Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

[Father of 3]

I have new 22' boat on order and now have three choices for power all yamaha 4 strokes, a 50hp high thrust, 60 hp high thrust dealer wants an extra 500 and a F90, he is working some numbers on that one.
We are new to boating and will running on some lakes and a large river system. We have three small kids and will likely want to pull a tube.
Which do you think will be the best mix of enough power and still good efficiency, gas isn't getting any cheaper.

 

[EGlideRider]

Re: Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

No brainer.... Get the 90...

 

[lmuss53]

Re: Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

Father of 3, welcome to iboats and the pontoon world. Take some advice from a guy on his 3rd pontoon and about his tenth boat over all. Get as much power as you can afford right up front, prefferably the max for the boat but no less than 70% of the max. If you don't you will without doubt push the throttle open VERY shortly after you get it and say to yourself, "Crap, I should have gotten the bigger motor!!" If the boat is rated for 115 I would go with nothing under the 90.

As to efficiency remember that you don't always have to run wide open. With the bigger motor you will have the power if and when you want or need it. A 22 foot boat will struggle to give kids any kind of a decent tube ride even with the 60 HO. The 90 will give them a good ride.

It is cliche, but you really will never hear anyone say, "I should have gotten a smaller motor, this one is just too darn fast."

Good luck with your purchase and welcome again.

 

[ralphl]

Re: Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

what Imus said is gospel

 

[5150abf]

Re: Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

Welcome to iboats.

Something to remember is that when the 50 would be wide open the 90 would be at cruising throttle and probably using less gas, a 50 on a 22 is the bare minimum and I really don't think you would like it espacially if you want to cover any amount of water.

If you can swing the 90 get it, it will just be a much better package and probably easier to resell also and will probably use less gas as I said.

 

[vergil]

Re: Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

along with the other good points made, there is nothing more misrible then trying to tube on a boat that wont pull a tube up on plane, get the bigger engine for sure

 

[Father of 3]

Re: Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

Thanks for the responses, They are what I thought I'd hear back. Hopefully the dealer can get me a reasonable price for the 90, but I'll likely buy it no matter the cost, no one wants too small an engine. The salesman said the 50 or 60 will do the job but the 90 will make it nicer to go any distance, apparently most people in this area go with the smaller motor but with our short boating season (it's snowing today again 10" down already) I don't want a boat which takes forever to explore our lakes and rivers. Thanks for all the great advice, I have been looking at this forum and others for awhile now, as a new boater you learn so much. Thanks

 

[EGlideRider]

Re: Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

Snowing.... Yukkkk..... 84 and sunny here in 12-month-a-year-boating South Florida. (Snicker...Snicker... Grin... Grin...) LOL...

 

[ralphl]

Re: Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

Snowing.... Yukkkk..... 84 and sunny here in 12-month-a-year-boating South Florida. (Snicker...Snicker... Grin... Grin...) LOL...

when your not dodgin hurricanes

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

The boat test I looked at was fitted with a 150 HP E-tec. This boat weighs 2200#. So it is obviously rated for at least 150 HP. 70% of that number is 105 HP so a 90 is going to be the absolute minimum. The test boat would do 41 MPH and burn 15 g/hr at wide open throttle. At cruise it produced 3.6 MPG. Pretty average numbers for that size boat. Recognize that the E-tec is a DFI two stroke while the 90 Yamaha will be an EFI four stroke.

 

[EGlideRider]

Re: Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

when your not dodgin hurricanes

Good point.....

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

I've got a 60 on mine and wish I had a 90. Go for the 90. You'll never look back.

 

[a1nowell]

Re: Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

Get the 90, but also get the right prop to do what you want. I would get the largest diamiter and no more than a 18 pitch. The larger the prop and the lower the pitch will give you better pulling power but might affect a higher cruising speed. Your dealer should be able to advise you.

I have read about snow but don't really know what it is!

 

[DJ]

Re: Sylvan 8522 on order upgrade engine or not

We had two 22' toons with 75's on them. They were OK but nothing spectacular. A 50 or 60 would have been far underpowered.

Just because you have it doesn't mean you have to use it all the time. The "reserve" is nice to know it's there. Especially on a river or in strong winds.

The new 22' toon has a 115. Can't wait to check that one out.