First time buyer - Need advice on used boats

[Toto7SC]

I guess a pontoon boat is starting to sound better. I definitely like the idea of leaving it in the water for most of the year as long as it is not bad for the boat. Buying a cover for it would probably one of the first things I would do to keep everything in good shape. I wonder if it would be a good idea to take it out of the water between December and March to keep it protected from cold weather. Opinions? As Marinescout said rough water will not be an issue for us on our lakes.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

There are various configurations of bow riders out there to consider. Deck boats, I/Os, outboards, etc. My Chap is an I/O so there is lots of room off the back as you don't have an outboard motor sitting in the middle. I wanted a boat with a large sundeck area. There is a lot of room for playing off the back of this boat. The sundeck also creates an awesome amount of storage on either side of the motor for towables, towels, anchor, etc. It has a built in cooler in the bench seat so you don't have that laying on the deck. Bow riders have pretty decent storage in the front, and sides. Wakeboard storage is a challenge as most ski lockers won't fit them. I can seat 7 people VERY comfortably on my boat. A dog does take up more room. The admiral swore up and down we will never bring our Aussies with us on the boat again. Something about a wet stinky dog shaking water and rubbing up against her legs that just doesn't sit well.....

Honestly I couldn't imagine trading my boat for a pontoon. For my family's needs, a BR is perfect. You just need to decide how you intend to use the boat the most and if it will check enough boxes. Oh, and my 20' BR fits in my garage......try that with a toon! Good luck!

 

[southkogs]

I just took a spin through Greeneville's CL pages - people are proud of their boats in SC. There was a decent lookin' Four Winns, but it had an OMC driveline. You may consider taking a look in the Atlanta or Knoxville markets (something like that) and see if it's worth driving in for.

I like a bow rider for cruising as compared to a pontoon. BUT, ya' can't beat a 'toon for stacking folks on to - they are the best barge per square foot option out there. I wouldn't be afraid of a Bayliner made after say about 2000. They upped their quality over previous eras and aren't too bad a boat. I don't mean to push you to one, but rather to suggest in your price range and being that you're into used boats - condition almost always trumps brand. I've got an '02 19' Bayliner - I stack a family of five and 3 dogs on it rather regularly. We're not cramped, but we are cozy. If we added a big cooler (longer days out) then it'd be a little tight but not horrible. I am running a 3.0, and yeah - it could be beefier, but it's not horrible. It planes out just fine.

If you could rent a 19' bowlder for a couple hours and stack the whole family and the herd with 'em - that might get you a peek at what you're up against. Maybe even do the same with a 'toon somewhere.

And have fun lookin' - it's probably one of the more enjoyable portions of the boat owning experience

 

[shrew]

If you're just day boating, are you really going to bring 3 dogs with you? 3 dogs on any day boat is going to get crowded fast. I wouldn't be buying a boat for the dogs. You've admitted that the 16 and 17 yr old aren't always around. They are going to be around less and less in the future. Ask yourself honestly how much you think the 'adult' teens and their friends are going to hang around (or want to hang around), especially as time goes on (especially after the first trip with 5 other family members and 3 dogs).

 

[Marinescout]

Let's be honest I was using mine at Christmas as it was 72 degrees here in sc lol although we have had a few days of cold weather but nothing like most people have. A lot of my friends take there boat out after Labor Day and bring it back in around march to have it cleaned and tuned up. I personally leave mine on the water year round. The reason is I use it a lot even in the winter especially on the mild days we have here and I don't want to pay for my slip and the boat be out of the water. My marina will not suspend the payment just because it's out unless they are doing work to it for you. If you don't want to pay year round then you may loose you spot. The water will not hurt a pontoon just need to be sure to clean it a few times a year. Pressure wash the toons and lower foot. Check for listing to make sure your not ever leaking water in and secure the top in the closed position so it will not hold rain or get damaged if a storm kicks up. To me being able to drive the car that gets a lot better mpg and not having to tow and being able to have friends just meet me at the dock is worth it. Our docks are gated with a key and security cameras and we have a key so we can access our boat 24-7. I've never had anything stolen and I leave my lowrance and most fishing gear on mine. The cold weather has never hurt mine. A lot of people who live at the lake leave there's in the water year round and have for years. When I lived at the lake my neighbor had a 1978 Jc pontoon with I believe it was a 50 Johnson on it and he bought it new and had been in the lake since then never taken out except for cleaning Andy right back in. Must have been in water over 30 years and never had problems. I seen it in storms rains floods snow storms ice hail and never did it ever permanently mess anything up

 

[jkust]

I have a house on a large lake and spend most of the summer up there with my kids and wife. We live, eat, breath and sleep boating each summer. Over the years, pontoons have taken over the waters (along with $100,000+ tow sports boats) there but almost nobody trailers pontoons, they are all also on the lake permanently. People have realized that they can get rid of their bowrider and fishing boat and combine into a single pontoon and one boat lift on their shore. The trouble is that even with a 115hp engine, they are a slow boat to china. The engine size dictates so much of the cost on these things. The other issue is that there is no wind break on them so on a larger lake, you are subject to the wind all day and can't duck behind a windshield except on the over 100k models that can have a dual console setup. I can't count the number of times that I was happy we were on our bowrider with a windshield and bow door to close the wind off as it tends to be windy more days than not. We've kicked around the idea of buying one to add to the fleet but the bare minimum price for one that will get us around the lake in a sane amount of time that is only a couple of years old becomes very expensive due to the crazy high demand (plus the additional lift which is another 15k).

I'll also mention that my previous boat was a 19 Foot, 2003 Chaparral with the sport seating option that we had for eight years. As the boys got older, it became more and more crowded with just the four of us. The leisurely fun time that you are supposed to be having becomes less leisurely and less fun when things get crowded. As for that old chap that you linked to, it looked pretty beat up with some bad looking sun damage. Don't get tricked by the Chap name...the 90's models have little resemblance to the 2000's versions where it counts. Some good threads on here (at least one) that gives you an up close look at their poor construction (by the 2000's standards) which was state of the art at the time. Point is a Chap is no better than any other brand from that generation especially this many years and likely owners along.

 

[redneck joe]

Rent a 19 footer for a day, load up everyone including the dogs and spend the day on the water.


if you always plan to dump folks and dog on an island, it will work. All day on the boat dont think you will enjoy yourself, and when you do beach to let the dogs do what dogs need to do every few hours, you will feel liberated for that short amount of time.


really all depends on your useage.


what do you plan on towing with?

 

[Toto7SC]

Hi,

Regarding the usage: We would pretty much always look for an island or cove to beach all day when everybody is with us. We'd basically get in the boat at the dock and find a nice spot to spend the day. From there I would take whoever wants to tube/ski for a spin. This way it doesn't get crowded, the dogs can run around all day and everyone is happy. I would not spend a whole day on the boat with everyone in it. We would however explore the lake and find new spots. I would think that we would not spend more than 2 hours on the boat at a time if we have a full boat. It would be different when it's just me, my wife, our 5 year old and the three dogs (of which two are pretty small). I wouldn't mind floating around for a while then.

Regarding the towing: I haven't decided yet. We would trade in our minivan and get a full size SUV (Expedition, Tahoe, Yukon) if we decided to tow every time we go to the lake. The other option is to possibly rent a wet slip if we go for a pontoon (but that might be too pricey).

 

[JASinIL2006]

We use our 19' two different ways: we take day trips on local rivers (Miss. and Illinois) and we have the boat at our lake cabin in Ontario, where we mostly take folks tubing/skiiing.

Our day trips on the river often involve beaching, cooking out, and tubing/skiing trips. It is easy to underestimate the amount of stuff you will likely bring with you when beaching for the day: cooler(s), maybe a grill, towels, chairs (maybe), skis or a tube, tow ropes, etc. That stuff, along with the full human and canine crew you describe, will feel REALLY tight in a 19' boat for an hour or two. You will be able to do, and once you beach and unload, that size boat would be great from hauling people around or making short excursions. But when you have all your gear and crew aboard, there won't be much room to move.

My friends with 'toon generally don't love them for their ability to pull skiers or tubers, especially after experiencing that on a runabout. They are ideal, though, for hauling lots of folks and offering a big comfortable platform for hanging out.

 

[Marinescout]

My wet slip is 100.00 a month on lake wateree. They won't wet slip a bow rider but they will dry store it and put it in the water for you if you call them prior to getting to the lake. It too is the same 100.00 a month. Some say your crazy for paying that a month but by the time I tow my boat 40 miles round trip at 12 mpg that's close to 4 gallons a trip at 4 or so trips a week that's 16-20 trips a month x 12 months it's well over the 1200 a year I would spend towing. Not to mention chances of a flat wear on truck and loading unloading time and securing everything every time. Not to mention you said you have a minivan I'm sure you won't get Any SUV that can reasonably pull anything that's going to get any kind of mpg. My wife's expedition gets about 16 on a good day and it's only three years old. My f150 has never seen 16 mpg even being towed lol. Plus insurance will be higher and taxes. Just a lot of those things to lay out on the table. The average person probly won't use there boat as much as I do mine but it's still worth it to me in the end to have it docked. I use to dry dock mine but it was hard to get them to unload it at 430 in the morning so I could go out fishing so I just wet slip it about four years or so ago and I love it

 

[jkust]

Pontoons are not the greatest trailer boats....as I gently eluded to earlier. We trailered our previous boat for eight or so years before we settled down on a lake and bought a house and stopped the trailering which I grew to despise. Trailering forces you to load the boat up with stuff for any sort of thing you might need from tools to first aid supplies to lots of food, drinks, tubes, skis, wake boards, multiple types of PWC's etc. It makes a 19 footer seem less hospitable when you are stuck out on it all day even if you are moored up to an island or sandbar.
My overall point I suppose is that we've been there and done that with a family half the size and is one reason we jumped up to 24 feet even though we now don't need to carry much at all on the boat and still only have four in the family and no pets. We did everything you are describing to a T. As for the pontoons, there are multiple 600hp and 300hp very high end models (which are tritoons) on our lake and plenty of 40k - 50k entry level models as well. Most of the old fashioned ones have disappeared. Even the higher power ones make a poor wake for tow sports and are a novelty to board or ski behind. You will notice as I'm sure you have already even in this thread alone, someone can say the sky is blue and someone else will insist it is red because everyone has a different paradigm of what is acceptable or desirable.

 

[Alumarine]

They won't wet slip a bow rider but they will dry store it and put it in the water for you if you call them prior to getting to the lake.

Just curious, what is it about bow riders that they won't wet slip them?

 

[Toto7SC]

My wet slip is 100.00 a month on lake wateree.

That is a very good price. On the lakes we'd go to it ranges from about $1.500 per year all the way up to $3.500 per year.

There is also a regular boat storage facility near the lake that offers concierge service. They check the boat, put it in before you arrive, and take it out when you leave for $35. Sounds good but then we'd be less flexible since you depend on them having time, being open, etc.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

I have seen new Pontoons with 200 to 300 Horse outboard on them now, Not in the $8000.00 range though. I have a pal that has a nice toon and all he has is a 15 horse kicker on it. They load the boat with everything and go for their tour on the local bay every weekend and have a blast. They fish off it while Qing and doing everything that goes with a BBQ, legal or not. He uses a tractor to put it in every weekend as he lives across the beach. I don't know anyone that trailers a toon. That would be a huge pain. I have to add he has never covered it from the day he bought it 10 years ago, including the winter. I cringe when I see it under 10 feet of snow in the winter. He has had zero issues with not covering it. I don't know why not but other than looking like he never covers it no electrical or mechanical issues whatsoever.

A pontoon has takes no more or less maintenance than any other outboard may.

Like I said before I can't see anyone being able to feel comfortable with that crew of yours and 3 dogs on anything 19 feet short. And your teens will be very happy to use your whatever you choose boat in the future, as long as Mom and Dad aren't there too.

When buying a used boat or vehicle that looks to be mint I look at things like the gas, brake pedal, shifter and steering wheel, if it's worn it has more miles on it than the rest shows. Check for wear on the throttle controls and steering wheel for wear.

 

[Marinescout]

Something about the fiberglass boats getting damaged or forget to put bilge on auto and five rain storms and your sunk lol

 

[sktn77a]

Just curious, what is it about bow riders that they won't wet slip them?

Any fiberglass boat will eventually blister the gelcoat if left in the water permanently. They also tend to get grime at the waterline that is a b-tch to get off. Having said that, the 2000 Stingray looks real nice compared to the other two.

 

[Toto7SC]

Hi,

I ran the numbers for different scenarios and decided that it would probably be the best for us to buy a pontoon boat for now and rent a dry storage place near the three lakes that we would go to. The dry storage place would be between 0.5 and 25 miles away from all three lakes. Most of the times we'd go to the lake that is only 0.5 miles away from the boat storage. I like that idea because we will be a lot more flexible when it comes to exploring different lakes. We wouldn't be able to do that if we rented a wet slip at one of the lakes. The only wet slip that we could probably afford would be on the lake we like the least. I like having a dry storag place near the lake so I don't have to tow it 60 miles from our home to the lake.

The reason we think a pontoon would be nice for us is the amount of people (and dogs) that would go to the lake with us. Once the older kids are out of the house we can still trade the pontoon for a bowrider if we want. I also feel like dealing with an outboard motor vs. in I/O motor might be easier for us as beginners. I saw a 24ft pontoon with a 115 HP Johnson for $8.600 the other day. I think that is something we would consider. Would you think a 115HP will be plenty for us (cruising, tubing, maybe some skiing when the boat is almost empty)?

We would have to trade our minivan for an SUV to be able to tow the boat. We are looking for SUVs with a V8 (Expedition, Tahoe, Yukon).

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Old Ironmaker]

We never tube or ski so I can't help you with that question. I think you need to get the boat up to 28 MPH to get a skier up. You can pull a tube at any speed I imagine.

I think you are making the right call on the pontoon considering the crew you intend on having onboard. I don't think I would enjoy launching and retrieving a pontoon every time. Time will tell you if it's worth hauling her in and out of the water every weekend and towing back and forth. If you don't enjoy the boat then sell it and buy what you will be happy with.

Definitely you will need an upgrade to tow. Find out the weight of the boat, motor and trailer plus all the stuff and then find the tow vehicle to ensure it will tow that weight. It's not as much the towing power of a truck as much as the stopping power with all that metal behind you.

 

[southkogs]

'Toons are typically more bulky than heavy ... but (as one of our former members used to call them) "sofa boats" can get heavy when they're rigged out with lotsa' "sofas" I would think on a 24' with a 115HP would pull a tube, but probably not make the most exciting ride (as a guess).

Other than that - your plan sounds good.

Can you water test the boat?

 

[Marinescout]

I have A 20 foot with a 75 and we tow a tube with my entire family in board boat we can get about 16 mph and that seems plenty fast for them. You should get over 20 plus with the 115 my friend gets about 26 with his 24 ft and 115. They tube behind his with us no problems. When I pulled mine or pull it now I use my f150 or my wife's expedition 5.4 v8 and it has no problems. Like they said above its more bulky than heavy. If you have a drive on trailer you will get the hang of loading it pretty fast. I would consider the price of an SUV and if you want to get rid of the minivan. The SUV will not get as good as gas mileage and insurance will most likely be increased. I would consider all that before ruling out a slip. I know the dry storage place here will get your boat out and in the water waiting on you if you call them ahead of time but they are on/ near the water. Does that price include a trailer?