You guys will keel haul me but I need to know what you think

[Caseyjoe]

I posted once an ignorant question about the merc 50 my boat came with. Got outboard running great. Went to replace impeller and found crank siezed to driveshaft. BAD. So I go buy a 2000 225 Merc EFI. Boat is an 06 24 ft Bentley. Thought maybe it would be easier for it to push with more power. Not to mention maybe better on gas. If that makes sense. What difference can I expect? If im an idiot let me know. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[NYBo]

A 24' with a 50? That's a bit low.

Yeah, you might see a little improvement going to a 225. But you will use a lot more fuel when you use that speed.

I'm guessing, given the length of the boat, there is no maximum HP rating listed on the capacity plate. But 225 sounds like a little much. That's a LOT of stress on the motor pod and transom. Is this a tritoon, by chance?

 

[HotTommy]

caseyjoe,
I respectfully suggest you read this recent thead about a guy who wanted to put a much larger engine on his pontoon boat.
Thread
It indicates the challenges you will face and how many folks here feel about it.

 

[ahicks]

I'm feeling like the idiot here. Did you buy the Bentley AND the engine, or just the engine?

 

[Caseyjoe]

It's not a tritoon and thanks for the thread Tommy but my transom looks nothing like that guys. His is made of a 2x12!? That seems a bit sketchy. The one I have is all welded aluminum. It has bolts on every cross member going back about 8 feet. Nowhere is the transom bolted to wood. It has a Max hp sticker but I can't read it. It was sitting in a field for 3 years and I bought it for 1400. The motor was giving me trouble and was small so I got a decent deal on the 225 it comes with a 5 blade stainless prop with a 21 pitch. Not sure how any of this will work together but surely it will push me through the water.i just really want to be on the river.

 

[HotTommy]

I was going to offer a technical explanation but as neither of us has many facts to work with, I'll offer this instead.

• The NADA site indicates the largest engine sold with any 2006 24' Bentley was 90 HP.
• It is highly unlikely your boat is rated for even half of 225 HP.
• To keep the motor in place the motor has to be securely attached to the transom, the transom has to be securely attached to the engine pod, the pod has to be securely attached the boat, and the weakest link in all those connections has to withstand both the weight of the engine and the twisting force applied to it all when the engine is producing thrust.
• If you do not have the experience or engineering knowledge to determine whether your combo is adequate for a 225 HP engine, then you should find someone with that knowledge who can examine your boat in person.
• If you choose to hope for the best and "just do it" be prepared for the worst and chain your engine to the boat (not the pod) so you won't loose it when it breaks loose.

Lastly, I replaced and reinforced the engine pod on my old 24' two log pontoon boat just so I could run a 150 HP motor on it. I would never have considered running a 225 HP myself. I feel confident it can be done with sufficient engineering and modifications, but not on a stock boat. .... I don't think you're an idiot, but I do think your enthusiasm for getting what you have to work so you can be on the water this summer is blinding you to the obvious peril you face. Now might be a good time to reread post #18 on that thread I suggested earlier.

 

[ahicks]

Even if you get past the transom's ability to handle the power, I think somebody is going to get an education on what happens when you hang something that heavy on the transom of an older (small diameter) set of pontoons.

The newer boats, especially those rated for bigger engines, all use MUCH larger diameter pontoons, which provide dramatically more flotation. They would also be using doubled up cross members, thicker cross members and other design ideas capable of holding pods built back then as well.

If the OP does carry though with this to the point of a water test, pics and a report of his results would be really welcome! I'd LOVE to be wrong here!

 

[NYBo]

It's not a tritoon and thanks for the thread Tommy but my transom looks nothing like that guys. His is made of a 2x12!? That seems a bit sketchy. The one I have is all welded aluminum. It has bolts on every cross member going back about 8 feet. Nowhere is the transom bolted to wood. It has a Max hp sticker but I can't read it. It was sitting in a field for 3 years and I bought it for 1400. The motor was giving me trouble and was small so I got a decent deal on the 225 it comes with a 5 blade stainless prop with a 21 pitch. Not sure how any of this will work together but surely it will push me through the water.i just really want to be on the river.

I'm new to 'toons, but it seems that adding a third log would be the only way to make this close to safe.

That is likely way too much prop pitch.

 

[Caseyjoe]

Ok so I took my boat and my concerns to my boat shop to have them look and decide if I can put that monster on the back of my boat safely. They said the transom was built like a tank and I have the "big toons" whatever that means and that the only thing I should worry about is handling the boat without a third pontoon. They said I shouldn't open it up till I'm really comfortable. I wasn't planning to go fast anyhow. I was hoping that not having to run at with may make it easier on my outboard. The outboard weighs 480 lbs. They also told me that the prop I have is a hole shot prop? They said it's meant for low end. I really love this site and appreciate you guys guidance but I have to try it just once. Curiosity has got me. I put this setup together with minimal investment and there's no traffic through the week where I'll be. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

 

[MH Hawker]

,my thought is..................what are you smoking

 

[ahicks]

Best of luck. I hope it works out for you.

Pictures or it didn't happen!

 

[MH Hawker]

i think its some one who goes around starting **** lets see some pictures of the existing boat and motor

 

[Stumpalump]

It's about time somebody is gong to give this guy a run for his money.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QUAJRv27r-0

 

[Maclin]

Since you "got a decent deal on the 225" , sell or barter the 225 at a profit and get a motor in the right range.

 

[Caseyjoe]

Like I said I took the boat to get the motor put on but hopefully it's done today. I put some pics up but just remember i got it cheap so she's not a beauty queen. You know when you see a 900 dollar car with an 8000 dollar set of wheels on it? That will probably be pretty comparable.

 

[MH Hawker]

o i` understand that, i have bought 4 old pontoon boats that i have re built, my present boat is a 1988

 

[Caseyjoe]

Yea I checked out your build earlier. Nice. I especially like the livewell. Nice job. Motor was supposed to be on boat today but he hadn't done it yet. He promised me he would do it tomorrow after church. He was complaining about Chinese made boat controls someone had today and seemed a bit irritated so I didn't push too hard. I know how it is.

 

[Caseyjoe]

I'll check out your trailer build in a while Hawk. That's the one I need. My trailer is weird. Really long and the toons don't sit on it. The boat deck sits on it. My boat guy told me it's the old style. Says it makes load/unload easy but scares me cause of how low it sits.

 

[MH Hawker]

once you get used to it you wont have any problems

mine is called a bunk trailer and the other is known as a scissor, a bunk is more stable but it takes deeper water to launch, a scissor is a bit unstable on slow turns and the toons can hit the ground but in a straight pull its fine, its made to pick up boats on the ground, and it dose that very well, back in the old days hardly any one had a trailer if you needed it moved your local marine dealer was happy to do it, now days with 150.00 labor rates its cheaper to own one

 

[Caseyjoe]

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