Appreciate Thougts & Advice on buying a tritoon

[NCBoaterontillery]

All,

I have been riding in a 2005, 25' Grand Tahoe Pontoon with 115HP Mercury for the last 4 years. I have a cottage on a small lake (18 Miles long) in NC with a covered slip and lift. Use 60% of the time to pull some 18-25 yr old tubers (with 4-6 people on board) and 40% of the time cruising (usually with 6 or more people). It's time to step up to a Tritoon. Looking for some thoughts, opinions and advice from more experienced folks. My likely configuration will be 24-25' (25' is longest the slip will handle) Tritoon with 150, 175 or 200HP. Appreciate your thoughts on:

Manufacturer - Seems to be a significant price difference between manufacturers like Bennington, Manitou and Tahoe vs manufacturers like Southbay, Suntracker and SanPan. If I get the high end of each is there really that much difference in quality ?

Buying Used - I would be very interested in buying Used and check on BoatTrader and other sites regularly. Usually search within 250 Miles of central NC - there are a few, but not many Tri's out there - any suggestions for other sites or approaches to finding used Tri's ?

Any thoughts on HP ? - I like the 200HP(Can always slow down) but hear the operating costs will be significantly higher with the 200.

Anything else I should consider ?

Thanks for your thoughts and opinions !!!!

Jim

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Appreciate Thougts & Advice on buying a tritoon

Welcome to the forum Jim. You're kind of dancing around a can of worms here regarding the quality/brand issue. So, I'll just say I truly believe there are no poorly built barges these days. There certainly are "Mercedes & Chevrolets" out there, and to some degree, you get what you pay for. Personally, we've owned Starcrafts, Bentleys, and the SouthBay, and all were great barges. Lots of Suntrackers in our area, plenty of friends have them and all are holding up well. Because 8-12 people w/gear is common on our boats, we've opted for the larger V6 motors, but they are not necessary. With a boat that size, if you feel the need to run over 40 mph, you'll need the bigger power. You're going to pay slightly higher operating costs but that's boating. If the comparison was between V4 & V6, thats another story. You may need to expand your search for used rigs to 500-600 miles. Hope this helps. Good Luck !!!

 

[Blank-N-Ship]

Re: Appreciate Thougts & Advice on buying a tritoon

Manufacturer - Seems to be a significant price difference between manufacturers like...

Since I work at a factory-direct pontoon manufacturer of course my answer is going to be that your best bet is to cut out the middleman. :laugh:

...any suggestions for other sites or approaches to finding used Tri's ?

Seems like a tri-toon is the last boat anyone owns. They realize they should have had one before and they hold onto it so I'm not seeing *any* tri-toons here as trade-ins.

Any thoughts on HP ? - I like the 200HP(Can always slow down) but hear the operating costs will be significantly higher with the 200.

See the recommendations on the link provided below when you get to the engine selection.

Anything else I should consider ?

Don't forget that the extra weight should necessitate getting a tandem trailer and in many situations, one with surge brakes. The tri-toon can sometimes be equipped for extra storage space so look into that option. Lastly, lift strakes will get the boat on a plane faster for those times when you're towing a ski tube.

Use 60% of the time to pull some 18-25 yr old tubers (with 4-6 people on board) and 40% of the time cruising (usually with 6 or more people). Looking for some thoughts, opinions and advice from more experienced folks. My likely configuration will be 24-25' (25' is longest the slip will handle) Tritoon with 150, 175 or 200HP.

EDIT: Selling

 

[NCBoaterontillery]

Re: Appreciate Thougts & Advice on buying a tritoon

Rooster and Blank-N-Ship,

Thanks for taking the time to reply - All good points. There are boat shows in Charlotte and Greensboro in the next 30 days or so - plan on visiting them to see what I can find. Will let you know what I end up getting.

Thanks

Jim

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: Appreciate Thougts & Advice on buying a tritoon

Have you considered a deckboat?

 

[NCBoaterontillery]

Re: Appreciate Thougts & Advice on buying a tritoon

I have thought about a deck boat and a friend has one - think I am hooked on Pontoons

 

[tudunka]

Re: Appreciate Thougts & Advice on buying a tritoon

I have to agree with all that has been said.

I have owned 3 pontoons - i'm hooked as well, don't mind being called "Old Man Boat" - its all paid for, so what !

The 1st 2 toons were with the standard stock Two Toon setup, 18' then a 22' and now my last toon is a 25' Tri-toon with lifting strakes and an awesome suzuki 175hp 4S hanging off the back. Let me tell you, I love waving at these young farts who can't believe their eyes when I pass their little fancy boats up.....LMAO.....

In all seriousness, a tri-toon with the lifting strakes is a great thing to have. If powered correctly with the right prop - you pop out of the water in a few seconds and only the last half of the toons are in the water..... and, AND, AND...... you can never have tooooooo much power ! Get the biggest, baddess motor you can afford for your boat..... I'm telling ya..... you will thank me later. As someone wrote somewhere..... "I never heard of someones saying.... I need to get a SMALLER Outboard"

Best of luck

Andy

 

[a1nowell]

Re: Appreciate Thougts & Advice on buying a tritoon

Go to www.jcponton.com the inventors of pontoons and tritoons and read the history. You'll get a better idea of toon shapes and benefits.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Appreciate Thougts & Advice on buying a tritoon

Just as a Mercedes is more expensive than a Chevy some boats are more becuase they are actually better, whether it is worth it to you is up to you but there are big differences btween the brands and how they are built.

Remeber at the shows you are dealing with salesmen and the brand they represent is obviously the best but use your own judgement, stick your head inon and under the boats and you will start to see a difference in build quality and matarials.

Buying used with a toon is pretty easy, you don't have to worry about rotted stringers or transoms and almost the entire boat is visible, make sure there are no soft spots in the floor and have the engine looked and you really can't go wrong.

The average engine on a toon now days is a 150 but they do go up to 350, a 150 should do anything you want to do.

 

[NCBoaterontillery]

Re: Appreciate Thougts & Advice on buying a tritoon

All, Thanks for all the input. The wife and I went to the Charlotte boatshow yesterday - spent all day there and no am more confused than ever . Have narrowed it down to 3 - Avalon, Aqua Patio and Excursion - all 24' with 200HP. Going back today.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Appreciate Thougts & Advice on buying a tritoon

All, Thanks for all the input. The wife and I went to the Charlotte boatshow yesterday - spent all day there and no am more confused than ever . Have narrowed it down to 3 - Avalon, Aqua Patio and Excursion - all 24' with 200HP. Going back today.

24 foot tri with a 200? Yeeeeeeeeeeehawwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!! You'll be able to do whatever you want with that rascal. Happy hunting.