When you buy a boat, one of the things that you have to take into consideration is the speed. Bass boats are not necessarily built for speed, so water sports like tubing, wakeboarding or skiing can be difficult to do. When I bought my first bass boat I wanted to be able to do all of those things, so I started doing some research to find out the average bass boat speed and which models are the fastest.
On average a bass boat will reach speeds between 35 and 40 miles per hour. The average speed is determined by the following factors: engine power, weight, aerodynamics, maintenance.
So depending on those factors the speed of a bass boat can differ from another boat. But before we dive deeper into those factors, let’s take a quick look at 21 different bass boats and their average speed. This way it will be easier to understand how the factors I mentioned earlier influence the speed.
*In the table is listed the average speed, the maximum speed the boats can reach is higher.
| Pontoon Boat Type | Engine | Average Speed |
| PRO Team 175 TF | 25 HP | 24 mph |
| PRO Team 175 TF | 60 HP | 26 mph |
| PRO Team 175 TF | 75 HP | 41 mph |
| Bass Tracker Classic XL | 40 HP | 31 mph |
| Bass Tracker Classic XL | 50 HP | 34 mph |
| Nitro Z17 | 115 HP | 43 mph |
| Nitro Z18 | 150 HP | 48 mph |
| PRO Guide V-16 SC | 60 HP | 29 mph |
| PRO Guide V-16 SC | 75 HP | 38 mph |
| PRO Guide V-16 SC | 90 HP | 40 mph |
| Targa V-18 WT | 150 HP | 46 mph |
| Targa V-19 WT | 150 HP | 42 mph |
| Triton 21 TRX | 225 HP | 52 mph |
| Triton 21 TRX | 250 HP | 54 mph |
| Skeeter FXR21 | 225 HP | 50 mph |
| Skeeter FXR21 | 250 HP | 53 mph |
| Skeeter ZX225 | 150 HP | 43 mph |
| Skeeter ZX225 | 225 HP | 51 mph |
| Super Guide V-16 T | 20 HP | 20 mph |
| Super Guide V-16 T | 25 HP | 22 mph |
| Super Guide V-16 T | 40 HP | 27 mph |
As you can see there are some huge differences between the average speed of those bass boats. So let’s take a look at the factors mentioned earlier to see how they come into play.
Table of Contents
Factors That Influence the Average Speed of a Bass Boat
Engine
Like in the case of most vehicles, the engine is what gives a bass boat it’s speed. So this part is pretty straight forward, the more horsepower an engine has, the faster the boat will be.
You can also get into the technical side of things, and take a lot of things into consideration when you choose the engine, but for the purpose of this article, we won’t go too far in this subject.
But as you can see in the table the power of the engine is not everything, there are a lot of bass boats that have the same engine, but they have a different average speed. So the power of the engine is not everything that you have to take into consideration.
Weight
The next important thing that influences the speed is the weight. More weight means that the engine has to use more power to move the boat, so less power from the engine will result in actual speed.
In general a bigger boat means more weight, but that is not always the case. It’s very important to take a look at the materials that were used to build the boat. While solid wood will look nicer, it will also add a lot more weight to the boat than plastic or carbon.
Another aspect of the eight that is mostly overlooked is the number of people present on the boat. The average weight of a person is around 136 pounds, so if there are 4 people on the boat that means an extra 500 pounds that the engine has to deal with.
So if you go water skiing with just your close family you might be able to do some water skiing, but if you also bring some friends and neighbors, it might become impossible.
Aerodynamics
The next major factor that influences speed is the aerodynamic of the boat.
In general smooth edges are superior to sharp corners, so if two bass boats have the exact same engine and weight, but one of them has sharp corners, while the other one has round corners. The one with the round corners will always be faster then the one with sharp corners.
Another thing that you can do to influence the aerodynamics is to remove the windshield(if you have one). While it might not seem like it, the windshield will actually slow you down considerably. On average most people that remove the windshield from their boats have seen at least a 2 or 3 mph increase in speed.
One final thing to add to the aerodynamics section so that the number of people can greatly influence the aerodynamics. Basically everything that is on the boat and acts as a shield that doesn’t let the air pass, will slow down your boat.
Maintenance
And the last factor is maintenance. Like in the case of most vehicles, maintenance is a key factor when it comes to speed, and good motor health in general.
But that’s not what I want to cover here, while taking care of the engine is important in the long run, there is something else that is specific to boats, and that is cleaning the bottom of the boat.
Depending on the water in which you sail and leave your boat in, a lot of algae and barnacles can get stuck on the bottom of the boat, or on the propeller.
It’s not mandatory to clean the boat every week, but I would highly encourage you to do so, especially if you leave your boat in the water for days in a row. If you don’t clean the bottom of your boat properly as well as the propeller, you can expect to see at least a 5 mph decrease in the average speed, as well as a reduced lifespan for the boat, and why would anybody want that.
What Should the Average Speed of a Bass Boat Be?
Now that we know the average speed of some bass boats, and what influences the speed. Let’s take a look at a very practical and important question that you will be facing when you buy a bass boat. How much speed do you need?
If you just want to sail in calm waters, go fishing or simply sunbathing any speed will do.
In general you shouldn’t need more than 10 mph when you go fishing. So as long as your boat has an engine you should be able to reach that speed.
If you want to engage into some water sports you will need to look for a bass boat that can maintain 25 mph without too much effort.
Here is a list of water sports and the average speed that you will need:
- For water skiing you will need a boat that is able to maintain a speed of at least 20mph, and if you will have two people skiing you will need an average speed of 25mph.
- For tubing you will need at least 20 mph, but depending on the weight of the people who will be tubing, the speed required can differ, so if we are talking about kids 15 mph will be more than enough, but if we are talking about adults that are a little heavier you might need at least 25 mph.
- For wakeboarding you need to maintain a speed around 15 mph, so most bass boats will be suitable for this, without too much effort.
- For kneeboarding you will need to maintain between 15 and 20 mph, again, this is greatly influenced by the weight of the person.
Contrary to what I was expecting when I started researching for this article, the average speed needed for watersports is between 20 and 25 mph, not as fast as possible.
Final Thoughts
The average speed of a bass boat is between 35 and 40 mph. This is the result of a combination between the power of the engine, the weight of the boat, the aerodynamics, and the maintenance level.
For most water sports and leisure activities this is a great speed, and you shouldn’t need more. But if you want a bass boat with more speed there are a lot of options, as you can see in the examples I gave at the start of the article there are a lot of bass boats that can reach 40, 50 and even 60 mph.