NASBLA Public Library

Registration & Titling Statistics

By: Jack Ellis, InfoLink

If you think boats seem more powerful these days, you’re right. To paraphrase Captain Kirk and Tim the Tool Man Taylor, “We need more power”. While this statement is true to a certain extent, buyers are also adding more power to their boats because they can.

15 years ago, only 5% of all new outboard boats were equipped with engines 250Hp and larger. Today, this figure is approaching 20%.

The primary impetus behind this increase in horsepower is due to a market shift towards larger boats. Over the same 15-year period, the number of new 25 foot and larger outboard boats sold in the U.S. more than quadrupled. Meanwhile, smaller boats are being equipped with larger engines too. This is especially true for pontoon boats. Unlike grandpa’s pontoon that was used to putter around the lake, many of today’s pontoon boats are rigged with large engines – sometimes twins – and are being used to tow multiple wakeboarders.