Re: Any Pontoon owners here?
Congratulations on your "new" pontoon.Pontoons have their draw backs
Generally speed challenged.Somewhat limited in very rough conditions.
You need to be careful with large passenger loads.
They do have their up side.Lots of room unlimited possibilities for setup.
make a floating patio,an over nighter,great fishing platform.
I did a little research On gas use with a pontoon.If driven within there best design speed they will actually out perform a much smaller lighter planing boat.A 2,455lb. 50 hp 23 ft pontoon gets 8mpg @ 2000 rpm,6.8 at 2,500,5.6 @3,000 and 6.5@3,500 with a max speed of 9.7 mph.A 20ft 50 hp pontoon gets 12.7 mpg at 2,000,9.3@2,500,6.7@3,000 and 6.2@ 3,500.max speed 12.
A 50hp 16 ft. Carolina Skiff gets 9.4mpg @ 2,000,5.1@2,500,4.2@3,000 and 6.6 @3,500.max speed 15.2
Of course once it planes mpg and speed shoots up compoared to a toon.Some will say the toon is just plain too slow but if you are in a hurry you probably don't want a toon
unless you have deep pockets needed to push one at planing hull speeds.