Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Is a 25 foot Southbay Tritoon with a 150HP Yamaha motor a good investment for a beginner?

without any additional information such as where you are using it and what your using it for, is it new, used, hours etc.. yes, the southbay is a great ride, and 150 is very adequate.

I will give you the same advice that I got when I bought my boat. "Get the biggest engine that your boat is rated for." No one has ever heard the words "I have too much horsepower." You will enjoy your boat more and it will pay off when you go to sell or trade. The whole pontoon world is moving to bigger engines. Have fun!

Going to the I-4 200 Yamaha isn't going to give you huge gains. Maybe 2 or 3 mph at most over the 150. Its around $2500 difference. Jumping to the 4.2 L motors as in SHO 200 or bigger really brings the price up.

Boat should be 36 or 37 mph with the 150. That's a light load. To get that boat over 40 you probably need a 225 or more in the Yamaha brand.

For a 200 motor the Suzuki would be my choice.

My Yamaha F150 with a Reliance propeller is a great motor/prop combo for my 24' tritoon. My dealer's sold so many that he knows exactly how to rig them.

I'd probably be just as happy with a Mercury 150 FourStroke, however. They appear to be very comparable in horsepower, and Mercury also has a large parts availability with so many dealerships.

The Suzuki 150 is also a fine motor. Too bad they don't have more dealers, and their parts availability is not up to par. (In other words, Suzuki Marine sucks--according to some dealers.) Suzuki's also are sometimes difficult to setup as many marine technicians are not used to setting up large diameter, very high pitch propellers their very low gear ratios require.

Thanks for the advice guys! This forum made the process of getting a boat so much less daunting.

After careful consideration I ended up going with a Harris Grand Mariner SL 250

You started this thread by asking for a motor recommendation, so we are all dying to know what you put on that bad boy?

Sweet choice! I hope you went larger than a 150!