Need some recommendations on pontoon boats

Hello everybody,<br /><br />I'm a newbie here so please be gentle <br /><br />I'm in the Minneapolis area and I am thinking about getting a pontoon boat. I know next to nothing about them so I'm looking for just some general advice.<br /><br />It will likely spend 50% of the season floating and 50% trailered at my home. I'll do a bit of fishing from it but will probably mostly just be a party barge.<br /><br />I don't harbor any ideas of water skiing but pulling a tube on occasion would be fun.<br /><br />I prefer to have a mostly open deck and have the folks sit in lawn chairs.<br /><br />Like everyone, cost is a big factor. I would like to keep it under $8,000 and a used boat and motor would be just fine.<br /><br />So with all that said, are there any brands to avoid, or brands to seek out? Features to have for certain? Things or dealers to avoid? I'm just looking for general information because I'm a real novice.<br /><br />Thanks,

Re: Need some recommendations on pontoon boats

Personal preference for me would be all aluminum construction. You ought to look at the classifieds. Lot of Minn. boats in there. Been thinkin about a 'toon myself here lately

Re: Need some recommendations on pontoon boats

Pontoons are great vessels for family fun. They can be tough to fish from on a windy day but other than that they are good all around fun. 40 - 75 HP will be sufficient power for everything except water skiing. 20 - 24 foot lengths are probably the most popular sizes. If you are buying used, very carefully check the pontoons for dents especially in welded areas as cracked welds will leak. A pontoon with water in it is not very bouyant. If the deck is plywood, check it from the bottom to make sure it not rotten anywhere. Otherwise, checking that railings are secure, seat pedestals are secure, any upholstered furniture is clean and not torn. Carpet should be in good shape although that can be a bargaining chip. Its a big flat surface, easy to recarpet. If it has an engine, make sure you get to test it on the water.

Re: Need some recommendations on pontoon boats

Get the biggest diameter tubes you can.. Also what kind of tow vehicle are we talking about. Pontoons tow like a boat twice their weight as they act like big sails.

Re: Need some recommendations on pontoon boats

Thanks for the good advice everybody! Some things to mull over.<br /><br />When I was a lad, I was on a pontoon boat one time and it seemed like it was continually trying to submarine. The whole front end would start to dive until the driver throttled the motor back and all of the human cargo moved aft. Do modern pontoon boats still like to dive or has this been largely designed out?

Re: Need some recommendations on pontoon boats

My uncle has a mid 70's 28' Harris Flote Bote with same age 'rude 70. The boat has given him great service and he finally redid the deck a couple of years ago. That can haul a ton of people. We even skied behind it a bunch. Skiing behind a pontoon is weird because there is almost no wake since the two 'toons almost cancel each other out. <br /><br />Used a buds 20 footer with Johnson 50 a few years back for a week. That was fun and versatile. He ended up selling it for $3800 which I thought was a great deal as the interior was nearly perfect. <br /><br />Check eBay and all the online boat traders to get an idea of prices. I think if you shop carefully you should be able to do quite well for your $8000. The newer ones hold their value pretty good tho' and can be quite expensive.<br /><br />Jeff

Re: Need some recommendations on pontoon boats

I recomend a bunk trailer. Love my toon!

Re: Need some recommendations on pontoon boats

I agree about the trailer. I have a 1982 24 footer that has the straddle type trailer (no bunks). It is a breeze to load the boat on the trailer, but the ponttons sit too close to the ground. Driving throuth dips and turning corners is a pain. I've broken the depth finder transducer off the back and dented the pontoon twice. I'm pretty sure though for that kind of money, you should be able to get a newer boat and I don't think they put them on these kinds of trailers anymore.

Re: Need some recommendations on pontoon boats

I guess I know even less than I thought, what's a bunk trailer?

Re: Need some recommendations on pontoon boats

Look for boats with composite or pressure treated plywood floors. Look for furniture bases that are molded plastic, not wood. Wood gets wet and the bases are used for storage. Plastic drains and stays dry better. For easy access to the motor and for tubing/swimming look for an aft boarding area...off the stern, not the side. For the ladies...some boats (my 20' MonArk toon has it)have a seat top that raises up high enough to stand under and holds a portipotti. It has curtains for privacy. Decks with rounded corners are easier to dock with...they slide around pilings instead of catching them. My 20' toon has a 50hp 4 stroke and it goes 19.5 mph per the gps with a couple of adults aboard. Pontoon boats have a lot of wind resistance when towing. I can tow a standard 20'x 4000lb "pointy bow" boat easier than my 20'x 2800lb toon tows at hi-way speeds.

Re: Need some recommendations on pontoon boats

BillP,<br /><br />Excellent info; exactly the kind of advice I'm looking for!<br /><br />I poked around in the net a bit and have figured out that the "bunks" are the carpeted pads that some trailers have as opposed to "rollers" that are found on other trailers. Years ago I had a 16ft Lund with a trailer that had rollers so I'm familiar with trailers for regular v-hull type boats but still fuzzy about pontoon trailers.<br /><br />It seems to me like all of the pontoon trailers that I have noticed seem contact (support) the boat under the deck between the pontoons. Is there another kind? Perhaps one that supports the tubes themselves? If so is this what the previous posters are recommending?

Re: Need some recommendations on pontoon boats

Bunks are simply two boards on each side of both tubes that support the pontoon on the trailer. However the advantage really has little to do with the bunks themselves but the wider wheel base of that trailer design allowing for a much more stabil trailer on the roadways as well as clerance from the ground on dips and turns. Bunks have a downside though, they do require a deeper ramp, I seldom find the depth requirment to be a hinderance but I have backed down a ramp ONLY TO FIND THERE WAS NOT SUFFICIANT WATERT TO FLOAT MY BOAT OFF THE BUNKS. Whereas a traditional pontoon Scisir trailor ya can set the boat off in the parking lot if you so desire.<br /><br />I cannot explain it better at the moment but if ya look at pontoon trailers you will notice two distinct kinds...In a scisor trailer the boat is supported on the underside of the deck while on a bunk trailer the toons are what setr on the trailer.

Re: Need some recommendations on pontoon boats

Bunk trailer...