Thinking About Buying A Pontoon

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Have some questions for all the pontoon expert's.
Most pontoon's seem to be kept on the water at marina's. "IF" I had a 16' would it be practical/feasible to launch/retrieve it every time I used it? Would it work ok with a 10hp motor? I live near many 10hp limit lakes that don't have marina facilities which means I would have to launch/retrieve it every time. Is this a total PITA? Many SHT posts complain about pontoon's tying up the ramp. I don't want to be that guy! Would my 97 F150 4.6 V-8 2 whl. dr. pull it ok? If I invested in this I would also buy a bigger motor for the bigger lakes. I have a Voyager jon boat that I really like, they are more known for pontoon's, anyone have any opinions on Voyager? THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP
Brian

 

[lakegeorge]

Re: Thinking About Buying A Pontoon

The 10hp motor will obviously be slow but if that's what the lakes allow then go for it. Pontoon boats in the 16ft size are not that heavy and it should be a piece of cake for your truck to pull it.
No matter what boat you launch it's always a pain launching them, we keep our toon at a Marina as I'm to old & lazy to try launching anymore.

 

[mla2ofus]

Re: Thinking About Buying A Pontoon

Not trying to dislocate my shoulder, but we have a 24' pontoon and it doesn't take as long to launch or load as some hulled boats I've seen. One thing I did was build and install guide posts just behind the rear tlr axle. They make all the difference in the world when loading in a crosswind.
Mike

 

[EGlideRider]

Re: Thinking About Buying A Pontoon

Have some questions for all the pontoon expert's.
Most pontoon's seem to be kept on the water at marina's. "IF" I had a 16' would it be practical/feasible to launch/retrieve it every time I used it?
No. I did this for many years. It will get old after a while but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do in order to enjoy the boating lifestlyle.

Would it work ok with a 10hp motor?
Yes, but obviously it will be very slow.[/

I live near many 10hp limit lakes that don't have marina facilities which means I would have to launch/retrieve it every time. Is this a total PITA? Many SHT posts complain about pontoon's tying up the ramp. I don't want to be that guy!
With a little practice, you can load an unload a pontoon just as fast as any other comparable size boat. My last pontoon was a 32 footer and I could load and unload it as fast as any 16 footer bass boat.

Would my 97 F150 4.6 V-8 2 whl. dr. pull it ok?
Absolutely with no problem.
If I invested in this I would also buy a bigger motor for the bigger lakes. I have a Voyager jon boat that I really like, they are more known for pontoon's, anyone have any opinions on Voyager? THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP
Brian

Good luck and enjoy your boat.

 

[rentprop1]

Re: Thinking About Buying A Pontoon

would it be practical/feasible to launch/retrieve it every time I used it?
I trailer my 22 foot about 20 miles over to the water 3 times a month

. Is this a total PITA? Many SHT posts complain about pontoon's tying up the ramp. I don't want to be that guy!

everyone is equal at the ramp, some take a little longer some are quick ,but your are all there to boat and have fun, if they are in a hurry tell them go someplace else or wait their turn like you did.


Would my 97 F150 4.6 V-8 2 whl. dr. pull it ok?

your tow vehicle sounds like it would do fine, I have used the same model and year truck to tow my 22 footer

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Thinking About Buying A Pontoon

i have a 20 footer, guide ons and bunk slides on trailer. i idle her right on the the trailer. tow vehicle is fine.

 

[EGlideRider]

Re: Thinking About Buying A Pontoon

Opps, I misread your first question.

My answer should have been: Yes, it is very practical and feasable to do so. I'm sure there are many more boats sitting on trailers today than are behind homes or in marinas.

 

[LindaBonnie]

Re: Thinking About Buying A Pontoon

My neighbor has a pontoon boat I would like to buy, but I'm not sure how much to offer. It's a 12' Gillgetter with Minn Kota electric motors and an Auto Pilot trolling motor. The boat and motors are 13 years old. The boat has been well taken care of. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you.

Have some questions for all the pontoon expert's.
Most pontoon's seem to be kept on the water at marina's. "IF" I had a 16' would it be practical/feasible to launch/retrieve it every time I used it? Would it work ok with a 10hp motor? I live near many 10hp limit lakes that don't have marina facilities which means I would have to launch/retrieve it every time. Is this a total PITA? Many SHT posts complain about pontoon's tying up the ramp. I don't want to be that guy! Would my 97 F150 4.6 V-8 2 whl. dr. pull it ok? If I invested in this I would also buy a bigger motor for the bigger lakes. I have a Voyager jon boat that I really like, they are more known for pontoon's, anyone have any opinions on Voyager? THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP
Brian

 

[jeff_smith_0423]

Re: Thinking About Buying A Pontoon

My neighbor has a pontoon boat I would like to buy, but I'm not sure how much to offer. It's a 12' Gillgetter with Minn Kota electric motors and an Auto Pilot trolling motor. The boat and motors are 13 years old. The boat has been well taken care of. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you.

Start a new thread.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Thinking About Buying A Pontoon

My neighbor has a pontoon boat I would like to buy, but I'm not sure how much to offer. It's a 12' Gillgetter with Minn Kota electric motors and an Auto Pilot trolling motor. The boat and motors are 13 years old. The boat has been well taken care of. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you.

Linda, jumping on another's thread (commonly called hijacking) is kinda frowned upon, but being a newbie, your forgiven once. No biggy, just start your own thread by clicking on "Create new post" at the top, give it a heading like "How much should I offer for this pontoon?", and then wait for some feedback. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[Pontuned]

Re: Thinking About Buying A Pontoon

I have an 18' Bass Buggy that I trailer to and from the lake nearly 20 miles each way. I load and launch as quickly as most that i have seen and it really isn't an more of a pain than my buddy with his 16' runabout. I tow with an '03 Explorer with a 4.6 as well. I have no issues towing but I would rather have a little more available power when I hit the hills (and where I live there are plenty).