Shopping for new pontoon for newbie

I am in the market for a new pontoon boat. I've looked at the suntrackers, lowes, Southbay and sweetwater.

I like the layout of the sweetwater and wondering if this is a good price since I do not know much about pontoon boats.

The dealer quoted me a 2012 2086 sweetwater with a Yamaha 90 4 stroke and trailer for 19995 or a 70 HP for 18995

The 19995 prices includes fish finder, live well and pop up curtains.

Also priced a 2012 18 foot model with 60 hp for 17500.00

We are gonna have 3 people and 2 dogs on it 90% of the time on Lake Conroe.

Are the prices pretty good or worth trying to haggle more?

Re: Shopping for new pontoon for newbie

Welcome to the forum, "Loudness". It's always worth haggling a little more, but in our neck of the woods, that's not a bad price. Most, but not all here would probably advise largest boat w/ largest motor you can afford. Sweetwater's a nice rig. Have the levels on Lake Conroe gotten better yet? Good luck !!!

Re: Shopping for new pontoon for newbie

Lake conroe is 3 feet below normal now since the city of houston stopped stealing the water

Re: Shopping for new pontoon for newbie

Last March I bought a 2011 Sweetwater 2080BF, 90 HP Yamaha Four Stroke, Trailer, Depth Finder, Curtins, Porta Potti for the wife, Mooring Cover, Live Well, Dual Batteries with switch & Coast Guard Safety Gear for 21k. Make sure your happy with the trailer. I split my time between brackish and fresh water so I had some specific requirements for the trailer. It turned out that was the deal breaker for me with many of the dealers. When I say deal breaker I'm referring to the final price. I have had boats for 20 plus years and the pontoon has by far been the best for the whole family and friends to enjoy. The only other advice I can say it to get the biggest motor the boat is rated for. I had a good friend telling me the same thing and I am glad I listened. You will not be sorry. To upgrade from the 60 to a 90 was only $1400, by far the best money I spent last year along with the dual battery setup. The dual battery setup was only $250 more and that was a great move as well.

Re: Shopping for new pontoon for newbie

Thanks for the info. I will keep the boat on a marina dry valet storage where the owner will put you and pull you out of the water.

There is another boat here for sale. 2011 Harris 20ft, 50HP with trailer for 19995. Seems like the other one is a better deal because of the 90hp.

Re: Shopping for new pontoon for newbie

loudness,
As a 24' tritoon owner who has boated on conroe for over 20 years I can tell you, you will want a bigger toon because lake conroe can be really rough and an 18-20 foot toon will be bobing like a cork on a breezy weekend like we are getting ready to have. This is especially true of the the lake that is south of the 1097 bridge that is 100% bulkheaded and the waves just bounce back and forth across the lake.

Boats are worse than cars as far as depreciation goes. There are lots of used toons to be had in this area, you just have to do a little searching. Here is an example of one in Spring listed this week on craigslist. http://houston.craigslist.org/boa/2878410464.html

Good luck in your search, you'll usually find me on the north end of the lake tied to the big stump with the T-Bar in it fishing for catfish. Pulled 14 out of there yesteray all 1,1/2 lbs to 4 lbs.