Thread: pontoon boat
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Old 07-24-2015, 12:17 PM   #16
Dave R
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thinkxingu View Post
This brings up two more tips:

1. DON'T be afraid to test drive! We were timid at first, but on the advice of members here, quickly realized marinas expect prospective owners to try boats out.

2. HP vs. efficiency. We can go almost a month, using the boat every weekend, on less than a tank of gas with our 70hp, but we top out at 22mph and getting places can take time (it's also very quiet). It's a great first boat for us, but we'll definitely go bigger on the motor next time.

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If you had a 150 on your boat it would still take about 70 HP to go 22 MPH and you'd probably use less fuel at 22 MPH because you'd be operating closer to the engine's sweet spot (torque peak or where volumetric efficiency is best). The big difference it that you would be able to go 32 MPH with 150 HP when you wanted to.
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