Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

We’re considering going from two boats, a Malibu inboard (dd tournament ski boat) and a Harris 220 Classic/Johnson 50hp 4-stroke, to a single boat, lift, storage, maintenance, etc.

Our 2 girls are grown and living in the SE now, so we don’t see them much here in the north (not enough!). We take a lazy 5 mile cruise loop around the lake on the toon, and occasionally pull a double tube or wakeboarders with the Malibu. The last time we actually pulled a slalom skier from deepwater starts was 3 years ago (me), but I think those days are past. Now I just teach occasional guests.

Our house is on an 800 acre natural ski lake in NE Indiana so our on water trips are short to/from our own dock. The lake is not very rough by big lake/reservoir standards, other than what’s kicked up by heavy wake boats, concrete seawalls, and the occasional storm.

The latest planing triple toons with bigger and relatively economical 4-stroke motors obviously open up a lot of possibilities, so we’re starting our research for the spring shows by checking out what’s left in local inventories in July.

There is only one dealer on our lake, selling Harris, Premier, Honda, and now smaller Mercs (e.g. not Verado certified that I know of). We don’t trailer any more, so I’ve usually done my own basic maintenance, and just used them for launching, storage, major service, fuel, etc. We also have several other good dealers within 30 miles with Harris, Bennington, Manitou and engine brands of choice, though mostly Merc.

Here is what we’re down to:

- 22-24’ is plenty big. My wife loves the GCW/RCW center walk through rear lounger layout of the Bennington 2275 and Harris Solstice 230. Manitou’s SES couch setup is less appealing and moves it up to 25-26’.

- For hulls, Manitou SHP, Premier PTX, Bennington ESP, Harris XTR (maybe).

- For engines, minimum Merc 4-stroke 150 (non Verado) or just go all out with the Yamaha 250 SHO, Honda BF250, Suzuki 250SS, Verado 225/250. The Verado steering/DTS/smartcraft setup seems very complex for Indiana dealers used to selling 60hp pontoon motors or bass boats with big Optimax’s. Harris, of course, should totally get this right because they’re Brunswick. E-Tec isn’t happening because of local service.

I’ve found a Manitou Xplode 23/Yamaha 250 SHO, an Xplode 23/Suzuki 250SS, and a Bennington 2275GCW/Merc 150 4-stroke with Express package (not ESP) available to lake demo so we hope to start that this weekend and next.

I’ve read a ton and viewed many online videos about them, but I’d love to get thoughts from those with SHP, PTX, ESP, and XTR as alternatives to sport boats for those that have made that change. I favor the SHP, but thoughts on others and why you chose them are most welcome.

Motors sort of come down to either the basic Merc 150 (mid 30’s lightly loaded) and the Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki 250’s (mid 40’s) vs the complexity of the Verado. Manitou wasn’t keen on Verado with their long rear decks so I’m curious to know how that’s worked out for other boats. I’ve only seen one report online of the Honda 250 on a pontoon (JC), so there’s not much out there yet. The Yamaha seems great and we've had the Suzuki/Johnson for several years so I know what I'd be getting into there.

Thanks in advance for insights. This looks to be a great resource!

Tom

Tom, welcome to the board. As far as which toon to choose, you can't go wrong with any of those options. As far as motors, I have yet to hear anyone complain that they bought too much motor. If you are going to spend a lot of time playing, there seems to be a magic line around the 200hp mark where you see an increase in performance, everthing else equal. One note: if you are planning on wakeboarding a lot (or have someone who is), you probably won't be happy with a toon. Even if you add a wakeboard tower, it just doesn't work right for the serious wakeboarder. The wake is all wrong.

You're close to some of the manufactures mentioned, call them and see if they still do factory tours. Don't rule out the Forest River line of South Bay, etc. I've been in their factory and am very impressed. What lake are you on?

Toon Guy, we are on Clear Lake near Fremont. Yes I noticed the wakes were ugly with tri-toons. Our wakeboarders are definitely entry level so the weird wake shouldn't be too much of a problem. We have several neighbors with very serious wakeboats if the urgent need for shaped wakes ever strikes again.

In terms of factory tours, our home in Ft. Wayne is actually about 5 miles from Harris HQ. They're doing 2013 photo shoots on the lake this week, so access to some of the boats should not be a problem. One has a Verado 225 XTR setup and a few had Merc 150 4-strokes so I talked to the dealer today about getting a ride next week. Bennington's also close in Elkhart and Manitou is about 90 miles away in Lansing, so that's definitely an option. At these prices, trying them on the water is important to me, so we're all set up with a Manitou and Bennington Saturday. Should be fun!

We took a slightly different tact. Walked into a Bass Pro Shop in Las Vegas, asked to see the shortest pontoon with the biggest engine.

Bought a Sun Tracker 18' Party Barge with a 75hp Merc. Traded in our Seadoo Speedster 15' 255hp go fast boat. Going to take some getting used to.... going 24mph instead of 70, but there is plenty of room for the grand children, tons of kiddy toys and floats.

Good Luck, and happy shopping.

Still drooling over Sun Trackers new Regency- VERY nice boat. About $34,995 with as w/ 150 L OptiMax.

Link http://www.suntrackerboats.com/boat/?bo ... r2012_STKR

I considered just putting a Merc 150 4-stroke on the Harris 220 since that motor is fairly light (455#), but with 2 toons, no lifting strakes, and no underskinning, it wouldn't plane and handle the way I want, and would make for a wet ride up front. Space, feature, and comfort wise our 220 is just fine for our needs.

It sounds like you wouldnt be happy without the ability togofast once in awhile. But, to do a loop on your lake you said is about 5 miles. With a 250 on any of the Tritoons you mentioned you will do that very quickly. With a 150 on a 22 ft pontoon you can prob get 30mph out of it at wot so you just need to decide how fast do you want to go......
Welcome to the forum!

We had excellent demo's of the 23' Manitou Xplode at Casey's Cove and Bennington 2275GCW at Coldwater Lake Marina. Both dealers were responsive and terrific at answering all of our questions.

We were amazed that at our normal slow cruising speeds the fire breathing Yamaha SHO was quieter and more vibration free than even our current Johnson 50 4-stroke. The Manitou SHP was really incredible at speed (50+), smooth, quiet, and vibration free. It gobbled up wakes from the ski boats with no problems. We carried on normal conversation while at full throttle and, other than wind, not much noise to speak of. Handling was superb, maintaining speed as it easily carved through turns with the banking of a V. Unfortunately the seat layout probably isn't what we're looking for and the SES is really big and even more money.

The Bennington had the express tubes (3/4 middle with strakes) and the Mercury 150 4-stroke, but no power assist. This gave the Manitou a huge advantage as the Express just doesn't have the same turning performance at all and it reminded me of when cars/trucks didn't have power steering. It just seemed like a hand full. The Mercury was a very nice motor though not nearly as smooth and refined as the Yamaha. Chalk all that up to maybe $10k difference in motor and $5k difference in power steering and the bottom tubes, which is a lot. The top side layout was just about perfect though, so one wonders how the ESP with power steering would compare. The dealer is Merc only, so that means Verado if more than a 150. I'm not sure I'm ready for the Verado complexity.

At this point, if it was the GCW top side, Manitou SHP on the bottom, and the Yamaha SHO, it would be about perfect, other than the price tag. The dealers will see the 2013 stuff next month, so we're going to see what changes that brings. We're in no hurry and would have a couple of boats and lifts to move first anyway.

Overall, though, we came away very impressed with what these boats can do!

You are looking at some very nice boats and I just don't think you can go wrong. As Toonguy said above, though, South Bays are made close to you and I would definitely check them out. IMO they have a very nice combination of performance (if you go with their upper end) and luxury, and you may find your "neighborhood" manufacturer has exactly what you want.

Good luck with your purchase.... you are considering some great toys!

Those South Bays are definitely nice looking boats with a lot of floor plan options. There aren't any dealers close by with inventory this late in the season, but we'll definitely check them out too. Thanks!

Tell the folks at Casey's cove I say Howdy! They sold me my Manitou 6 years ago. very nice folks and very easy to work with. My initial reaction to the boat was the same as yours (although I only have a 175). The boat rides smooth, turns well and is sooooo quiet. Wind was quiter than the motor. I still get comments on it.

While I no longerhave the fastest pontoon on my lake, I still have the most maneuverable one.

If the rear seating is an issue the folks at Mantiou may have a way to fix that. Give them a shout before deciding

I'm glad you like yours and yes, Casey's Cove has been awesome so far. I definitely don't need the fastest boat, as handling is much more important on a small lake with a lot of traffic such as ours that is full of inboards and PWC's. It seems that just like glass boats, bottom design, engine height, and prop selection determine how it's going to handle. I have already talked to Greg at the factory, so will be staying tuned on any developments there as well.