Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I recently purchased a 2014 Lowe SS210 pontoon with lifting strakes, and under skin. It came with a Mercury 60hp 4 stroke Bigfoot. We got what I feel was a very good deal on the boat, and it has about 20 hours on it. We love the boat and the layout, and even though we're are new to pontooning, my family loves it! My wife and I have 3 kids 14, 12, and 11.

My wife and I went for a ride last Monday and we were able to cruise about 17mph, but it took 5500 rpm's to get there.

Yesterday was our first official family outing, grill and all! With the extra weight we were cruising at a whopping 12.5 mph at about 5100 rpm's (3 blade 14x11p prop btw).

We bought a pontoon not a speed boat, but I was hoping for ~20mph.

I touched base with the Local Lowe dealer and I am seriously considering a repower to a 115hp (max I believe for my hull). Which brings me to the post title. They have a 115hp XS Pro Optimax 2012 with 47 hours on it, and a new 2016 four stroke on sale because they are moving the 16 models.

Obviously the Optimax is cheaper, but my concern is that it is a 2 stroke. Most two strokes I have been around get temperamental at start up and when idling, and of course is louder.

I am leaning toward the new four stroke, but wanted to see if anyone had experience with the Optimax and could make me feel better about my concerns. We actually got a good enough deal on the boat, that either way on the repower, I am still just below what most comparable used are selling for.

Also, either way, do you think I can achieve my ~20mph goal?

Thank you for your help, I love this forum! Pictures once I figure that out!

It sounds like you would like to save some money with the 2 stroke, but I will help you spend your money ...

I give two big thumbs up for the 4 stroke.

I re-powered a 96 Party Hut 30 last year with a 2016 115 Mercury 4 Stroke Command Thrust (the bigger lower unit, to turn a bigger prop). It is whisper quiet, super efficient on fuel usage and has been rock solid reliable so far. Coming from an old 2 stroke, the difference in noise level is night and day. We literally cannot tell if the boat is running at times without looking at the tach.

It pushes my big girl to 18-19 MPH at 5800 RPM unloaded, or around 15 MPH when I am loaded down. I'm guessing it will zip your 20 footer around swiftly.

Thanks for the info! I am leaning toward the four stroke for sure. The one they have is a Mercury Sea Pro, it has the command thrust lower and comes with the Mercmonitor gauge.

Guess I was hoping someone would say the Optimax was just like a four stroke!

You should have NO issues crusing 20mph with 115, especially a strong 115. I'd put money on you running mid to upper 30's runnning solo with strakes. I find it odd that yours was originally sold with only a 60hp since it has strakes, strakes actually slow you down a bit until you "get up on" the strakes, which a 60 would struggle to do even with 1 person on board.

Another good thing about 4-strokes, you won't smell the 2-stroke oil burning...

My 2015 Crest has a 115 Command Trust. It pushes my 24 foot boat 33mph with a light load. Great engine. Unbelievably quiet.

Thank you all so much for your input! I just put a deposit down on the 2016 Mercury SeaPro 115hp four stroke, and I hope to be able to bring it in this Thursday to start the repower!

I did mess up on an earlier statement, it is not the Mercmonitor gauge, it is the Digital SC1000 that it comes with.

I am very excited to see what a difference it makes!

Thank you all again!

If your NOT getting a command thrust motor I can hook you up with a fast prop.
I just switched to a 150 after dialing my 115 in really well.
Let me know.
Dan

You do know the Sea Pro version is a commercial model? I don't think it comes with the same warranty as the regular 115.

It has a different gear ratio and rpm range to. 2.38 gear ratio SP versus 2.07 gear ratio on the regular 115. The SP version only turns 5500 rpms versus 6000 on the reg 115. I would think the SP version will be a little slower. With it turning less RPMS its probably built for the heavy workload of a commercial boat.

Might want to make sure its the best fit. I would ask the dealer what he knows about the Sea Pro version and also call Mercury Marine.

If it is the same ratio as the CT, 5500, rpms won't be a bad thing. I think my props a 17x15p and only hits 5400 rpms, That's when I get my top speed of 42mph, I tried a smaller prop, hit 5800 but ran 39 mph.

[quote="DWRAT"]If your NOT getting a command thrust motor I can hook you up with a fast prop.
I just switched to a 150 after dialing my 115 in really well.
Let me know.
Dan[/quote]

Dan, thank you very much for the offer, but it does have the same lower as the Command Thrust.

[quote="captain28570"]You do know the Sea Pro version is a commercial model? I don't think it comes with the same warranty as the regular 115.[/quote]

Captain, you may be right on the warranty. When you look on the Mercury website under Seapro it says 3 years, but on the Mercury Warranty PDF for all models it says 2 years for Seapro, so I need to look into this! Thank you for bringing that to my attention!

[quote="ron nh"]If it is the same ratio as the CT, 5500, rpms won't be a bad thing. I think my props a 17x15p and only hits 5400 rpms, That's when I get my top speed of 42mph, I tried a smaller prop, hit 5800 but ran 39 mph.[/quote]

Ron, it is the same ratio, it has the CT lower. I did notice however that the Seapro has a max of 5500rpm, and the CT is listed at 6k.

They have a 2017 CT for the same price, wonder if I should go that route. It doesn't come with the SC1000 gauge. I just thought hell, if it is professional grade that can't be a bad thing, I will have a good talk with dealer for sure!

One other thing, so now I am going through the differences on the Mercury site with a fine tooth comb, and I notice the normal CT four strokes have several mentions about quiet technology, but on the Seapro it is never mentioned. Do y'all think on the commercial grade they don't have the noise mitigation?

I am going to call Mercury then the dealer, sure don't want to mess this up!

Thanks all!

If you don't here the water trickle on mine, you can't tell it's running.

Thought I would give a quick update. I brought it to the dealer today to begin the repower!

I went with the SeaPro after talking with Mercury and the dealer. Per Mercury, it is essentially the same as the 115hp CT motor with a couple of exceptions. It has a little beefier mounts (not sure if I need that) as well as some of the internal components to allow it to run to the max RPM of 5500 for long cycles without damage. It also has the oil drain/fill on the torpedo.

The biggest deals for me was the 500 RPM difference and the warranty. I feel the 5500rpm vs 6000rpm won't impact me very much and the dealer is issuing a 3 year warranty in writing as long as it is for pleasure use not commercial.

I saved some decent coin on going with this since it is a 2016 vs. getting a 2017 CT. They also gave me a good deal (I feel) on my trade.

I also went with a stainless prop, their "prop guy" will determine best pitch, etc., and asked them to install a two battery setup with Perko switch as well.

I am excited to see what the end result will be, they think it will be a about a week!

That's a good choice, you'll love it. what are they charging you for the SS prop? I haven't tried one on mine, but the dealer and others have told me not to do it on a 115HP since the aluminum won't flex till you go up to 150HP, so you may be able to save some more.

[quote="ron nh"]That's a good choice, you'll love it. what are they charging you for the SS prop? I haven't tried one on mine, but the dealer and others have told me not to do it on a 115HP since the aluminum won't flex till you go up to 150HP, so you may be able to save some more.[/quote]

Ron, thanks for the input on the prop! Funny, my dealer said the 115 would benefit, lower than that not much. I will do some research and call Mercury (Mercury was very helpful when I called on the SeaPro, even conferenced in an engine tech).

They said final price would depend on which one and size, supposedly the prop guy there was going to fiddle with a couple, but $400 plus or minus. They are going to call with the recommendation, then I have to ok it, so I have some time.