Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Just got back from vacation in Yellowstone, what a beautiful place. While there we rented a G3 Suncatcher LV208c for 2 days on lake Hebgen. So now the whole family is dying for a pontoon for next summer. We live in Bismarck ND so the missouri river is where we will spend most of our time on the water with ocassional trips up to lake Sakakawea and metigosh.
Renting first was a great idea because now we know some of the features we want and don't want. It had a 90hp Yamaha, definatly want at least 90hp. A 20 ft would be ok but we want longer, we would like at least 2 ft of front deck outside the playpen area with sockets for fishing seats.

22 foot works good, not to big to fish out of, but big enough for friends and family.

My fishing seats are inside the fence, I like that better than being up on a bare deck with nothing to grab on in case someone throws a wave on you.

Welcome the best pontoon site in the world, any questions just ask, oh the the guys will tell you to get the biggest engine your can afford, because no one has ever said I wish I had a smaller engine.

Welcome........the fishing seats outside the rail are more convenient just be aware you loose that seating when underway. Not a big deal unless you need the extra seating though.
doc

Hey Welcome.

I'm basically in same situation, looking to buy pontoon for next summer !!

Looking at some pictures online, that looks like a beautiful lake. Been toying with a trip to Yellowstone, did you guys camp?

Thanks for the warm welcomes.

@russelljackson, Yeah we camped at the west Yellowstone KOA. Nice place they have there, really liked there prices on ice and beer in the store at the campground. I would definitely stay there again. But then again there were some really nice campgrounds right on the lake. We were there for a week and it wasn't enough to see everything.

Welcome to the party. Nothing better than being on a lake with the family!

Yeah 3 kids 4 , 6 and 15 all boys were loving that boat. We pulled that tube all over that lake, burned 30 gals of fuel each day .

Sounds like a great trip! I'm looking to buy a pontoon this offseason too. Trying to decide whether to buy something in the next month or so, or wait till the Atlanta boat show in January. Not sure which will provide the best deal. So, just shopping right now.

Welcome to the forum!

hey I live in Bismarck nd I know the area go talk to Scott at vellely marine tell him travis krein sent you. he is very good sales man every time I'm on the water and see him he says high. if you want to play with a 20 foot benni pm me your number ill take you out let you try mine out I love the thing. pontoons are the way to go on the missouri . just watch out for sand bars. anyway like I said Scott is the man bennington is the best. my opinion I know someone will say diff. don't forget to negotiate the price a little.

Sammy, welcome to the group.... I know it's a biased opinion on this forum, but Pontoons are the way to go... they can meet just about anyone's boating needs these days.... pull skiers, tubes, run 40 to 50 mph.. all depends on what you want... You mentioned you rented a G3.... I really liked that boat... came very close to buying one.... I would suggest unless you're normally only going to have 4 to 6 people on board, then yeah, I'd go with a 22 footer.. we have a 20 footer and it's great for what we use it for... never had more than 6 people on it at one time, so 20 footer works for us... our fishing seats are inside the rail, but it's convenient because there's a live well right there up front on the port side...... and as doc said, remember you can't run the boat with people sitting on fishing seats located outside the railing, so in that sense you would lose two seats while underway... just something to think about...



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Alot of us here had cruisers or runabouts prior to buying 'toons. Back in the day, when pontoons used to be nothing more than 2 tubes, a plywood deck and cheap furniture, locals used to laugh at them. Myself included. 'Toons have come along way since and I wish I had went 'toon years ago. In fact, my wife's cousin just bought his first cruiser (not listening to my recommendation of buying a 'toon as his first boat). Less then a season later, he's already saying he's trading up to a pontoon.

Keep in mind that kids always enjoy an experience more when they can share it with a friend. Yeah, sibs are okay, but friends are cool! So, those three can quickly become 6, plus you an Momma. If I remember, ND gets some pretty good winds at times, so consider a triple log for ride quality and maybe a 115 for power to pull a tube with 3 people on it plus 4 or 5 in the boat.
Nothing better at the end of a tube pull than hearing, "Thanks, PaPa, that was fun!"

Your situation is like ours a few years ago. After renting a pontoon during vacation, we bought our Premier the following summer. Any questions or concerns you have some one here will help.

@ tkrein Thanks for the offer, I will take you up on it. Do you tie up at one of the marinas? I think with the long summer days that tying up at the marina would allow the most use of a boat. Just head down after work and go.

Thanks for all the input, can't wait till next summer and niether can the kids.