Talon Question

I am purchasing a Triton 189 TRX with a 150 Pro XS. It is coming with two 12" talons already installed. Are two talons too much for that boat? I dont want to have any issues with speed or hole shot, but I also dont want to lose the perks of having two vs just one. Anyone have an opinion on this.

12 foot talons are going to effect any boats hole shot. Imo

I had a TR-186 Mercury 150XR6 with 2 Talon 8fters.
It did fine, but slower with passenger + live well water.

I have the same size boat (Z-7 150 pro xs) with two 10 foot talons. The 12 footers are around 20 lbs heavier than the 10 footers, and an extra 40 lbs on the back of the boat is significant. But, here are some tips from my experience.

With the twelves, you will likely have a very hard time getting on plane in the summer with two people in the boat. Warm water is more dense - I could just BARELY get on plane with two of us in the boat in August. Had the live well and gas tank been full, it probably wouldn't have happened.

These are the adjustments I made: First, be sure that the talons are installed as high as possible on the brackets to reduce drag. Second, be sure little metal splash plates are installed between the talon and the bracket. This also reduces drag. Third, you will need to completely remove one of the PVS plugs from your Merc prop. This will allow the prop to spin faster - it increased my holeshot significantly. Acceptable in the summer, and in winter the boat pops up on plane instantaneously.

Also, only fill your gas tank half full.

Read up on Merc PVS plugs if you're not familiar. If removing one plug isn't enough, replace another with a larger diameter plug. I wouldn't completely remove the second one as you run the risk of the prop losing its "bite". But, you could try that out if the larger diameter plug still isn't enough. And then if you're still having problems you will have to go with a 4 blade prop.

Also, Talons are easy to remove, so you could take one off in the summer if you're fishing deep and only need anchors at the ramp.

I lose 3 mph top speed in the summer and gain it back in the winter with the 10 foot talons (61mph at 5500 rpm).

Overall I think the 12 foot talons are bit too heavy on an 18.5 foot boat, and you will probably have issues, but with the right adjustments you can make it work.

Every 50 pounds = approx 1 MPH

So if the Talons and brackets weigh 100 pounds combined that is 2 MPH

Average live wells hold probably 25 gallons, 25 x 8.33 pounds per gallon is around 208 pounds.

Average battery weight prob 55-65 pounds, 3 x 55 = 165 pounds.

If you have a 40 gallon gas tank gas weighs 6.183, you have 247 pounds in gas.


So I wouldn't think the Talons would be that big of deal

Spot on with everything you said. I corrected one little thing.

Thanks for the input. I wont get to pick the boat up for another week or so. I just wanted to be ahead of the game if I noticed an issue right off the bat. Im thinking of just selling one of them to get an extra graph for the dash and a nice travailing cover. Im coming from a boat that didnt have a pole or talon so having one will be a world of difference and I wont have the performance issues.

do your self a favor and keep both talons if you are a shallow water fisherman. i have one 12' talon wish i had two. the second talon will completely change the way you fish...