210 DAUNTLESS with 150-HP: Assess Suitability for Intended Uses

[RVRKREU]

Q1: what would be the performance of a [unspecified model year] 210 DAUNTLESS with a Mercury 150-HP engine [that I am considering to purchase]?

[Consider that in] 90-percent of the time [when the boat will be used there] would be just myself and my wife aboard.

The 210 DAUNTLESS would be used:

• for water skiing on small lakes (in southern California;
• also used on the Colorado River in Arizona; and,
• on offshore [Pacific Ocean] runs in smooth weather, such as a [before noon local time] run out to Catalina [Island from an unspecified starting point]

The [unidentified production year] Mercury [unidentified model] 150-HP engine [is reported to have] 90-hours [of run time]

Q2: would this power package be okay [for the crew load and intended uses of the 210 DAUNTLESS]?

[jimh]

You need to give more information about the boat's model year, and also information about the engine, including the production year and the model.

To assess the performance, a simple comparison can be drawn by looking at the original specifications from Boston Whaler for the minimum necessary horsepower and the maximum allowed horsepower. Then compare the 150-HP engine to those two limits. For best performance, you probably will want to have more than the minimum horsepower.

The minimum horsepower rating is understood to be the lowest horsepower that can accelerate a lightly loaded boat onto plane. So if your intended use is to only have two adults aboard and minimal other gear, and if 150-HP is more than the minimum power needed, then the performance should meet your criterion of "okay" performance.

Typically with any Boston Whaler boat made in the last 20-years, Boston Whaler will have provided in published data, in addition to just the minimum and maximum horsepower, a detailed performance reports showing a range of data related to performance. You need to locate that information for the particular model year 210 DAUNTLESS you are asking about.

Q3: who is the seller of this 210 DAUNTLESS?

If the seller is an authorized Boston Whaler dealer, the dealer can give you all the Boston Whaler performance data you need. And if the dealer cannot come up with that dealer, then they would not be much of a Boston Whaler dealer.

If the seller in a brokerage or non-authorized Boston Whaler dealer, they should be able to give you the Boston Whaler performance data you need, as soon as you tell them that you are a serious buyer and must have access to that data in order to decide if you want to buy the boat.

ASIDE: Note that this website does not particularly try to catalogue and archive data about recently made Boston Whaler boats. The focus here is on boats made 20-years-ago or longer. There may be a reader who has the data you need handy and can reply with more details. But until you disclose the boat's model year and more engine details, no one can really give an assessment of the performance of the boat you might purchase.

A STAB IN THE DARK
There is a performance report for a 2020 210 DAUNTLESS posted in a prior discussion about the performance of a 210 DAUNTLESS.

[jwg]

I have owned two 210 DAUNTLESS boats, both purchased new. First one a 2018 with a 150-HP engine. Second one a 2022 with a 200-HP engine. I recommend the 200-HP engine based on my experience. The 150 was adequate, the 200 was great.

I currently have a 2025 210 Montauk with the 200-HP engine and am very happy with it.

[fno]

My two cents: Anything less than the maximum-rate horsepower on a DAUNTLESS hull will leave you with a need for more...more acceleration, more top speed, more with a heavy load (four to five people).

On rivers and lakes. a 150-HP engine would be adequate, but for water skiing not so much, unless you go down a pitch and inch or two with the propeller.

Out in the Pacific, no way would I want less horsepower to fight my way in from that pop-up squall.