Yamaha T50 on a 24 ft Pontoon ?

[lou23]

I'm looking to purchase a used pontoon and looked at a few 2007 - 2008 Premier Alante 231 boats. They are about 22 - 24 ft long and had a Yamaha T50 or a Mercury 40 HP Bigfoot motor, Any problems with this set up ? Under powered or looking for trouble when cruising with 8 - 10 people ? Not looking to ski but maybe pull kids on a tube. New to this so looking for some advice, thanks.

 

[MaPaHa]

If the kids are happy with being pulled straight behind the boat at a slow speed then it might be ok. I've been tubing and skiing for most of 40 years now and can't imagine much of an exciting ride there. I've had a pontoon for about 10 years with several motors and tube configurations. At one time it was an 85 hp on a 22 footer and the same motor on a 26 footer and neither were decent for tubing much less skiing.

For decent tubing you do have a slower speed but you need to turn easy which twin toons don't do well. For skiing you need more speed and not as much turning which is not going to happen with a 40 - 50 hp on a pontoon. I don't think you will ever get a lightweight kid outside the wake with those rigs.

Pontoons are nice boats and if you've never had one, they will be fun. Just don't expect to do much with water sports with a 22-24 footer and 40-50 hp. You'll need to at least double to triple the hp and get lifting strakes or a pontoon water glide to get the speed and turning you need for decent tubing and skiing. At 125 hp+ I would look at a triple toon.

 

[lakegeorge]

8 or 10 people with a 40 or 50 hp motor = boring. You will be lucky to see 10mph.

 

[Fastatv]

If the kids are happy with being pulled straight behind the boat at a slow speed then it might be ok. I've been tubing and skiing for most of 40 years now and can't imagine much of an exciting ride there. I've had a pontoon for about 10 years with several motors and tube configurations. At one time it was an 85 hp on a 22 footer and the same motor on a 26 footer and neither were decent for tubing much less skiing.

For decent tubing you do have a slower speed but you need to turn easy which twin toons don't do well. For skiing you need more speed and not as much turning which is not going to happen with a 40 - 50 hp on a pontoon. I don't think you will ever get a lightweight kid outside the wake with those rigs.

Pontoons are nice boats and if you've never had one, they will be fun. Just don't expect to do much with water sports with a 22-24 footer and 40-50 hp. You'll need to at least double to triple the hp and get lifting strakes or a pontoon water glide to get the speed and turning you need for decent tubing and skiing. At 125 hp+ I would look at a triple toon.

^^^^^^^^^^^what he says...exactly. What your looking to buy would be fun of course, so much room, but that length/motor combo isn't the set up for water sports. Triple toon and larger motor....hard to beat! Rick

 

[HarborRat]

I've had 50hp outboards on a 24' and my present 21'. Both go around 20mph with the 50 with 2 people...drops off to about 15mph with 6 people. If I was looking to go fast I would not have bought a pontoon, and I love the gas mileage at lower speeds. With young kids that speed should be fine on a tube. If money is no object go bigger....but I'd take a 2008 50hp over a 1997 150hp for the same price any day.

 

[ahicks]

So much of this is about what you want out of a boat.

A high power tri toon required to pull a tube? Have you ever come off a tube at 40mph? It hurts! We limit tubing to 20mph unless the rider asks for more, we think they know what they're talking about, and believe they are in good enough condition to hang on.

A 50hp engine on a 24' boat with 10 people on it pulling a tube? That might be the opposite extreme. Pulling a tube need a little more power, or fewer people. 10 people cruising on a 50hp/24' boat can be fun, is likely one of the more common setups you'll see on smaller lakes and rivers. If the plan is to run 20 miles to the local watering hole for a burger? 50hp is going to be a while on that run. That's where the high powered tri toon might be handy? My 2c anyway.

 

[MaPaHa]

^^ I would agree low 20's and good turning for most. I'll bump it up to upper 20's if everything you said is true. It's important to know your rider and watch how they're handling it as you mentioned. It would take a real cowboy to ride one at 40 mph.
The lighter the kid, the harder it is to get them outside the wake. That's where turning comes in, and that's where it can be a struggle with a twin toon without strakes or a water glide.
At one point I installed a "Pontoon Water Glide" and the improvement in turning and speed was amazing. It's a different boat altogether.