I just upgraded frm 150 to 225 Honda & add Lifting strakes

[texaspontoon]

LET THE SUMMER BEGIN!!!!

Ok, so if you have ever thought about going from a 150 - 225, or wondered how much difference adding lifting strakes would actually make a on a 25' tritoon, I have some real numbers for you! I searched and searched the internet and could not find anyone who actually documented the before and after numbers...so decided to be the Guinea pig for you! So if you have been looking for some numbers to compare them..here you go!

Beginning of the story: Since the day I first picked up and tested my new (in 2009) Voyager 25' Fish & Cruise Deluxe, I wished I had bought a bigger motor (not that I could have afforded one, but the boat is rated for up to a 225). The boat came stock with a 115, so I thought I was doing myself a favor by upgrading to a 150. I also was talked out of lifting strakes by my dealer (mostly because I had a number in mind on price and did not want to pay an extra $3000 for the upgrade). This was a BIG MISTAKE in my opinion.

So what I did, is slowly upgraded on my own. I am going to post the step by step details in hopes that it may help one of you forum brothers either decide to do it or not to do it. I have some hard data numbers for you in case you have a similar boat and motor.

So starting out: The manufacturer says my boat weighs 2400lbs (without a motor, see website link below). It is a 25' tritoon with a 2009 Honda 150 20" shaft, with a custom stainless steel 15" x 14 pitch prop. Before my upgrade I could do 29mph at 6000 rpm (without lifting strakes).

When I began my quest I had considered buying a new Honda 225 (but the price is about $18,000 so ouch...I began looking for used). I finally found the deal I was looking for! I found a 24' invader fisherman with a 2006 Honda 225 (25" shaft with 430 hours on it) on CRAIGSLIST for sale. I brought my mechanic with me, and I got the boat and motor for $7000 (Sound to good to be true? I thought so too, but the motor was sound and was tested by my mechanic, but the boat and trailer needed a ton of work, and appered almost worth it). Because the motor was a 25" shaft, I bought a hydraulic jack plate to raise the motor up and down (It has 8" of travel, and gets the motor up 5" because most pontoon boats need a 20" shaft). So I spent $600 for a jack plate on Ebay, and about $700 on a new water pump and service job on the 225 motor, so i was into it about $1400, plus $500 for my mechanic to do the motor swap. (I could have done it myself but did not have an A frame hoist and I knew they would do a better job).

After the swap (with the 225) my boat did 37MPH with a 15" x 17 pitch prop (again, without lifting strakes).

Back to my old motor for a second: I was able to sell my Honda 150 on Ebay for $8100, plus I fixed the boat up and sold it for $4000 on EBAY. So I had about $3000 to play with (I also bought new seats, but I will post those pics later).

OK NOW ON TO THE LIFTING STRAKES!!! I found a metal supply store in Houston that sold me four sticks of 90 degree 1/4 thick 4"x4" x 25' sticks of aluminum for $140 a stick. ( I would have preferred 1/8" thick but could not find any in 25' sticks, plus in 8' lengths they were like $200). I then took those to a Quality Marine in Lake Conroe Texas (he does a lot of repairs and welding on pontoon boats). He welded 15' strakes on each log (including the inside and outside of each of the logs with a nose cone). I had a hard time finding someone willing to take on the job (most were afraid to weld on foam filled logs, but the even the manufacturer says it is ok on their website). Pete did a fine job, and had no issues whatsoever with hurting the logs. If you look closely they are 3" mig welds every 12" which is what most manufactures seem to do from the factory. It did the job.

RESULTS OF ADDING LIFTING STRAKES: This gave me a whopping (and unimpressive 5MPH!) My new top speed with a 15" x 17" prop is 42 MPH. So overall I increased about 12 MPH (but I spent at least $2000 to get 12 MPH). To be honest, the top speed is nice, but the best part is now I can cruise at 25-30 mph at 4000-4500 RPM instead of 5800-6000 RPM. That saves money on fuel, and I think is much easier on the engine. My mechanic swore to me that I could easily run my Honda 150 4 strike @ 5500-6000RPM all day at not hurt my motor, but I never liked to push it that hard. I am still playing with different props to get the prefect pitch, then I will buy a stainless steel.

BEST PART: This bigger motor and lifting strakes also made a huge difference in pulling kids on tubes, and carrying lots of people. Again, loading my boat down with 16 people (max capacity) with the old motor was kept me at 20-22MPH. Now I can cruise at 25 MPH with very little effort.

Recap:
BEFORE: 25' tritoon with Honda 150 Four stroke (without lifting strakes): 29 mph at 6000 RPM (15x14 pitch ss prop)

AFTER: 25' tritoon with Honda 225 four stroke (without lifting strakes): 37 mph at 5800 RPM (15x18" aluminum prop)
25' tritoon with Honda 225 four stroke (WITH lifting strakes added): 42 mph at 6000 RPM (15x18" aluminum prop)



If anyone has any questions, I would be glad to help you and answer them as accurately as possible. If you private message me, I will give you my phone number if you prefer to talk over the phone.

Hope this helps some people. Again the long run, speed was nice, but improved mid range performance is where it is at for me!

Here are the exact specs on my boat from the manufacturer. http://voyagerboats.net/pontoons/detail ... pe=fishing

Here are some before and after pictures. (Notice the jack plate)








Here are some pictures of the 24' invader after the restoration:

[Mrtoler]

Thanks for the detailed post on the upgrades, that is some good numbers from your boat. So if I read it right you bought a 4"x4"x25' piece of angle so your strakes are 4"? Is there a reason why you didn't go with a full length strake on the outside? Looks great

[texaspontoon]

Yes, the strakes are 4" x 4", which gives you an extra 24" of flat surface to plane on. Before I started this projects I took several pictures and measurments on stock pontoon boats from several manufacturers at the Houston Boat show. 4" seemed to be the industry standard.

As for why not the whole length, when your boat is on plane you are really only riding on the back 1/2 to 1/3 of your logs, so after about 15 mph I start to jump up on those strakes, so I did it mostly because of cost. (Not really worth the extra money to have the strake the full length of the log when it only rides on the back half anyway). This way I purchased 4 sticks for a total of about $500 bucks rather than 6 sticks for $700.

Hope that helps..

[Mrtoler]

Gotcha, so your boat won't plain until 15mph? Do you notice a lotta drag when not on plain? How does it handle in hard turns? Does it feel like your riding way out of the water once on plain, that's got to be a cool feeling?

[gramps]

Nice job, glad it worked out for you.

[texaspontoon]

Gotcha, so your boat won't plain until 15mph? Do you notice a lotta drag when not on plain? How does it handle in hard turns? Does it feel like your riding way out of the water once on plain, that's got to be a cool feeling?

Yes, it used to have a lot of drag all the way up to top speed, now it just has drag till about 15-20mph, then you can literally feel it pop up on the strakes and start to glide over the water. Just for fun I had someone else drive so I could lay on the front deck and watch underneath the boat to see the boat lift out. It is pretty obvious when it happens.

Yes the gliding sensation is very noticeable and obvious, and the turns are just as good or slightly better than before. I think the only way to truly "carve" turns in a pontoon boat is to have a larger diameter center tube like Manitou uses. They seem to be shaped more like a traditional "V" hull.

I have to remind myself sometimes I am giving up the turning performance of a "V" hull boat for the room and versatility of a pontoon. I will never go back to a traditional V hull center console boat. I love the room and experience of the tritoon. Now I have the power I wanted...so for now...I am happy. (Although I did change seats, but will post those pictures later).

[dockholiday]

My dealer suggested I get the strakes as an option on the tritoon. Even though he gave me an estimated speed on the boat, I was still surprised when it jumped up on the strakes during or first time out. I had to look over the side to see it the boat was out of the water as much as it felt. It was a real shocker, since I was coming from a two log that plowed so bad it would throw someone on their face if you pulled back on the throttle when they were standing. Probably the best 500 bucks I ever spent..........

doc

[rbiederwolf]

great post. Have been deciding on getting rid of my boat to get a tritoon. Problem is I cant find my boat in a tritoon that I can afford. I have been thinking more and more about adding a third toon and strakes. then I could add a larger motor somtime in the future when budget allows....... this may just work!!!!!!!

[jafo9]

i don't know when honda "fixed" the 225 but did you look into SB 56? I deals with an improved exhaust design to keep water from entering the exhaust and blowing O2 sensors and letting water in the cylinder head.

by 06, you are probably safe, but worth looking into. my 02 needed to "fix" to keep from blowing Hs02 sensors. i even found a little water on one of the plugs before the fix.