Why do people get so bent out of shape over MPH

[Maholli]

I've noticed a lot of people get so bent out of shape over some pontoon speeds and even call people liars.. people need to realize at tech improves so does speed and performance of toons.. my situation was family owned power sports dealership and sold Evinrude's E-Tecs for repower so i had 2 E-tech 115H.O's and 1 repowered a bass boat while the other i wasn't sure what to do with.. then my wife said she wanted pontoon.. problem was i wanted a 40mph pontoon with a 115.. barely any manufactures sold toons less than 20ft that could do performance i wanted.. i spent 3 months researching and water testing every pontoon i could to find the right one performance wise. i can honestly say there are toon 18-20ft that will reach 40mph with 115.. I picked a QWEST bc i wanted less than 20ft boat so i could trailer everywhere. while on vacation i rented a QWEST 818 with 115 merc 2015 model and boat would do 42mph gps with me and wife on board.. also test silver wave and with yami 115 boat would do 40mph and was 2 logger toon, also Bennington 20ft with ellipticals and new yami 115 hit 38-39ish too.. also tied tahoe and well as the lowe 210s will hit 40mph too with merc 115.. i also have read every motor bulletin on all the manufacturers web sites and they back the claims... to me its important bc 115 much more efficient than 150 or great hp.. but anyways, just wondered why everyone gets so bent out of shape.. peoples egos i guess.. anyways I love this site and growing up my family owned marina and boat shop servicing omc, mercruiser, all outboards and since i was 12 i worked on boats and everything.. so i hope i can contribute to this site.. thanks again..

[ron nh]

when I bought mine I didn't believe the dealer when he told me it would do 40. 1st time out I hit 42 gps. I was very reluctant to post the speed. I knew know one would believe it but I really didn't care. It doesn't handle like a v-toon but the ride is better than I thought.There have been some threads here arguing about theoretical speed,Impossible speed by tri-toons & 2-toons (one being silverwave). Like you said the motors have come a long way. So where do you live & where did you buy it?

[PlaynDoc]

wow. perhaps it's my prop... my 2011 mercury 115, from day 1, fastest was 31gps...

[ron nh]

wow. perhaps it's my prop... my 2011 mercury 115, from day 1, fastest was 31gps...

My boat only weighs 1700 lbs.If yours is a tri-toon its probably much heavier. Qwest claim to fame is small,lightweight toons, great for many reasons but not heavy or long enough for the real rough days.

[Maholli]

yeah i have tried to read most threads but there is alot of threads.. i personally witnessed.. the lowe 210 xl package 115, Qwest 818 115, silverwave 115 all 40mph boats. hell the Qwest 16ft with Q3 and 90hp is speed toon lol 40+.. i also water tested a few benningtons with 115 and ellipticals and triple with new 115yami and they mid 30's. problem with Bennington is they are big boats. the new motors are beasts. i live in Louisville KY. my family used to own Moutardier Marina and boat shop for 20+ years on Nolin Lake but sold it several year ago. def spent summers working on motors and outdrives and boats since very young.. it def paid off as i have gotten old (41) bc i always can do work on my boat myself.. just wondered why people take so personal .. when i was telling people about performance of my new toon several people basically called me a liar. I was like HUH.. peoples ego get hurt.. lol. and to be clear to me 39mph is 40mph boat..

[Maholli]

i really hope the Qwest boat doesn't disappoint me as far as quality.. i got every option available even salt water package.. so hopefully they don't disappoint.. are you happy with your toon Ron

[Soonertoon]

Yea I don't get all the fuss and pissed off attitudes of some over speed . Hell, my rig barely makes 27 m.p.h. But it's a PONTOON for crying out loud! I do know that part of my issue is I have a prop that the manufacturer that makes it said was a hard prop to turn with a 115. Gonna get that changed out next spring so might make more. If not , no biggie.

I had a 21 ft tracker with NV log package and a 90 Merc. That bastard would run 35 m.p.h . Several folks basically told me the same thing that I was full of it. Well, it did run that fast regardless of whether anyone believed me that wasn't on the boat to see it.

[ROLAND]

I have always thought that people should buy boats that are powered for what they intend to use the boat for.. If you want to pull skiers, tubes, then yeah, you'll need a motor that is up to the task. Personally I have a 75 hp yamaha on my 20 foot boat... last time I checked I get about 23-24 mph depending on the lake conditions.... that is certainly not a fast boat, but it's perfect for me and the wife as we use the boat for fishing 90% of the time...the other 10 % we take the kids and grandbaby out for leisurely cruises to a lakeside restaurant.. There are those that say you should have more power so that in the event of a storm moving in, you'll have enough zip to get back to the launch before the storm hits... True enough, but in my 5 years of owning my toon, I"ve gotten caught in a storm twice... speaking for myself, I couldn't see spending an extra 3 to 5 grand or more to upgrade to a 115 or 150.. but that's just me...not to mention my little yammy sips gas..very economical on fuel... not knocking those with bigger motors... if it suits your needs then by all means... and for those shopping for a new toon where money is not an issue, then heck yeah, get the biggest motor you can afford.... in my case my boat's rated for up to a 75, so I'm maxed out.

[teecro]

I've noticed a lot of people get so bent out of shape over some pontoon speeds and even call people liars...

Guess I just haven't noticed people getting bent out of shape over claimed speed, whereas what I have noticed is being chastised simply for wanting a pontoon to go faster... That is where I found myself and our 18 foot Party Barge and the 60 HP motor that it came stock with. As while I was completely happy with the length I was just lukewarm over the 16 MPH and meager towing ability. So I went ahead and bit the bullet and traded in the 60 for a 75 which is the biggest allowed as otherwise I would have opted for least the 90 Mercury 4-Stoke.

Adding just 15 more HP and finding the right prop boosted my speed to a solid 26 and knocking on 27 MPH which has made our boat feel down right "sporty" and quick. Plus on top of that the new motor is so much quieter that one can just about carry a normal conversation at WOT so much so that that I can actually hear the words to the music without my wife complaining that her ears are going to bleed....

[RcgTexas]

The thing about pontoon speed is the fact that if you have a boat that can do 35 or 40 mph you don't have to do it all the time. My boat will do over 32 now. but I rarely run the throttle over 3 grand. Its nice to have some speed in the bag if you need it to run from weather or you want to pull tubes etc. Sheesh, if you want to fly get a bass boat and a 250. Let the dudes that want speed do it. Enjoy the cruise!

[BobG]

Why do people get so bent out of shape over MPH?

Because they don't know how fast 20 knots is.

[ron nh]

i really hope the Qwest boat doesn't disappoint me as far as quality.. i got every option available even salt water package.. so hopefully they don't disappoint.. are you happy with your toon Ron

So far it's great. The only issue I had was they put on the grey teak instead of brown. No quality issues yet. I got everything but the salt water pack only because they didn't offer it until just after I ordered. I put at least 100hrs on it and was in rough conditions and salt water a few times, so it took a beating in year 1.

[ron nh]

The thing about pontoon speed is the fact that if you have a boat that can do 35 or 40 mph you don't have to do it all the time. My boat will do over 32 now. but I rarely run the throttle over 3 grand. Its nice to have some speed in the bag if you need it to run from weather or you want to pull tubes etc. Sheesh, if you want to fly get a bass boat and a 250. Let the dudes that want speed do it. Enjoy the cruise!

Agreed, when we were young we would pull each other at 35 or 40 mph. Now I know how dumb that is. I usually only max it out when I'm alone or with my kid's, of course they want to go as fast as possible. Most passengers don't like going over 20.

[pond tuuunes]

The thing about a fast pontoon, is it goes slow just as good as a slow pontoon. Problem with a bass boat with a 250 on it... How many people can go for a ride?

[Bamaman]

I would assume the fast pontoons mentioned above had lifting strakes on the toons?

The fastest hulls in a straight line will be twin toons with strakes. They don't have the drag and weight of having a center toon. But twin toons' disadvantage is when you throw them in a tight turn and the speed drops in half because the outside toon digs deep into the water and causes mega drag. Three toons actually fools the boat into acting like a planing hull, especially when turning tight.

Speed is not everything. And every boat is a compromise of sorts--speed, handling, ride, weight carrying capabilities, etc. We enjoy our tritoon with underskinning as it's just so doggone seaworthy when the wind whips up and the waves turn to whitecaps. And it handles just good enough where we can drag the grandkids on big tubes.

Each to his own.