douglas685
Cadet
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2019
- Messages
- 6
Ok so I'm going to throw something out here which is going to sound odd but keep with me here for a second.
I'm looking to buy my first pontoon boat and trying to keep the cost down to around $25,000 all-in. I want something new. I know that right away, my options are very limited but that is the budget, and it has to be new. I want something with a warranty and I don't want constant breakdowns, repairs, and headaches from typical boat ownership of something that older than a few years old. Luckily, I'm in mid-Missouri and there's a boat-maker who fits the bill perfectly: Lowe boats.
Option A: I can option out their base 21' pontoon with a 115hp Mercury and a few options (including strakes and tamer) for around $25,000. On smooth water this would seem like a no brainer. The issue is that the body of water I'd like to use the pontoon/tritoon on is Lake of the Ozarks, jokingly referred to as Lake of the Ocean by locals due to the stupidly large waves on busy weekends created by it's narrow, snaking shape and 50' yachts belting around at 35mph. The waves on weekends usually get to 3-4 feet. I've seen 6-8 feet once before on the lake during a crazy busy 4th of July back in 2006.
Now obviously I'm not planning to take a pontoon out in 6-8ft waves, but 3-4 feet waves are typical most summer weekends. This makes me concerned that option A is basically a non-starter, as I'm afraid it'll just get too bashed anytime I take it out.This leads me to this:
Option B: A 19.5' Tritoon with strakes and wave tamer (all one kit when you add the third toon) with a 60hp for around $23,000. I can go to a 115hp, but it adds almost $6,000 and puts the boat out of price range. Plus, if I went to a 115, I'd also be tempted to spend another $2,000 to go to 21' and thus I'm really at $30,000+ for that, a bargain for what you get but just too expensive.
So my main question is this.. is it stupid to put such a small 60hp engine on 19' Tritoon? According to Mercury's website I should be able to hit 28mph (uhhhhh no..) but I've heard people can get 20mph+ out of such configurations and I'd like that stability. I've heard most tritoons can plane at about 15mph? Is that true? That seems too slow to me to plane, but my experience is more with deep-v's which don't plane until their low 20's usually. If a 60hp could get on a plane (with maybe a 4-blade prop?) I'd think 20mph+ would be possible. Also, regarding option A, how tough would 3-4' waves be on a regular dual-toon with a bigger motor instead? Thoughts?
TLDR: $25,000 base pontoon with 115hp vs $23,000 slightly-fancier tritoon with 60hp (command thrust) on pretty rough water, wanting to hit at least 20mph. Thanks guys!
I'm looking to buy my first pontoon boat and trying to keep the cost down to around $25,000 all-in. I want something new. I know that right away, my options are very limited but that is the budget, and it has to be new. I want something with a warranty and I don't want constant breakdowns, repairs, and headaches from typical boat ownership of something that older than a few years old. Luckily, I'm in mid-Missouri and there's a boat-maker who fits the bill perfectly: Lowe boats.
Option A: I can option out their base 21' pontoon with a 115hp Mercury and a few options (including strakes and tamer) for around $25,000. On smooth water this would seem like a no brainer. The issue is that the body of water I'd like to use the pontoon/tritoon on is Lake of the Ozarks, jokingly referred to as Lake of the Ocean by locals due to the stupidly large waves on busy weekends created by it's narrow, snaking shape and 50' yachts belting around at 35mph. The waves on weekends usually get to 3-4 feet. I've seen 6-8 feet once before on the lake during a crazy busy 4th of July back in 2006.
Now obviously I'm not planning to take a pontoon out in 6-8ft waves, but 3-4 feet waves are typical most summer weekends. This makes me concerned that option A is basically a non-starter, as I'm afraid it'll just get too bashed anytime I take it out.This leads me to this:
Option B: A 19.5' Tritoon with strakes and wave tamer (all one kit when you add the third toon) with a 60hp for around $23,000. I can go to a 115hp, but it adds almost $6,000 and puts the boat out of price range. Plus, if I went to a 115, I'd also be tempted to spend another $2,000 to go to 21' and thus I'm really at $30,000+ for that, a bargain for what you get but just too expensive.
So my main question is this.. is it stupid to put such a small 60hp engine on 19' Tritoon? According to Mercury's website I should be able to hit 28mph (uhhhhh no..) but I've heard people can get 20mph+ out of such configurations and I'd like that stability. I've heard most tritoons can plane at about 15mph? Is that true? That seems too slow to me to plane, but my experience is more with deep-v's which don't plane until their low 20's usually. If a 60hp could get on a plane (with maybe a 4-blade prop?) I'd think 20mph+ would be possible. Also, regarding option A, how tough would 3-4' waves be on a regular dual-toon with a bigger motor instead? Thoughts?
TLDR: $25,000 base pontoon with 115hp vs $23,000 slightly-fancier tritoon with 60hp (command thrust) on pretty rough water, wanting to hit at least 20mph. Thanks guys!
