Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

First off let me say HI, I just traded in my old deckboat on a new toon, My dealer suggested that I add the seastar power assist ,
two other dealers said I really dont need it. I ended up buying a Bennington 2250 RCW with ESP perfomance package with hydraulic steering and a Yamaha F150 4 stroke motor. They have allready ordered the boat so I have a day or so to add the power assist if necessary, my dealer said its nice when zoomong around and cutting hard corners as in the online videos I have seen. Honestly I dont see myself driving like that much if ever , I will probably go about 15 mph 90 percent of the time and maybe pull some small kids sking or tubing once in a while. I really cant justify another 2 grand if its not necessary. All my other boats have been inboards so i really dont know how much, if any difference it will make with the way I drive. any thoughts will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

I have seastar but no power assist on the boat I have with a 150. Wouldn't think you would need power assist added but it would feel more like power steering. I like to feel a little feedback through the steering wheel and don't really care if I can turn it with one finger or not.

doc

Thanks Doc,
This is what I was thinking also, but I wanted to get it in while being built if I needed to,since the price is about the same built in as the part would be later, then add labor, if I need it. will it be like driving an old truck with no power steering as opposed to a new one with ? what about my 110 lb wife , will it be a fight for her or no big deal? any more thoughts or suggestions out there ?

Tooned-out, I have the pwr assist on my 2275 w/150 yam. I do not know what it would be without it but mine is Very easy to steer. It was part of my pkg. I think it was my salesman that told me it really is not needed unless you go over the 150. My boat was there and I was torn between the 225 and 150. The 150 gets me close to 40 and the 225... I was told I would get 44. I just found it hard to spend another 6k for 5 or 6 mph. We have been out only twice now and found we generally cruise about 20 to 25 depending on where we are going. Bill

I think I will just stay with the hydraulic and not add the power assist, I can use that money for some other upgrades to the toon , like maybe a nice subwoofer and a better GPS/depthfinder than stock, and lots of cold beverages. Thanks.

I have 2 boats with the same drive/motor setup (Mercruiser 3.0 I/O w/ Alpha One Gen 2 drives). The Starcraft has no power steering, the Party Cruiser does. I don't feel a difference in steering effort between the two.

I've got a 90 outboard 26' toon with no Power assist at all, and my 7yo nephew has no problems turning the wheel. I would guess your wife will be fine driving the boat.

well my dealer took to long before he cut me off , i flip flopped , him hawed and talked myself right into the assist thinking I may want to upgrade on HP ( really? probably not), thinking I'm going to wish I did , not boy I wish I didnt. As you can see there is no way to rationalize skewed thinking. I can only raise my glass and say -----. happy boating, and wait till my next dilemma.
Do I really overthink everything? My wife sure thinks so!!

Naw, I am guilty of the same thing, should have, would have, could have. Think it is natural to weigh all the options an make an informed decision.
Think either way you will be happy. My thinking is the power assist as I understand it is an add on, although the price might be a little cheaper at time of purchase. With the ESP package you will be able to get better use than I would because with the strakes on the outside of the toons there isn't much banking just a lot of bite when you turn sharply. Probably will work out great with the ESP. Get some photos when it arrives.
afterthought, don't forget the prop. It will definitely warrant a ss probably 15 to 16 p.


doc

Thanks Doc , for the been there done that. I too was thinking with the ESP pkg it may be a nice addition, will make handling at speed somewhat better , though I will probably not drive to crazy, but hey if I want to, now I can! I will get some pics when toon gets here (probably first week of May) I'm going to get The SS prop , although I don't know the pitch yet.