Hello,
I purchased a 30' JAND Pontoon boat last year for about $800, no canopy, just a few bench seats and pedistal seats. The pontoons are good, the base of the boat is good and it's pretty straightforward. It's from the 70's but the biggest thing is that the pontoons are in good shape. It's always been a little hobby of mine to replace the seats here and there, fix up the carpet and eventually get a decent motor. It currently came with a 1970's Chrysler 45HP motor. The motor is shaky.... I don't feel 100% comfortable taking it out on a bigger lake in fear she's going to die on me and I won't be able to get it started. I don't have $1,500-$2,000 to spend on a new motor let alone a new one and really don't want to mess around with something used since who knows what shape it is in. I've been strongly looking into some form of an electric motor. I only use the boat for cocktail cruising on the lake, not looking for much speed really, since it's a 1970's pontoon to begin with. However, I want something that will last for a good afternoon of semi-continual use in which I could either use as a backup or just use over my Chrysler. Could I run a fairly decent trolling motor on it? If so, I'd really like to go that route if possible. Any suggestions for a trolling motor that would do the job? How much would I be looking at for the cost? If possible I'd like to maybe also get a backup battery so that I know if/when the first one goes, I have the ability to get back in time so I'm not stranded.
Any thoughts, suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Mike
I purchased a 30' JAND Pontoon boat last year for about $800, no canopy, just a few bench seats and pedistal seats. The pontoons are good, the base of the boat is good and it's pretty straightforward. It's from the 70's but the biggest thing is that the pontoons are in good shape. It's always been a little hobby of mine to replace the seats here and there, fix up the carpet and eventually get a decent motor. It currently came with a 1970's Chrysler 45HP motor. The motor is shaky.... I don't feel 100% comfortable taking it out on a bigger lake in fear she's going to die on me and I won't be able to get it started. I don't have $1,500-$2,000 to spend on a new motor let alone a new one and really don't want to mess around with something used since who knows what shape it is in. I've been strongly looking into some form of an electric motor. I only use the boat for cocktail cruising on the lake, not looking for much speed really, since it's a 1970's pontoon to begin with. However, I want something that will last for a good afternoon of semi-continual use in which I could either use as a backup or just use over my Chrysler. Could I run a fairly decent trolling motor on it? If so, I'd really like to go that route if possible. Any suggestions for a trolling motor that would do the job? How much would I be looking at for the cost? If possible I'd like to maybe also get a backup battery so that I know if/when the first one goes, I have the ability to get back in time so I'm not stranded.
Any thoughts, suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Mike