Sun Tracker Party Hut / Mercury 3.0 I-0 ?'s

[shootandfish1]

Thanks Ed - I still have not heard from the 2001 that I called about. Good to know that the older style works rain wise. Applying a sealer periodically is understandably part of the package. My main concern is rain blowing in where the hard roof meets the top edge of the soft roof.

I agree that the newer, extended hard roof models should be a better way to go from a camping standpoint, but I'm thinking it's not going to be a 'must-have'. On the other hand if a Party Hut does't have the 26" tubes and a 8'6" beam, I won't even consider it.

I had not considered your idea of extending the hard top to rear of the deck. Do you feel that an extension can be fabricated and match the 'factory' perimeter edge ? You now have me thinking!!!

I truly appreciate your efforts in educating me on the +/- of the 3.0 I/O. and the party hut in general.

Decisions??? Here is where I'm at. A newer boat that has extended hard roof, more space at rear of the boat due to the extended engine pod, and plan to live with the motor that is on the boat (outboard or I/O) - More $$. Or a older boat in decent shape, say 2000 and up, and re-powering with a new e-tec or optimax - Less $$ (maybe).

New topic- Towing

I realize the any pontoon with a hard top is going to offer lots of wind resistance. I also know that the faster you drive, the greater the 'increase' in wind resistance. In other words the increase in resistance from 60 mph to 70mph is a heck of a lot more than the increase from 50 mph to 60 mph.

My truck is a Ford F-250 4x4 with the 5.4 V-8 / 6spd / 4.10 axles. Plans for trailering are to just take it easy 50-60 mph on the interstate. Truck hits peak torque at 57 mph in high gear (not OD).

Not sure how to haul the boat. With or with-out covers? I am concerned about wind hitting the vertical panels behind the helm seat and the dining seats. If it was not much of a chore, I would remove the panels during transport and just let the wind go straight through the boat. Any thoughts?

Your feedback is always welcomed.

Fred

[badmoonrising]

I towed the Party Cruiser home from Baltimore on I-95 with my '99 F-150 4x4 with the 4.6 liter motor. Didn't have a problem even with semi trucks blowing by me, but the trailer is rated for a maximum speed of 45 mph max speed on the bigger Trackers. Admittedly, I did 60 to avoid getting caught in rush hour traffic. Now we just tow it 3 miles to the marina at the beginning of the season and back home at the end. Our ramp is steep and the F-150 can pull it up the ramp practically at idle speed.

The Tracker dealer recommended that I remove and stow all of the canvas prior to towing, even the mooring cover. The PC has two sliding doors and if they aren't closed, you get a massive wind tunnel and anything, even the heavy stuff will get blown out if they are open.

They tow like a house, not because of the weight...it's the fact they sit up so high and are as aerodynamic as a brick.

[shootandfish1]

Max. trailer speed of 45mph?

No way am I'm going to be a speed demon towing a party hut and I take highway safety real serious, but this sounds a little conservative.

Thinking about it- must be the the center of gravity is higher, thus making the trailer and boat more unstable in curves or sudden swerves, panic type stops.

Sounds like one needs to allow ample room between vehicles and take it easy on curves, but on straight interstates one could run a little faster, 55-60 mph without problems.

Fred

[lakerunner]

My 22' Regency trailer also says 45mph max. I usually run 55 easy on our 2 lane blacktop curvy roads. Now that I have done away with the slop I got from surge coupler I can run 60/65 easy

[badmoonrising]

Yeah I'm sure Tracker rated them at 45 mph for liabilty. Someone flips one over and they have their asses covered legally if the person was exceeding max recommended speed.

[badmoonrising]

I had not considered your idea of extending the hard top to rear of the deck. Do you feel that an extension can be fabricated and match the 'factory' perimeter edge ? You now have me thinking!!!

Fred

I missed this part - I haven't looked into finding the actual parts needed yet and the biggest issue may be matching up the perimeter edge. Tracker can pretty much get anything you need for older boats and what I would do is order the factory edging and cut it down. The rest of the parts are available at pontoonstuff or even RV suppliers (rubber roof).

I just bought a few trim peices that got scratched/dented from our local Tracker dealer. Best method is to send the dealer a photo of what you need and they match it up in their "dealer only" database. That being said, it took them 8 weeks to get my parts in (cabin trim and a gate door jamb).

[shootandfish1]

Thanks - I saw the pics of your PC - nice. I've been pondering uses for the hard roof from the camping standpoint (storage rather than people). I've got an image of the luggage rack that the British Range Rovers have in my mind.

The water tank placed like yours is a 'no-brainer'. Would be my first "add-on".

Also, solar panels are obvious, although using solar for charging battery banks raises new issues (controllers) when in combination with charging from the boats engine, portable generator, and shore power. I'll save the solar topic for a separate topic.

Assuming I use a mat or something that won't damage the roof, is there any reason that fuel cans, supplemental fuel tanks, propane tanks, generators, ect. can't be stored on the roof. Of course items would be secured from tipping and moving, and would be removed from the rooftop for trailering.

I also realize that I need to abide by the weight limits and spread the load out.

Safety concerns?

Curious to know what other ideas you folks may have. Plan B could a cooler with somthing cold. lol- But that might not be real safe either.

Fred

[FloterBoter]

http://flatroofsolutions.com/?gclid=CNe ... xwodjA4irA

http://www.rvtraveler.com/roof.html

thanks herb, do you see a weight anywhere? lb per sq ft

[badmoonrising]

What I do is store the portable fuel tank under the stern ladder and the generator in the stern bunk area until we get to our anchoring destination (Canal Days is an example). Then, I put my Honda EU20001 generator up there (strapped to the rail). It gets pretty hot up there and I'd be wary of storing fuel and propane tanks up there.

We actually do have people sleep up there on Canal Days, or maybe they just passed out

I put a small square of carpet under the generator because the Honda has back rubber feet on it and makes black marks on the rubber roof if I don't.

We put all of our coolers in the rear bunk area. It's shaded and at the same time I combine my guests stuff together as much as possible to save room. I also have a marine refridgerator that runs 3 days on battery before I have to recharge.

[WaltF]

45?
Geese, i whip that sucker up n down our highways at 70...

[shootandfish1]

Talk about sticker shock!!!

I have always had the notion of getting and older pontoon and repowering with a new outboard. The E-tec was a 1st pick based on what I have read and the maintenance.

Just for giggles today I priced re-powering a Mercury outboard (assuming an older model) with a new E-tec. Dealer said for a 150 E-tec (2007 model) figure around $12,500 plus rigging, and that is with using the guages that the boat has. 2009 model about $1000 more, 115 hp about $2000 less.

Reading between the 'verbal lines', swapping a Mecury with an E-tec may not be something I want to do. I sense that it will much more cost effective to buy a pontoon with an engine I can live with, in good condition, and plan on keeping it for some time.

Currently the top picks are the Merc Optimax or the Merc 3.0 I/O.

I am assumming that most of the 3.0 I/O's on late model Sun Tracker's are the TKS (carb) rather than EFI? Any concerns with either version?

Thanks to you folks, the idea of getting a Party Hut with the 3.0 I/O is growing on me. There seem to be more of them available on the used market, and I can see more versatility than with the outboards.

As I have mentioned before, adding a swimdeck extension above the sterndrive (flush with the deck) is something I will want to do and I plan on remodeling the rear for a custom bed design I have in mind.

Does anyone know where I can see a picture of the 3.0 I/O with the seating removed? I'm interested how much room one actually has to work with. Vertical clearance above the deck?
Fuel tank location?

Thanks

Fred

[badmoonrising]

TKS began in 2003 I believe. Fuel injection is new for 2009. My Starcraft is the standard Mercarb and the PC is TKS. Big difference, no pumping the gas prior to starting even in cold weather. Just turn the key and it starts every time as if it were injected and warms up faster. I have a ton of hours on the Starcraft and it was problem free for 9 years being used in saltwater. Last season I installed a rebuilt carb, exhaust flapper and water tube. I could have rebuilt the carb, but wanted to get out fishing so I just bought a rebuilt one instead. Price was about $300 w/ core returned. TKS carb retails for around $600, but I haven't heard any issuess with them.

I JUST had my rear seating removed...didn't take pics though To get to the fuel pump filter, it's WAY down at the bottom of the bilge and unless you hold a midget by his legs to get to it, you need to dissassemble the seating to get to the filter.

Problem is, Tracker riveted everything together....

I drilled out all the rivets and replaced them with SS bolts and nuts for easy removal.

Basically, (facing stern) the fuel tank is on the left, batteries to the right and there's 2 openings for servicing the transom area and engine in between.

[badmoonrising]

The bottom bench seat is about 12 inches tall and the upper one is about 18 inches or so.

[shootandfish1]

The bottom bench seat is about 12 inches tall and the upper one is about 18 inches or so.

Thanks Ed- Could one lower the upper bench to the same level as the lower with out a lot of hassle?

I've been looking closer at prices. Between 2006 and 2007 seems to be where the biggest price drop occurs 10-15K difference for 1-2 yrs. in age. of course the 07 has that wonderful extended hard roof that we have discussed. And the 07 has the extend engine pod for the outboards.

I'm still leaning towards the party hut, but have to admit the party cruiser is alot of more boat, maybe a better buy on the used market.

Any obvious reason that Suntracker installed so many 3.0 I/0's ? Reducing the overall lenght is one that I can see.

[beermunk]

Max. trailer speed of 45mph?

No way am I'm going to be a speed demon towing a party hut and I take highway safety real serious, but this sounds a little conservative.

Thinking about it- must be the the center of gravity is higher, thus making the trailer and boat more unstable in curves or sudden swerves, panic type stops.

Sounds like one needs to allow ample room between vehicles and take it easy on curves, but on straight interstates one could run a little faster, 55-60 mph without problems.

Fred

I towed my tri-toon 22' party barge with the 3.0L on a bunk trailer from eastern OK to central WI at 60mph no problem. It wasn't actually until I got home that I noticed the DO NOT EXCEED 45MPH sticker... lol!

Yep, they tow like bricks. 60mph is fine. Anymore and you're chancing a blow-out and sucking WAY more gas than you need to.