Considing pontoon with a 9.8 hp Nissan 4-stroke engine.

[bruce0359]

Wife and I are looking at smaller pontoons as we would typically be boating with just the two of us. Our son and his wife just had a baby, so hoping to use pontoon with grandchildren in future. The lake we are on allows only 25 HP or less.

Fellow on CL is selling a 2006 Apex Gill Getter 17ft pontoon boat. It has a 2006 9.8 HP Nissan 4stroke engine. Boat has seating for five.

We had rented a 20' pontoon in May on that lake with a 9.8. At full throttle it had a bit of a breeze. Wife thought is was "boring" and she's worried that this 17 ft pontoon with 9.8 will have the same issue. We took it out for an hour and came back sweating. She thought she got a better breeze just paddling her kayak on the lake.

I'm hoping that the smaller pontoon size will be an improvement. I'm also wondering if the marina had the rental pontoon purposely set to go SLOW, but I don't know if that is even possible to do???

QUESTIONS

What speed should I expect with the 2006 9.8 HP Nissan 4-stroke engine.

We noticed that the CL pics show a plastic prop on the engine. So if I need to buy a prop, what should I buy?

I've checked the book value, should I expect to offer more or less than book value?

We are looking at it tonight. Any responses today are appreciated. Thanks

 

[gm280]

:welcome: bruce0359 to iboats. Nice having you join us...

If the lake you're on allows for a 25HP max engine, then I would most certainly use a 25HP engine. Reason? Because you can always throttle down is you want to go slower, but you can throttle up if there is no ability with smaller engines. So I would opt for the max allowable myself. And that way the engine isn't running maxed out every time either... But it is your choice... :noidea:

 

[bruce0359]

Finding a 25 HP pontoon used in good condition at a reasonable price ($5000 or less) has been extremely difficult. We've looked at a LOT of junk - one even had 1-2 inches of moss growing all over it for $2000. NASTY

Thinking we may need to go to new, but was hoping not to.

This one's pics looks nice, is much newer (2006 versus 1985-1991) and asking $5000, but has the 9.8

Not sure which direction to go.

 

[HotTommy]

Don't expect the 17' boat to go enough faster to notice the difference with your 20' experience. 9.8 HP on any pontoon boat is barely more than a trolling motor, IMHO.

Second thought: 5 MPH into a 5 MPH headwind feels like a 10 MPH breeze. 5 MPH with a 5 MPH tailwind feels like no breeze at all. So always boat into the wind when your wife is on board.

 

[gm280]

bruce, I will say this. My neighbor does have a pontoon boat with a 25 HP Mercury on it. And I have ridden on it at WOT and a GPS shows 11 MPH max speed. That little engine works really hard to do that little speed and I can see it wearing harder then a larger engine doing the same speed. A 9.8 HP engine certainly was never made for pushing around a pontoon setup as the main engine... But that is just my opinion... You have to do what you think is best...

 

[ahicks]

Finding a 25 HP pontoon used in good condition at a reasonable price ($5000 or less) has been extremely difficult. We've looked at a LOT of junk - one even had 1-2 inches of moss growing all over it for $2000. NASTY

Thinking we may need to go to new, but was hoping not to.

This one's pics looks nice, is much newer (2006 versus 1985-1991) and asking $5000, but has the 9.8

Not sure which direction to go.

If this lake is of any size at all cruising into anything above a breeze is going to require the Nissan to be wide open. I don't think it's a good plan at all, especially considering the wife's thoughts (You don't plan on cruising alone, right?). I also know a clean 5k boat can be hard to locate. They're snapped up as fast as they come on the market.

So, how creative are you? Maybe check into what the Nissan might be worth, then what you can find a decent used 25hp for? With the popularity of the 4 strokes, especially for fishing, you may be able to repower on the cheap by selling the Nissan, and buying a good used 25hp (not hard!)......

 

[1983 ercoa 21']

Another thought is to get the toon and repower it with a 25 when money allows and sale the 9.8 .

 

[bruce0359]

Had to buy it. There just was no way to pass it up in nearly excellent condition with nothing in half that nice of condition for the price. We'll try the 9.9 & keep an eye out for an upgrade.

 

[ahicks]

Excellent plan! Congrats on the new boat!

 

[HotTommy]

Good luck with your new boat. BTW, whenever it gets hot on my boat, we stop and jump into the lake. Maybe your wife would like that as much as a breeze.

 

[bruce0359]

Good thought on getting wet. Certainly will be cooler wet. Should pick up this weekend

 

[Jeep Man]

No matter what you do, the boat will not be a speed demon. A 25 will be much better but still no race boat. That being said, the 9.9 is a popular motor and is an easy resell. When you do start looking for a 25, stick to 2 stroke, a little more power and a little lighter. If you use synthetic oil the smoke is far less. If you are fortunate enough to find an E-tec at a decent price, grab it.Remember, it must be a 20" shaft.