You’re absolutely right to question the practicality of these high-horsepower setups. Beyond a certain point, especially for typical recreational use, you hit serious diminishing returns in performance versus cost, safety, and even comfort. Most recreational hulls are optimized for a certain speed and power band-push them far outside those limits and not only do you risk safety issues, but ride quality often goes downhill too. Maintenance and insurance costs can be eye-watering, and the fuel burn at WOT with 600+ hp is staggering.
For most weekend boaters, the sweet spot is usually much lower, where you get reliable performance with far fewer headaches. Unless you’re competing or have a specific need-like offshore fishing that requires fast runs out and back-these big numbers often do end up being more about status than utility. Sensible power for the hull and usage is almost always the better long-term bet.