Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Are there any off the showroom tritoons capable of the 60+ speed ? I mean from the main players, Manitou, Premier, Southbay, single engine outboard ? I know you can get the big blocks and twins but I am talking about the more readily available units.

None are capable of 60 mph without massive horsepower--numerous big engines. 50's maybe with one of the biggest engines.

Yeah , I was at a local dealer and they had two salesmen trying to convince me their manitou SHP with a 250 Honda would do 60. I told them not even with a 300 would it see 60. They were a couple of tools.I had a 250 v-rod on my glass bottom Ranger and could hit 60 on a great day.

Manitou 24 X-Plode Cruise SHP Test Result Highlights


Top speed for the Manitou 24 X-Plode Cruise SHP is 46.2 mph (74.4 kph), burning 21.5 gallons per hour (gph) or 81.38 liters per hour (lph).

Best cruise for the Manitou 24 X-Plode Cruise SHP is 30.7 mph (49.4 kph), and the boat gets 2.91 miles per gallon (mpg) or 1.24 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 149 miles (239.79 kilometers).

Tested power is 1 x 250-hp Evinrude E-TEC.

Quite a-ways from 60mph.....

smoker62 wrote:Yeah , I was at a local dealer and they had two salesmen trying to convince me their manitou SHP with a 250 Honda would do 60. I told them not even with a 300 would it see 60. They were a couple of tools.I had a 250 v-rod on my glass bottom Ranger and could hit 60 on a great day.

Was it sitting on a trailer? Could easily do 60 on a trailer!

When we did the photo shoot for Manitou, the 23 foot Xplode ran a solid 52 with a 250 etec.
My 2007 ran 48, right out of the box. with the transom mods, 10 CMC hydraulic jack plate and streamlining the pontoons, with Manitou's blessings and guidance, we hit 62 running my 250 Etec and a 26 pitch Raker. But it was a wild ride, only the last foot of the center pontoon was in the water. And the bow flew wildly high with some props. It was all for testing purposes and fun! When I sold the boat, I returned it to stock, because I didn't want the new owner to injure himself or his passengers.
Its not hard to do, but costs alot to go fast! I had alittle over $4k in modifications, with machine shop costs, jackplate, I had props up the ass, custom bent and blueprinted. Its costly...And in un-expirienced hands, can cost more than $.
That said! I think there may be some stock Playcrafts out there with single 350's running close to 60. Contact Jim Dorsey at Playcraft if your serious. Very nice guy and won't steer ya wrong!

By the way, smoker62, were you talking to Jerry, at Harbor Recreation, in Milton? Just wonderin?

I think Southbay sells a trifecta? it has a 600 hp big block in it, I think it is like $139,000, it is supose to run around 70 mph, not sure if they still make it or not. Im thinking Playcraft would be your best bet to run over 60. JT

Ha ha , no not in Milton. This was in the Dells. I dont need to go 60 just asking. Of course if it was within my budget I would love it. Southbay no longer does any i/o's . I am looking at a Premier PTX 36" with a 250 Verado on it. I loved my Verado on my Ranger 620 . Other than the fuel float issue I had no troubles in 4 years of ownership. It is one big sum bitch of a motor though.

Mine runs 52 mph GPS with the SMS ECU. With the stock 225 ECU it ran about 48. I love the ride of the PTX. The Manitou would list to one side or the other depending on load. The PTX rides level and handles the waves great. I compare the Manitou's and Premiers to Corvette's and Caddies. The comfort of the Premier, nice! The performance of the SHP... WOW!
Over 60, the Manitou really chine walked, but god, was it fun! Then, I grew up! (ok, no I didn't) The Premier is gonna get some playing with, if I ever get the time off to get to it.

40 / 50 / 60 mph who cares People seem to speed on the highway in the rat race, why would you want to spend the weekend on the water in the same rat race of speeding . But to each their own .
myself I just want to go and Chill out Enjoy your Toon

You hit the nail on the head . " To each their own " . I love speed , always have. I find it exhilarating to go fast. I also am getting older and love the creature comforts of slow rolling in my pontoon with my family. Now I can have both . Nothing wrong with that.

If I can go 40-50 ish in my toon if and when I deem it safe , thats a great option to know I have.

I get that alot, and it really doesnt make alot of sense to me. Because not only can my toon go fast, but it goes slow just fine. We have some long no wake party channels here that are alot of fun to idle down n say hi to everyone. JT

And a big block with thru hulls sounds soooo good at idle too !

I agree! I love just putsing around, taking it easy and BS'n with passengers. But its nice to know that when you need to go, you can. I've left many storms behind me! Its just 2nd nature to me. Always had fast cars, fast boats and mean trucks. Just can't get it out of my blood. Its an uncurable disease for me. My wife "says" she hates it when I start playing with stuff, but I can tell from the look on her face that she knows its a passion of mine and loves the results when the projects are done. Instead of grabbin a glass of wine, a TV remote and break wind, I grab a few beers, some wrenches and break skin.
Sure used to be cool to watch the faces of Bass boaters turn when they saw a white and blue Manitou passing them. Alot of them could curl the throttle and smoke my MannyAss, but the nod of their head would tell me I did good!
Gotta get to going, I have a Premier to get workin on.
Thanks for igniting my ambition, smoker!