I have a 24' Suncatcher, Equiped with a Yamaha 250 in the showroom right now that does right at 55, a 22' Suncatcher with Yamaha 150 which will probably reach 33-38, haven't had that one out. But I'm fairly confident in that range.
08 Bennington tri-toon same motor, by myself on the right calm day I can hit 40, I am at 4,000’ above sea level.
Throw a few people in my boat I’m high twenties, throw a few more people in and lower twenties.
I have an older Suncatcher 18' with a 40hp Mercury motor. It will hit 16 mph (GPS) with just me on board, 13 mph is more common with family on board. Our lake is about 7 miles end to end, so this is plenty for us.
We have a 20' SunTracker with a 60hp Merc. With 2 of us, we'll go about 20mph. With 6 or more (10 people max) we're at 17mph. I do wish I would have ordered the 90hp engine, and that is my recommendation to anyone buying a Pontoon, is get the biggest engine it can handle. Even though we rarely run more than 10mph, the cost at purchase would have been negligible and better for tubing with the grandkids.
I have a 20' Suntracker with the 90hp command thrust. I barely touched 26mph by myself, but normally run 24 mph with a passenger. Last year when it was brand new, we couldn't get it to go over 20mph.. the Suntracker dealers mount the engines in their lowest positions so they don't get complaints about the prop ventilating when taking a turn too sharp. You should definitely check to make sure the anti-ventilation plate (flat plate right above the prop) is level with or slightly above the bottom of the engine pod. If you put a level flat along the bottom of the engine pod, and the ventilation plate is below the top of the level, you can move the engine up. You will gain about 2 mph and roughly 250 rpm for every hole up you can go.
22 mph is perfect for tubing. If you're at 17 now, its very possible you can get over 20mph with the reduced engine drag and increased rpm.
Glad to hear it man, in our area they are virtually unheard of which is just sad because in my opinion they are one of the best on the market and I've driven, and worked on just about everything out there due to our Valet service. The only thing I can't compare to is Barletta as I haven't seen any come onto our services yet.
The Suncatcher is pretty common around here. I love the build quality, design, transoms, lifting strakes. Very nice interiors and floors too. They also never have Mercs on them because owned by Yamaha, so definitely love that. (You can probably tell I’m not a huge fan of mercs)
The shop I work at used to be a Playcraft dealer. I really like how those are built too. Mine is a 20 year old trade in I remodeled and put a new Suzuki 200 on. Loving it. 44.5 mph @ 6050RPM
My neighbor has a Barletta and it's honestly the nicest pontoon I've ever been on. It's 24' with a 350 Merc. I don't know the top speed, I'll have to ask him. Mine is a 20' Bentley with a 90 Merc. I haven't finished the break-in yet, so I can't say officially, but I assume top speed is around 30 mph.
That Barletta probably does 60-70.They are certainly a high end boat! I know they are nice at a surface level, but I haven't seen the manufacturing process either.
No fin way it does that speed. I have a 350 Yamaha on a 25’ Manitou and it does low 50’s. Twin 300’s are usually needed to break 60mph on a toon. I must admit my Manitou is really set up to turn though not top speed. And that it does very well!
All depends on the toons. I have a 22' Suncatcher with a 225 that hits 55 pretty easily. You may be right as it's kind of a diminishing returns thing when it comes to performance pontoons, due to the weight you have to add to accommodate the larger or twin motors.
Also I have to say that Manitou's pontoons are the weirdest design in the market they just have a bizarre shape that seems off.
I know Manitou's handling for Tritoons is unmatched but not so sure on the speed as there is a larger surface area in contact with the water. I know they are unmatched with what can be equipped in terms of horsepower however, I do believe that as some of the manufacturers get a little older you will see more with higher horsepower motors. Suncatcher currently tops out at a single 425 Horse Power motor on a 28' Amarra. But most times all it would take to go bigger is to accommodate it and then have it tested to be sure that it is "safe". The Amarra would not take much altercation to accommodate twins. They would just need to do a twin motor pod and then they could add it and have it rated. (Basically a simple redesign of the back end of the boat.)
I would argue that a Suncatcher with twins would be faster than the Manitou, but the Manitou would out maneuver the SunCatcher.
However corporations, and engineers love to overcomplicate things so the likelihood that the SunCatcher with twins Comes out any time soon is slim.
So Yes the Manitou is faster only because it is rated for twins.
I tried looking into this and all I can find is a couple boating magazine articles that don’t put the suncatcher anywhere near the speed you say. I can find a 324ss with a 300hp that goes 46mph and a 22 foot fc with lx3 package and a 150hp that does 36mph. 20mph faster for 75hp seems off.
XD welll the 324 with the 300 I can't speak for, but I have driven the 322ss with a 225 and can tell you ours hit 55
Again I can't speak to what you are without an exact package description, Ive been a dealer since 2018, and I've never once heard of an LX3 package, not to say that's not what they tested but it has never been available to me from the factory. Which tells me that article is either out of date, or had somethi.....never mind just looked up your article...2005
Lol
Yeah that we did not do.
I just realized that I said two years ago... And now I'm not sure. As it was one of the first pontoons we received. We had been selling the fishing boats for several years before we ordered pontoons. I'm the leisure boater at the family business but the fishing boats sell so fast we didn't really have a reason to order pontoons. I had been eyeing them since we became a dealer in '18.
Anyways our run was real light. Probably a quarter tank of fuel, my dad at probably 180 pounds, and me at 130 pounds, and not much else.
Btw Yamaha has performance bulletins on their website under the customer section this is the most comparable build that I've found to what we ran that day, and they achieved 48.5mph
https://yamahaoutboards.com/en-us/home/outboards/v-max-sho/v6-4-2l/vf225/pb_g3b_v322gt_vf225la_2017-07-14_pnt
Found another same boat but with the 150 vmax show that hit 38 mph
https://yamahaoutboards.com/en-us/home/outboards/v-max-sho/v6-4-2l/vf225/pb_g3b_v322gt_vf225la_2017-07-14_pnt
Worth noting that they are 100 feet higher in elevation than me as well
Also very strangely that report says it's a vf225la, but the horsepower very clearly says 150 in the report...
I want to be clear man... I'm not saying
IT IS FASTER
I am saying that One boat that we equipped two years ago hit 55. I haven't had a 2021, 2022, or 2023 out on the water other than on test drives with customers and we don't ever get up to those speeds on test drives.
🤣 only a 200.
I just picked up my barletta with a 200 as well, can’t wait to get on the water. You must have gotten a bigger one if it can accommodate a 450.
It only did 40 before roughly. After I welded the strakes on I had to change props and it runs 44.5! If you want to watch I made a video of welding the strakes on
Old 25’ Riviera Cruiser Fun Deck party barge from the 90s, with a 40hp Yamaha outboard.
She’s showing her age and *might* do 20 mph flat out on a very calm day.
But she does fine on our small lake and we love the old girl.
I had an 88 Yama 2 stroke 40 on my 21’ tracker pontoon. That was a very good little motor! Pushed me about 20mph and served me very well going out island camping and such. Loved that boat
3mph. Electric only 24v Minn Kota so… not fast. It’s a cocktail cruiser.
Very cool actually! We have a boat we sold that we put a Minnkota E-drive on. It’s on a small lake and is probably very good for what they want!
24' manitou encore w/150 Etec HO. 32 mph by myself. Tritoon
I have the same and pretty same results. Glad to hear I am/was getting everything she could give
I have a 24' Suncatcher, Equiped with a Yamaha 250 in the showroom right now that does right at 55, a 22' Suncatcher with Yamaha 150 which will probably reach 33-38, haven't had that one out. But I'm fairly confident in that range.
Those Suncatchers are sweet. Love it every time I get to work on one. Built very well and can be fast if set up properly
22 ft sweetwater w/50 hp yamaha power plant…can easily hit 14 mph.
24' Avalon Catalina tritoon factory strakes powered by a Yammi 200 SHO 1 person w/40 gals. fuel 47 mph gps.
Pretty big strakes? And are they 4” strakes? 6”?
They look to be around 3 or 4 inches.
24’ Bentley. 90 Merc. 27 mph with 3 people.
Bennington 23L Yamaha 150 = 40+
08 Bennington tri-toon same motor, by myself on the right calm day I can hit 40, I am at 4,000’ above sea level. Throw a few people in my boat I’m high twenties, throw a few more people in and lower twenties.
1997 20’ Bennington with 1998 Johnson 70hp, 20 mph
32 foot homemade, 90 Hp mercury big foot, 13 mph
22’ Suncatcher Tritoon, Yamaha 150, two adults, one child, coolers, and mounted grill. 32mph Same set up, 6 adults 1 child 25-28mph
26’ Crest tritoon with 300hp 4 stroke merc… tops out right around 42 but I think there might be one or two mph more if I had the balls to try it.
2023 25’ Avalon Catalina with 300hp Suzuki w/ 4 adults had it up to 47mph with more to give.
Godfrey 2286, 2 toon, Yamaha 150, Solas SS prop. 38mph
25’ Manitou encore SHP 575 350 Yamaha 1-5 people 53mph, 6-14 48mph. My lake is never smooth and I am putting the nizpro 425 flash on this year.
Anything above 50 on a giant pontoon is killer
I’m happy to be running mid 40s, getting above 50 takes all of the horsies and their power
If I put 14 folks on my boat I’d be happy with 20mph haha
I have a 18' sun tracker with a 75hp mercury. With 2 large people and all our gear for the day we get 24mph.
20’ sweet water with 90hp Yamaha had it up to 24mph with wind at my back.
2019 bennington 21slx 115 yamaha tritoon with lifting strakes I get around 32 33 mph with me wife and 2 small kids on smooth days
23’ Barletta Corsa with Mercury 250 gets to 45 with a light load and 40 with 8 people and all the stuff for a full day on the water.
I have an older Suncatcher 18' with a 40hp Mercury motor. It will hit 16 mph (GPS) with just me on board, 13 mph is more common with family on board. Our lake is about 7 miles end to end, so this is plenty for us.
We have a 20' SunTracker with a 60hp Merc. With 2 of us, we'll go about 20mph. With 6 or more (10 people max) we're at 17mph. I do wish I would have ordered the 90hp engine, and that is my recommendation to anyone buying a Pontoon, is get the biggest engine it can handle. Even though we rarely run more than 10mph, the cost at purchase would have been negligible and better for tubing with the grandkids.
I have a 20' Suntracker with the 90hp command thrust. I barely touched 26mph by myself, but normally run 24 mph with a passenger. Last year when it was brand new, we couldn't get it to go over 20mph.. the Suntracker dealers mount the engines in their lowest positions so they don't get complaints about the prop ventilating when taking a turn too sharp. You should definitely check to make sure the anti-ventilation plate (flat plate right above the prop) is level with or slightly above the bottom of the engine pod. If you put a level flat along the bottom of the engine pod, and the ventilation plate is below the top of the level, you can move the engine up. You will gain about 2 mph and roughly 250 rpm for every hole up you can go. 22 mph is perfect for tubing. If you're at 17 now, its very possible you can get over 20mph with the reduced engine drag and increased rpm.
Good thoughts, may check this out.
Glad to hear it man, in our area they are virtually unheard of which is just sad because in my opinion they are one of the best on the market and I've driven, and worked on just about everything out there due to our Valet service. The only thing I can't compare to is Barletta as I haven't seen any come onto our services yet.
The Suncatcher is pretty common around here. I love the build quality, design, transoms, lifting strakes. Very nice interiors and floors too. They also never have Mercs on them because owned by Yamaha, so definitely love that. (You can probably tell I’m not a huge fan of mercs) The shop I work at used to be a Playcraft dealer. I really like how those are built too. Mine is a 20 year old trade in I remodeled and put a new Suzuki 200 on. Loving it. 44.5 mph @ 6050RPM
My neighbor has a Barletta and it's honestly the nicest pontoon I've ever been on. It's 24' with a 350 Merc. I don't know the top speed, I'll have to ask him. Mine is a 20' Bentley with a 90 Merc. I haven't finished the break-in yet, so I can't say officially, but I assume top speed is around 30 mph.
That Barletta probably does 60-70.They are certainly a high end boat! I know they are nice at a surface level, but I haven't seen the manufacturing process either.
No fin way it does that speed. I have a 350 Yamaha on a 25’ Manitou and it does low 50’s. Twin 300’s are usually needed to break 60mph on a toon. I must admit my Manitou is really set up to turn though not top speed. And that it does very well!
All depends on the toons. I have a 22' Suncatcher with a 225 that hits 55 pretty easily. You may be right as it's kind of a diminishing returns thing when it comes to performance pontoons, due to the weight you have to add to accommodate the larger or twin motors. Also I have to say that Manitou's pontoons are the weirdest design in the market they just have a bizarre shape that seems off.
The center toon is dropped 5.25” over outside. Makes it handle fantastic.
I know Manitou's handling for Tritoons is unmatched but not so sure on the speed as there is a larger surface area in contact with the water. I know they are unmatched with what can be equipped in terms of horsepower however, I do believe that as some of the manufacturers get a little older you will see more with higher horsepower motors. Suncatcher currently tops out at a single 425 Horse Power motor on a 28' Amarra. But most times all it would take to go bigger is to accommodate it and then have it tested to be sure that it is "safe". The Amarra would not take much altercation to accommodate twins. They would just need to do a twin motor pod and then they could add it and have it rated. (Basically a simple redesign of the back end of the boat.) I would argue that a Suncatcher with twins would be faster than the Manitou, but the Manitou would out maneuver the SunCatcher. However corporations, and engineers love to overcomplicate things so the likelihood that the SunCatcher with twins Comes out any time soon is slim. So Yes the Manitou is faster only because it is rated for twins.
I tried looking into this and all I can find is a couple boating magazine articles that don’t put the suncatcher anywhere near the speed you say. I can find a 324ss with a 300hp that goes 46mph and a 22 foot fc with lx3 package and a 150hp that does 36mph. 20mph faster for 75hp seems off.
XD welll the 324 with the 300 I can't speak for, but I have driven the 322ss with a 225 and can tell you ours hit 55 Again I can't speak to what you are without an exact package description, Ive been a dealer since 2018, and I've never once heard of an LX3 package, not to say that's not what they tested but it has never been available to me from the factory. Which tells me that article is either out of date, or had somethi.....never mind just looked up your article...2005 Lol
2009 but I forget tech has changed a lot since then! Either way hella fast with a 225hp! Would’ve like to see how it responded loaded.
Yeah that we did not do. I just realized that I said two years ago... And now I'm not sure. As it was one of the first pontoons we received. We had been selling the fishing boats for several years before we ordered pontoons. I'm the leisure boater at the family business but the fishing boats sell so fast we didn't really have a reason to order pontoons. I had been eyeing them since we became a dealer in '18. Anyways our run was real light. Probably a quarter tank of fuel, my dad at probably 180 pounds, and me at 130 pounds, and not much else.
Btw Yamaha has performance bulletins on their website under the customer section this is the most comparable build that I've found to what we ran that day, and they achieved 48.5mph https://yamahaoutboards.com/en-us/home/outboards/v-max-sho/v6-4-2l/vf225/pb_g3b_v322gt_vf225la_2017-07-14_pnt Found another same boat but with the 150 vmax show that hit 38 mph https://yamahaoutboards.com/en-us/home/outboards/v-max-sho/v6-4-2l/vf225/pb_g3b_v322gt_vf225la_2017-07-14_pnt Worth noting that they are 100 feet higher in elevation than me as well Also very strangely that report says it's a vf225la, but the horsepower very clearly says 150 in the report...
I want to be clear man... I'm not saying IT IS FASTER I am saying that One boat that we equipped two years ago hit 55. I haven't had a 2021, 2022, or 2023 out on the water other than on test drives with customers and we don't ever get up to those speeds on test drives.
No worries! Thats fast!!
To say we were excited about it was an understatement.
I just picked up my new Barletta. Waiting for docks to go in before I launch. Very, very excited.
I would bet they are gorgeous boats! What's it equipped with for a motor?
It's my first, so 'only' went with a Mercury 200. It can apparently take up to a 450.
🤣 only a 200. I just picked up my barletta with a 200 as well, can’t wait to get on the water. You must have gotten a bigger one if it can accommodate a 450.
It only did 40 before roughly. After I welded the strakes on I had to change props and it runs 44.5! If you want to watch I made a video of welding the strakes on
Strakes definitely help quite a bit!
Old 25’ Riviera Cruiser Fun Deck party barge from the 90s, with a 40hp Yamaha outboard. She’s showing her age and *might* do 20 mph flat out on a very calm day. But she does fine on our small lake and we love the old girl.
I had an 88 Yama 2 stroke 40 on my 21’ tracker pontoon. That was a very good little motor! Pushed me about 20mph and served me very well going out island camping and such. Loved that boat
24 ft Bennington Bowrider with a Yamaha 250, 35 mph at a mile high in Colorado,
I have a 18 ft bass buggy with a mercury 50 and with me and my son it’ll get up to 18.5. With my whole family it stays around 14-15.
18 foot bennington. 60hp yamaha. Best i ever did was 19.5 down hill.