looking for some advice

[glust]

Good day all. I have a Suntracker 30' pontoon. The big one with the swim platform on top. 1982 vintage. I have a 1984 johnson 140 crossflow that i'm just through messing with. Controls don't give full throttle, now it's running on two. Anyway I'm ready to move on. Looking for advice on a four stroke in the 115-150 hp range. Heard Yamaha is dependable. With the size of the boat I'm not looking to go real fast. 25-30 mph tops, Just want to know its gonna start and run like it should when I turn the key. I'm the king of buying POS stuff and bringing it back, but I'm ready for something a lot newer, better, and more dependable. What are your thoughts? Appreciate your time and expertise. George

 

[ahicks]

A 4 stroke convert here. Honda, Merc, Yammi, wouldn't make that much difference here. Max out the hp capacity plate and go for it!

 

[glust]

That particular year the capacity plate says 120 HP. Later years it went to 150 HP. I replaced the transom last year when I re-decked the boat (10 sheets of marine plywood, never again!). The 140 Johnson that is on there now its about 300# seems to do fine. Am I picking up anything going with new 4 stroke, or nearly new or should I just try to fix what I have? To my way of thinking if it isn't working right and its not that much fun to take it out then I really haven't saved any money . Thanks in advance.

Geo

 

[ahicks]

You're going to be adding weight for sure with a 4 stroke. Honda 90 is pushing 400, as are the Merc and Yammi 115's. Anything bigger than these is ANOTHER big jump in weight.

Your call on fixing what you have. When they're right they work good. After becoming spoiled with the 4 strokes, my biggest complaint with a 2 stroke (that's running as it's supposed to) is when idling going down wind. The smell and smoke of the 2 stroke just kind of follows you....

 

[Starcraft5834]

you have a 30 foot toon?.. i have a 20 ft toon. Starcraft EX-R with a 115 4 stroke Merc on it. tops out at bout 30 mph. my 2019 115 merc 4 stroke weighs 360 lbs.... put a 150 on your 30 footer, it might go 30 mph....

 

[glust]

Sounds like 115 should get it. Yes, My boat is a "Big'un"

 

[HotTommy]

I wasn't sure how much I'd use a pontoon boat when I started about six years ago, so I went cheap with an old boat and two old 2-stroke motors. After three years wanting to be on the water but losing much of the boating season to engine problems, I ditched the old motors and put a new Merc 115 4-stroke on it. Now that I know how much time I spend with the boat (a lot), I wish I had gone with a new engine at the beginning. The fun begins when you no longer wonder whether the engine will run when the people start to arrive for a day at the lake.

 

[glust]

You said where I am mentally much better than I did. That is exactly my thinking....

 

[Starcraft5834]

I wasn't sure how much I'd use a pontoon boat when I started about six years ago, so I went cheap with an old boat and two old 2-stroke motors. After three years wanting to be on the water but losing much of the boating season to engine problems, I ditched the old motors and put a new Merc 115 4-stroke on it. Now that I know how much time I spend with the boat (a lot), I wish I had gone with a new engine at the beginning. The fun begins when you no longer wonder whether the engine will run when the people start to arrive for a day at the lake.

^^^ yup. old boats and engines only sour the experience and replace them with stress over will it break down, will the trailer bearings fail.... new equals zero stress......... i have the same engine......it's a nice feeling turning the ignition key now, live in north east... get out weekly on the water

 

[ahicks]

Well, as a pretty active DIY'er, I think there might be a major dose of different strokes for different folks on the new vs. used call.....

I'm of the notion that older motors, not all of them, but many of them for sure, can be brought back to "reliable" status without too much difficulty on the part of somebody wanting to run a motor for MUCH less than the price of a new one.....

A lot is going to depend on where you run a boat. Somebody venturing into open water frequently may have a different mind set than somebody running on a smaller inland lake for instance.....

Are we considering a motor that been used extensively in salt water, or has the motor never seen salt (that's a big one in many areas of the country).

Somebody that has no idea of what might be found under the hood of a motor might make a different call that a master mechanic.....

Somebody not able to afford new, might be more willing to take on a project.....

Then there's guys that just like to tinker, and bring useless "stuff" back to serviceable- like me!

Point being, I don't think that there's a good "one answer fits all scenarios" out there. To get the right one, there's going to be some honest to yourself soul searching required to justify the price of some of this new stuff. In my mind anyway. -Al