Pontoon Boat

[reggie]

Before I get heckled....when not skiing....who makes a good 20-24 ft pontoon boat and what should I know when buying a used pontoon boat. Any insight would be greatly appreciated....as i enter uncharted waters

Thanks

Reggie

[Mercedes]

We have a southbay and love it. We have had it three years and have not had any issues at all. Our model is a cr922.

No carpet wear, no problems with the deck, vinyl still as good as the day we picked it up.

A few things to look for in a used boat:

The deck needs to be in good shape. Most pontoons are wood and can start to rot in a few years especially if left floating on the lake during storage. You can replace the wood, but it is a pain. If the deck has rot on it, also look at the base of the furniture to make sure you know how far it went and what you will need to replace.

Check the pontoons for very large dents. Small ones are normal.

Look at the outboard mounting rail. Make sure it is solid and has not had a lot of re welds. Neighbor bought one that you could see the new welding and his 60 horse mercury outboard fell off a few weeks ago. Work in that area can indicate a solid hit with the lower unit of the outboard.

Edited June 22, 2011 by Mercedes

[REW]

Some friends of mine bought what appeared to be a derilict for about 2K. After pressure washing it looked almost new, add some repacement seats from overtons and it is almost new for less than 3K.

Just a thought.

[BREZ]

Go with a 4 stroke motor rather than a 2 stroke. No need to mess with oil & there is much much less engine noise. No need to be yelling over a 2 stroke.

[Ndawg12]

I've always heard Bennington made the best pontoons

[Slayer]

Bennington, Southbay, Premier......all very nice pontoons.

Really, it all boils down to how you're going to use it and how much you want to spend. We bought a 1995 24' Sylvan that was in decent shape a few years ago and it does everything we need it to do. It had no cover when we bought it but did have plastic seat frames vs. wood so recovering is easier when it needs to be done. Ours is purely a booze cruise type of ride and we could not justify $25-30k on a pontoon.

If buying used, be sure that all electrical components work and that the deck is solid with no rot. Otherwise, they're pretty simple boats.

[MalibuNation]

I've always heard Bennington made the best pontoons

+1

Good friends of mine have a 25' JC Tritoon and love it. It has an Evinrude (sp) 225 on it and pulls me skiing and boarding. I'm 250 lbs.

[mibarefooter]

We had a Sweetwater. They are made by Godfrey who also produces Sanpan, Aqua patio, and a couple more. We really enjoyed it. It was a well built boat. It was the the cheapest or the most expensive it was right in the middle with a lot of the qualities of the high end boats.

[justhrowit]

Sweetwater, SanPan, Premier, Bennington... all good pontoons. However, they are like anything else. If you take care of them, they will take care of you and offer little to no headaches. Someone above mentioned getting a 4 stroke. I'd agree with this. I'm a fan of Honda 4 strokes, but I'm sure others will disagree and shout out for their favorites. Pontoons, in theory, should last a very long time, with a little care. We have a Sweetwater w/a Honda, and really like it. We don't beat on it, and it's lasted a long time, with a lot of life left in it. We use it to just put around the lake. If it his 3000 rpms, that's a lot.

J

[BG2085]

i had a 25ft crest boat that was a nice boat if you like pontoons. it had a suzi 115 4s and it lost compression in #3 cylinder in 93 hours of puttering around. Not a huge deal i thought, engine was covered under the "gimme 6" warranty. Well, after battling for 5 months im finally getting the boat back to sale next week. The motor was in the last 3 years of warranty which is covered by an outside company....not suziki...and they tried everything to screw me out of money. its been a battle. I think the issue was fuel related which happens but how they covered ( or lack thereof) really turned me off on suziki. Get a honda or yamaha.

[EagleRiverMike]

We have a 2003 Lowe Jamacian 20 footer with a 60 HP Yamaha High Thrust 4 stroke. The motor is designed specifically for pontoons. We are on our 9th season and have had no problems what so ever with the motor. Annual oil changes, plugs and lower unit gear liube is the only work we have ever done. The motor starts and runs as good as day one. We run about 100 hours a season on it. This boat/motor combo tops out at 17 mph which is plenty for what we use it for. The interior is starting to show a little wear, mainly from the dogs and a few nasty spills on the floor and seats. The boat is very well constructed and solid as a rock. Make sure what ever you buy has at a minimum, 25 inch diameter pontoons. Many of the older pontoons and cheaper brands use 23 inch pontoons. The smaller diameter pontoons can create a wet ride and an occasional submarine event which is no fun when heading out for dinner.

[Sixball]

Sweetwater, SanPan, Premier, Bennington... all good pontoons. However, they are like anything else. If you take care of them, they will take care of you and offer little to no headaches. Someone above mentioned getting a 4 stroke. I'd agree with this. I'm a fan of Honda 4 strokes, but I'm sure others will disagree and shout out for their favorites. Pontoons, in theory, should last a very long time, with a little care. We have a Sweetwater w/a Honda, and really like it. We don't beat on it, and it's lasted a long time, with a lot of life left in it. We use it to just put around the lake. If it his 3000 rpms, that's a lot.

J

I have a 1998 Crest and am not happy with the vinyl. I have seen others from the same time with bad vinyl. I have not heard any one complaining about the newer ones but........

We run a 70HP 4 stroke Evenrude my boat is a 22' and it runs top end about 22mph.

I love the 4 stroke for the lack of noise. Its nice for all to be able to talk with out raising your voice well putting up and down the lake.

[TheKiwi]

We have a 95 Lowe. Its great, older, but great.

Like everybody said check for rot on the deck and check the pontoons for any big hits. Small dents are ok as 90% of people beach them at some point.

We replaced a 250 evinrude with a 50hp, we never go over 12mph as its purely a cruise around in the sun/bbq type boat. I do not undersand pontoons with V8s and 350HP outboards, so stupid.

Edited June 23, 2011 by TheKiwi

[REW]

We have a 95 Lowe. Its great, older, but great.

Like everybody said check for rot on the deck and check the pontoons for any big hits. Small dents are ok as 90% of people beach them at some point.

We replaced a 250 evinrude with a 50hp, we never go over 12mph as its purely a cruise around in the sun/bbq type boat. I do not undersand pontoons with V8s and 350HP outboards, so stupid.

There is a guy on Mountain Island Lake with one that shounds like a built hot rod I heard it start at the sand bar and started looking for a drag boat or race boat. the only thing moving was a 'toon. Then he floored it and proved it. Now to be fair it sounded great!

[mibarefooter]

There is a guy on Mountain Island Lake with one that shounds like a built hot rod I heard it start at the sand bar and started looking for a drag boat or race boat. the only thing moving was a 'toon. Then he floored it and proved it. Now to be fair it sounded great!

We have a guy on our river with a 350 chevy small block with 350hp. It has the captian call exhaust. I however does hall @$$. The dealer where we purchased our toon. Had a 25' with a 300hp outboard and that was a 50+mph boat.

[Sixball]

We have one on Wixom lake with twin 225s. I think 225's I know 200+. The toon is a long on but dammer twin 225's

[cbmalibu98]

We have a Playcraft power toon with a 225 Honda. It has a plush interior and gets to where you are wanting to go.

CB

[reggie]

Thanks for all the info; ours will be used to take slow drives around the lake with family and friends. Any Malibu Crew have a used one for sale in the Northeast US or Canada.

Thanks Reggie

[MalibuNation]

We have a guy on our river with a 350 chevy small block with 350hp. It has the captian call exhaust. I however does hall @$$. The dealer where we purchased our toon. Had a 25' with a 300hp outboard and that was a 50+mph boat.

Is his name Jack A$$, sounds like someone I know up at Croton Hardy Dam.

[mibarefooter]

Is his name Jack A$$, sounds like someone I know up at Croton Hardy Dam.

No he is on the Ausable River in Oscoda.

[SkiHog]

Before I get heckled....when not skiing....who makes a good 20-24 ft pontoon boat and what should I know when buying a used pontoon boat. Any insight would be greatly appreciated....as i enter uncharted waters

Thanks

Reggie

Go Sanpan or go home! We have a 25ft. Love it.