Putting Dollars To Horses

November 2014

Picking out the right engine with the right kind of horsepower at the right price is a pretty difficult and often times a daunting task. Trust us, we’ve all been there. But half of the fun that comes with a new boat purchase is doing your homework!

How Many Horses

It is understandable that you want to pick the right outboard for your pontoon or deck boat. Your goal is to match the horsepower that you need for your specific activity, while sticking to your budget. So, in order to pick out the right motor, you need to know first what you plan on doing with it.

For most fishing enthusiasts out there, you don’t need a whole lot of horsepower to get you through the day. Any 60 horsepower or less outboard should be plenty because most anglers don’t plan on speeding through the water. Unless of course they enter a lot of fishing tournaments where getting to his hot spots in a timely manner is key.

For those who like speed and the thrill of water sports, you’ll want at least a 115hp engine. While less will still work in some cases, it’s really up to you to determine how much power is enough to help skiers, wake boarders, or the tubers in your family fully enjoy the experience. There’s a reason we’re starting to see more 250hp outboards on pontoon boats and in some cases even higher. All the advancements in pontoon performance would be wasted without the right outboard on the back, and often the biggest complaint new buyers have is not going with enough horsepower.

For the party crowd, it may be a little bit difficult to decide how much power is needed because only you can determine the total weight of your passengers. Add that to the weight of your boat and you should be able to get an idea of what kind of power will be needed to push the boat forward without any problems. In some cases a 90hp outboard would work just fine for you and your party boat. But if you feel you need a little more for those sunset cruises, you’ll need to put in a little extra coin to get your boat moving.

But for those who can’t make up their mind but who want a good all-around engine, we suggest that a safe bet would be an outboard engine in the 75-115 hp range.

Also keep in mind the area that you will do most of your boating. For those with big, wide-open lakes and rivers, you can easily go with 135hp and up and you would have no difficulty maneuvering around. For those on smaller bodies of water that become narrower and may also have tight turns, a 60hp might be all that you need to safely enjoy your area.

Other Considerations

First and foremost, always, as mentioned above, think about how much horsepower you need for your boat. After you have done that, you can move on to the next step, which is finding the right price. But other considerations include length of the shaft, how it steers and even its color if you’re particular to a specific look.

As we’ve mentioned before, you should decided what horsepower works best for you and then you can make the decisions that best suit the needs of your boat. If you are unsure about what you would need to do on this topic, contact a dealer closest to you and he will help you out.