Deck Boat

[joebks]

Love my pontoon, but the older my kids get (10, 14) the need for speed and performance comes up. Looking at deck boats, but difficult to tell if they all have the tri hull.

Only a boat owner for three season, but have had more than one friend say tri hulls are a rough ride?

I have never tested one so I really am just going from what other people I know have told me, funny thing is none of them are actually deck boat owners.

I would love to hear from some deck boat owners on the ride and performance. Plus any ideas on a good entry level brand.

Thanks in advance.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: Deck Boat

It depends on the deck boat. Some are basically a tri-hull, some are a modified V, some are pretty much a taditional V.

What brand/models are you looking at?

Have you considered a tri-toon? You can get plenty of speed and performance out of the current crop of toons.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Deck Boat

Most modern deck boats aren't a true tri-hull. The tri-hulls you are referring to have the side hulls extend almost as far down as the center and were rough riding when the water got choppy. The modified V looks similar to a tri-hull, but it doesn't retain the harsh riding so much. I wouldn't buy a pontoon if you paid me. Deck boats are the way to go if you want an open layout with runabout style/performance.

 

[Campylobacter]

Re: Deck Boat

I have a Hurricane, they have what they call a "Cat 5" hull which is very trihull-like. Its great until the chop gets to about 1', then it'll rattle your fillings. I don't mind, because I am never more than a couple miles from the dock and you can't swim/ski/board/tube (our favorite activities) in heavy chop anyway.

I very much do like and recommend the deck style boats BTW.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Deck Boat

go to a high powered tri-toon. i have a 140 evinrude on my 20 ft pontoon.

 

[JimMH]

Re: Deck Boat

My brother has a Hurricane and it is a great boat. Rides very good and takes waves extremely well. I just perfer the way a deck boat handles compared to a Pontoon. I have a friend with a 23ft pontoon with a 175 Johnson and it will pull a skier/wakeboarder, but the wake is not as good for boarding as the Deck boats. I have driven my brothers Hurricane and the Pontoon, which is a tritoon, I prefer the handling of the Deck boat to the tritoon. Just my preference.

 

[perrosuperior]

Re: Deck Boat

My father has a Larson escape 23' deck boat, and it seems very much like a V. It may be modified, but I don't think so. It handles rougher water like a champ, and has the power and agility for the other water sports as well. It's out of my budget, but I'd love to go with that over a bow rider.

 

[JimMH]

Re: Deck Boat

I wasn't trying to steer you to any one brand. I have a larson and I really like it. I have a friend with an escape 204 with a 5.0 Volvo 220hp and it runs and rides like a champ. I haven't driven it only riden on it and it did fine. Pulled the kids tubing and wakeboarding with no problems and pulle me up on a slalom with no problem. My brothers boat is 23ft with a 320HP Volvo Penta. It will haul tail and has plenty of pulling power.

 

[livin4real]

Re: Deck Boat

because I am never more than a couple miles from the dock and you can't swim/ski/board/tube (our favorite activities) in heavy chop anyway.

I very much do like and recommend the deck style boats BTW.

We do it every weekend in the summer in heavy chop. Our local lake, Lake Monroe in Indiana is 10,000 acres of windy lake, always choppy but you learn to deal with it. We ski, kneeboard, wakeboard, tube on it. I think my kids would be bored on a smooth lake now lol.

As far as deck boats, I'm bias lol. Our Chaparral has what they call an "extended V-plane" , rides great and handles great and has plenty of room and a sink and potti to boot.

 

[golf101]

Re: Deck Boat

The deck boat category is a broad category with nearly every manufacturer making one. I would look for a boat with at least 19 degrees deadrise (and preferrably 20 or 21). I had a Four Winns 224 that I loved, but at 17 degrees, it got a little bouncy in rough water (not bad, but not as smooth as I would have liked). Crownline, Regal, Chaparral and others make great deck boats that will cut through chop well and give you plenty of performance for any water sports you want to do. I'd recommend that you try a number of boats with different hull configurations and see what you like. If you're looking 23' or bigger, I'd also recommend at least a 5.7L and duoprop.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: Deck Boat

A lot of boats currently on the market are really blurring the line between what has been considered a deck boat and a traditional bow rider.

Chaparral Sunesta line as well as their WideTech bowriders.
Four Winns SL222, SL242, SL262
Regal FasDeck line

The historical reference to a deck boat goes back to some pretty rudimentary designs that were anything but smooth riding in a chop.

Hurricane, Harris Kayot and a few others are really the granddads in the segment. The boats have come a long way from some of the first on the market.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Deck Boat

The historical reference to a deck boat goes back to some pretty rudimentary designs that were anything but smooth riding in a chop.

Yeah, there are many deck boats from the late 70's/ early 80's I remember that had the u-hull. Ouch, talk about jarring some fillings loose!

 

[joebks]

Re: Deck Boat

Excellent information. It appears that one more season of the pontoon is insight then deck boat next season.

 

[jokaj]

Re: Deck Boat

I have a Tahoe 228 (22'5") deckboat and I love it. It has lots of space plus a changing/portapotti area. I agree with golf, try to get one with a dead rise of 19-21. mine is 20 and handles chop with ease. I would also recomment an engine larger than a 5.0 if you can. I tend to entertain and with a "full" load, it gets tough......

 

[Bowser4x4]

Re: Deck Boat

We were in the same boat {sorry...overused, but just seemed to type it self} and went with a Sea Ray 200 Sundeck. Not a true deckboat-sort of a hybrid, but with the 20 degrees of rise, it handles choppy water just fine. Does not have the people capacity of a true deckboat, but gives more room and is wider than any of the 21' runabouts that I have seen. Add to that a portapoty {too small for me to use, but good for the wife and kids} and it has been the perfect boat for us. Ours has the 5.0 Merc MPI which gives it plenty of both low end grunt for pulling and about a 50mph top end.

In the end, it is what I call a comfortable boat.

Woof
Bowser