering and was a Tritoon. Tritoons handle great at 50 HP, but 70 HP is enough for a conventional pontoon unless you haul 10 people everywhere you go.

Good luck.

K

[Deer Hunter]

Thanks fella's, i apprechiate all of the information. WBBP i wont spend anything on that engine and thanks for the warning. I have herd alot of people say the same thing you did about force boat motors.

[MsgMills]

I had one of those new 4 stroke 90 Mercury's on my 24' Pontoon. Talk about quiet, and it started and ran like a car engine..No one in the immediate family ever wanted to go out on it with me, so I sold it...... Good Luck

[Art]

I've used one that size that had something around a 40hp and that's really all you need. It's not like you are going to pull a skier.

For some reason, I get a chuckle when I think of WBBP going down the lake at 50mph on a pontoon. It must be like a Polaris Ranger on water.:D

[keith meador]

I've used one that size that had something around a 40hp and that's really all you need. It's not like you are going to pull a skier.

For some reason, I get a chuckle when I think of WBBP going down the lake at 50mph on a pontoon. It must be like a Polaris Ranger on water.:D

McHales Navy comes to mind for some reason....

[MsgMills]

McHales Navy comes to mind for some reason....


OMG: Now that was a classic show for sure....Have met WBBP yet, but I sure can picture the Old Skipper on that show.....

[12 pointer]

I guess the engine size is also determined by the size of the lake you are gonna travel on. my f-i-l has a 25 horse sea king on a 24 ft. on Lake Malone. mkves it just fine and does the job. And uses little gas also. again, it all depends on the lake at the person driving it.

[Deer Hunter]

12 pointer,

What is a f-i-l ? And what is the most people you have had on the boat at one time and does the 25 hp seem to have enough power to push the boat along ok ?

[quackrstackr]

f-i-l = father in law

[Deer Hunter]

Thanks quackrstackr for translating. Boy i am about as bright as a burnt out light blub anymore. I should have got that one.LOL

[12 pointer]

12 pointer,

What is a f-i-l ? And what is the most people you have had on the boat at one time and does the 25 hp seem to have enough power to push the boat along ok ?

the other night there was myself,280lbs, f-i-l. 175lbs, wife, 145lbs.(SHHH):D,son,145lbs,b-i-l,210lbs,nephew,50lbs,nephew30lbs. done just fine. moved us on, no problem. and he never runs his pontoons wide open. that comes to 1,035 lbs. plus all gear and two cans of fuel and a bucket full of fish.:D how big of a lake are you gonna be on?

[Deer Hunter]

I would be using it on some pretty big lakes and alot on the Arkansas river. I found a good deal on a 2002 40 hp mercury but i have never even been on a pontoon boat before and have no idea how hard one would be to push for a boat motor.

I like to fish below the dam and sometimes the current is pretty strong. I dont know if a 40 hp would be enough to push it against the current.

I could see where to much hp would be a waist on a pontoon boat or anyhow i think i could. I guess a pontoon boat could be used to pull a water skier ? although i would not be using it for that. I know alot of people use them for tubeing ? But i was looking at the back of my boat and it did not appear to have a place to hook a ski rope up to to pull a skier with.

I like the idea of saving gas using a smaller motor. Not that it would make that big of a difference in no more fuel than i would use on an outting.

[quackrstackr]

I have ski'd behind a pontoon. They make harnesses that hook to both sides of a boat's transom to hook a ski or tube rope to.

I'm not sure that I would want to do a whole lot of messing around in tailwaters in a pontoon. You get one of those rigs sideways in the current and that's a whole lot of surface area to deal with.

I submarined one in the Gulf a few years ago out of Panama City. The waves from the wind and boat traffic through the channel had become enormous but we had to cross it to get back to the marina. Because of the length, it went up one wave and straight through the next. Just about washed everybody and everything off of the deck. :eek:

[boola]

I had a 24 foot party barge it was rated for a 125 hp motor. I had 115 hp motor on mine top speed (one person ) maybe 25 mph .It handled fine in thunderstorms and what not,but if you get to many people sitting up front it will unload the prop and you will buzz the motor. The brand of motor I had was a mercury ,4 carbs with oil injection it ran greatand I think easy on fuel at about 2500 rpms.

[UKDucks]

My boat is 24ft with a 100 hp Evanrude(sp?) on it, and I don't think I would have too much less. I rarely run wide open because it sucks too much gas, but the extra power is there when you need to move (thunderstorms) or have a crowd. With that said, I would make the hp call based on how much you plan to use the boat. My boat gets used often so the extra power is justified. Just my 2 cents...:cool: