Which motor on Nitro 189 Sport

[DuckHunterJon]

Still looking for a fish and ski - we went to the local dealer tonight and looked at the Nitro 189 Sport. Comparing it to the 288 we looked at on Sunday, it had several features we liked better. So the search is on. Problem - many of the 189's I see have the 115 Optimax. I am thinking I would rather have the 150 Optimax, but wanted to get some other's opinions. The tracker website says the 115 is good for 42 mph while the 150 is good for 55 mph. Also, the plate was stamped max 200 hp, but the largest Tracker sells it with is a 150. Thought that was odd.

While I don't need to break the sound barrier, I also don't want to spend a good chunk of change and wish I'd waited for one with a bigger motor. If I had to choose, acceleration is more important to me than top speed.

Any opinions on engine choice? Thanks.

 

[rndn]

Re: Which motor on Nitro 189 Sport

I've never seen anyone on this site complain that they wish they had bought a smaller motor. Go with the 150 which will work for the go to a minimum of 75% max HP for good performance.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Which motor on Nitro 189 Sport

150. No brainer.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Which motor on Nitro 189 Sport

Thanks for the advice. Confirms what I thought. When typing this I was bummed about not finding any thing larger than the 115's. This morning I came across a 20' procraft with a 200 optimax within 6 hrs drive. Spoke with the owner and hoping to take a ride out to see it next week. We'll see.

Jon

 

[cgd7777777]

Re: Which motor on Nitro 189 Sport

My Buddy bought one last year with a Mercury 150 and i rode in it last weekend WOT about 55 plenty fast
he loves it

 

[nitro189]

Re: Which motor on Nitro 189 Sport

I have a N189 with the 115 Optimax, and if you plan on fishing/trolling, it will troll down to 2 mph with an 18P Vengeance prop, and sips about 5 gal of gas pulling skiiers for most of the day...I get 42 mph as advertised and no issues with getting anyone out of the water on skis. I thought about upgrading to 150hp but 13 mph for the extra gas burn + faster trolling speed + upfront cost was not worth it to me..