Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hi everyone, been reading here for months, finally broke down and registered

I sold my Sea Doo Jet boat last month... its been a good boat and hated to see her go, but I'm looking into getting into Pontoon boat.

I'd love to get a Tritoon, but my pocket book can't afford it... and my x-wife ruined me for credit from financing, so I'm basically looking for cash buy.

Any suggestions or thread links on what to look for and what to avoid would be appreciated on buying a pontoon boat.

I'm DFW Texas area... probably looking to buy in Feb-Mar for the next summer season.

Thanks everyone,
-Kalop

Pontoons are aluminum, and they last just about forever if kept out of the water and under cover.

Used pontoons are available at every price point. Craigslist.com is probably the best source for used boats--especially in the middle of the winter.

As always, have the motor's lower unit drained to make sure there's no water contamination, and have the lower unit pressure treated to make sure there are no seal leaks. And always change and pack the trailer bearings to avoid any surprises.

From one newbie to another, welcome!

Welcome.....also may want to have a compression test done as well. Most big motors (150 and up) have and hour meter so you can tell how much it has been run.
As was said there are lots of used toons in the DFW area. Be patient and you will find the right one.

Thanks everyone for advice and tips. Greatly appreciated !!!

Bamaman wrote:...As always, have the motor's lower unit drained to make sure there's no water contamination, and have the lower unit pressure treated to make sure there are no seal leaks. And always change and pack the trailer bearings to avoid any surprises.

Definitely a good thing to check, though you don't have to completely drain it. Just semi-remove the screw and if there's water in there, it'll be first to come out (water/oil don't mix and water is heavier). If the motor's been recently run and there's water in it, a nice frothy milkshake will come out the hole.

Still check anyway, but do keep in mind a scumbag seller could have easily changed the gear oil after the boat came out of the water.

Kalop wrote:...I sold my Sea Doo Jet boat last month... its been a good boat and hated to see her go, but I'm looking into getting into Pontoon boat...


...Any suggestions or thread links on what to look for and what to avoid would be appreciated on buying a pontoon boat...

Welcome aboard! You can use the money you'll save on Sea-Doo go-go juice to buy a nice pontoon and maybe even a house to go with it.

As a cheaper alternative to a tri-toon you could get a 2-tube with lifting strakes. They'll go faster with less power, but the downfall is that they handle like a pontoon whereas a tri-toon will bank like a hulled boat.


Whatever you end up with, be sure to post pics!



LC.

Thanks again to everyone.. this is very friendly forum with good people !

Question

Tritoon... what brands / makes are the low end of Tritoon ? I have $10k cash now.... and by Jan 2013 I should have at least $15k ... are there any good used Tritoons that can be had for that price range ??

Also... when searching Craigslist.. will most every listing have "tritoon" in the search or are they commonly called something else for my keyword searches? I'm not finding very many tritoons for sale at all.

Thanks
-Kalop

Kalop
Don't give up hope. I ended up finding my 98 Grumman tritoon 5 miles from my house on Craigs List. We bought it 4 years ago for 8k. It was very clean and excellent condition. Only bummer was the 50 hp motor but as high as it sits in the water it still scoots pretty good. If you can find a Grumman they are built very solid and I believe the toons are a heaiver material than what is used by other builders today. Good luck on your qwest!

Hey thanks for encouragement. I'm not going to give up... I got plenty of time really... I'll find something eventually.