Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Thanks to those for responding to my last ?'s regarding Mercury's EFI and Optimax outboards. I was looking hard at a used Sun Tracker Regency 25' Party Barge.

I'm now leaning to Tracker's 30' Party Hut. When camping is added to the picture, the party hut appears to offer a lot of versatility. The party cruiser has more enclosed space, but I like the option of more open space the party hut offers. The additional coat of the party hut can offset campground fees.

The hard top is what makes this pontoon work in my mind. Using camping enclosures, I can separately enclose the rear section, the helm area, or enclose the whole boat. The hard top allows storage for a generator, fuel and water tanks, ect.

Of couse, I'm looking at used boats, checking ebay and boat trader, along with local dealers inventory. Some ?'s

New Trackers use a rubber membrane for the roof on the hard top, the older ones have a metal roof. I think 2006 models had metal, not sure about 2007 (redesign), and 2008 and up models have a rubber membrane (and a redesign from 2007).

Any thoughts which would be better for storing camping stuff rather than passengers? My thoughts are that metal would be better suited when dragging supplies and equipment, but will need to be reinforced in some manner for us heavier fellows.

The 2007 model hard roof covers more of the boats rear area than the 2006 and earlier. My thoughts are that the added roof coverage would be desirable for camping.

A large percentage of the party huts comes with the Mercury 3.0 Sterndrive. If that "perfect" poonton crosses my path, would the merc 3.0 be a 'plus' or a 'minus'. Considerations are

-I will be in a lot of shallow water and a lot of places where I want to go very slow.

Given a choice, the 115 optimax is my first pick in the mercury line.

Let me know what you all think. Remember that I have very little first hand knowledge and I appreciate any and all feedback.

Fred

I'm sure Ed (badmoonrising) will be here soon. He has one and uses it almost every weekend. On the other place hew posted running into heavy waves and took pics of the water washing over deck and hitting sliding glass door in front. It showed what a good toon it is as it had minimal leaks areound door.

I to have been thinking about the 32ft hut since we live 1/2 mi from the ramp towing would be a breeze. Oh and Ed has that motor on 2 boats and has high regards for them.

Our 2006 Party Cruiser has been great, no issues going into it's third season. It has the rubber membrane roof, underneath that is aluminum. I believe all 2005 and newer Party Cruisers and Huts have the rubber roof, but I could be wrong.

Plus side to the 3.0:

Quiet, proven engine design and bullet proof. Same engine design(block/head/manifold) since the 60's with upgrades over the years.

Fuel efficiency, 3.5 GPH cruising.

No special tools and limited mechanical knowledge required to maintain, although it's a bit cramped to change the fuel pump filter, starter (if needed, not common). Mercruiser has made changing the oil easier with it's remote oil drain and remote manifold/block drains. Grease fittings are all very accessible, although you need an extension to get the the engine coupler grease fitting.


Proven Alpha One Generation 2 drive.

Downsides:

If you are in an area with cold winters, you must winterize. It's easy though. Outboards just need fogging for storage and of course tune ups.

Cannot raise the drive all the way out of the water, unlike the outboard.

Multiple rubber boots, driveshaft, shift cable and exhaust MUST be inspected annually. Easy to replace though. Biannual inspection of the manifold and exhaust risers for corrosion. If you are in fresh water, this isn't usually an issue.

That being said, I often anchor in 18-24 inches of water. Just raise the drive and go slow. The outboard isn't going to let you go into much shallower water.

I prefer the Party Cruiser's cabin, especially after the incident Lake Runner is referring to. (I just reposted that in the photos section).

Thank's - I am very grateful for your feedback. Some time ago I started researching pontoons and am getting closer to deciding what I want. The full hard enclosure of the party cruiser is sweet, but I like the openness of the party hut for the helm area.

I plan on spending lots of time in Florida fishing and camping, especially during the cooler months and like to fish the smaller tributaries along with the main channels. Water depth can change quickly as one proceeds upstream the side channels. Hence the concern about raising the prop and going as slow as possible.

Ed -How does the 3.0 do under prolonged runs at idle? Trolling? Vibration?

I think the newer party huts have an extended engine pod for outboards which frees up the rear of the toon for customizing. With the 3.0- How much higher above the deck floor the the engine extend? I want to utilize the sundeck area for a custom bed design.

One plus of the strendrive is that a swim-deck extension looks like a easy add-on. Handy to fish off of when the rear camping enclosure is being utilized.

Good news to learn that the newer roof uses a rubber membrane over aluminum. Since I want to use the roof for storage my first thought is to use something like 1x6 decking placed longways 16" on centers, then overlay with 1/2" plywood to prevent damaging the rubber membrane and to spread the load my being on the roof as I'm a 'big' boy.

The search for a used 30' party hut is in ernest. If I buy a used boat in my home state (Ky), from a dealer or private party, I just have to pay about 50 bucks to transfer the boat. However, if I buy from a dealer out of state, I get hit an additional 6%-ouch!!! Out of state private party is the same as in state.

Again-Thanks-Fred

I would be careful adding wood decking as it may upset center of gravity. I think the I/O is in center log so it doesn't take floor space.

And that membrane is tough so you have to work at damaging it, it's made to take 150 mph winds as it is used in Florida on mobil homes

Is that the same stuff thats on campers? Pretty good stuff if so.

Same stuff, they use it in a lot commercial jobs, if stores have walk in coolers outside most of the time they are covered with membrane

Yeah the 3.0 is under the deck, nothing sticks out except for the trim pump motor/fill and that's mounted near the transom. I/O Party Huts and Cruisers have more interior room than the outboard versions and yes it's easier to add a swim platform on an I/O boat, 'toon or not. The 3.0 idles great, there's a bit of vibration because Tracker uses no wood (other than the 2 stern engine/battery fuel compartment bulkheads). Good for maintainance and longevity, bad for vibration. It's not an issue for me though. My Honda EU2000i generator vibrates more at idle than the 3.0 does. The engine is mounted to aluminum so every minor vibration isn't deadened as it would in a fiberglass boat.

Ditto on adding wood to the upper deck. Tracker's warning label says no more than 5 persons up there and something like no more than 600 lbs total up there if I remeber correctly ..... I'll have to check my label again. Although we have a bunch of women up there on Canal Days and at our raft ups without issues. Either that, or it doesn't bother me enough to care.

> Since I want to use the roof for storage my first thought is to use something like 1x6 decking placed longways 16" on centers, then overlay with 1/2" plywood to prevent damaging the rubber membrane and to spread the load my being on the roof as I'm a 'big' boy.

yeah, i wouldn't do that unless you do a detailed weight & balance calculation first.


someone provide a link to the rubber membrane material? i'm thinking about
redo-ing my hardtop. currently aluminum, but if i just add rubber membrane
over that it will add weight, not big on that idea.

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

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

Thanks Folks- Today I found a boat on-line in my area and am waiting for the owner to call back. It's a 2001 Party Hut 30' / 75hp Merc Mariner / Trailer.

My thinking is that the boat is new enough to be in good shape structurally (boat appears to have been stored indoors), but be depreciated enough in value to justify re powering with a new outboard of my choosing without taking too much of a beating. From what I have learned, a new E-tec would be first choice. If the cost of switching to an E-tec was too much, Mercury's Optimax would be next choice.

Features I have to have, but don't know if this pontoon has are:

26" Dia. Tubes and a 8'6" beam.

Z-bars on 16" centers- Anything else, the floor is too weak for me.

Not sure about the aluminum deck option as I have not walked on one yet. My experience on bridge construction sites is that plywood is stiffer than metal (even when theoretical calculations show that the designs are equal).

This boat would also be old enough for modifying the floor plan to my liking-Hate the thought of changing stuff on a newer boat.

This next part is for Ed 'Badmoonrising', but please anybody else feel free to chime in.

The rear of this boat's hard roof design (Party Hut) should be the same as your's (Party Cruiser). The hard roof stops short and the remaining rear portion of the deck is open.

My ? is about the camping enclosure for this section of the boat. For lack of a better description, the enclosure reminds me of a CJ Jeep soft top.

Weather wise-how good does this enclosure work? How does the fabric fit (seal) along the hard roof? Is there snaps that I am not seeing or does frame of the enclosure 'snug' up against the metal roof.

The 2007 model Party Huts and newer have the hard roof extended completely to the rear and the enclosures are simply side panels.

I plan on using the pontoon as a camper and using the rear enclosure most of the time (my bedroom) that I am on the water. Would the newer - extended - hard roof of the 2007 Party Huts be a decided plus when the pontoon is going be doing double duty ( and costly several thousand more) or does the older design work ok.

I can see pros and cons of each design. Something else, the 2007's have an extended engine pod, if an outboard boat. I like the notion of buying an older (and cheaper) boat, but will consider a newer (and more expensive) boat if the 'improvements' warrant the additional funds.

Your comments are appreciated. Fred

I actually prefer the newer extended upper deck and am considering extending mine at some point. The canvas seams have to be resealed every season. It's only a drip or 2 here and there, but the hard top is worlds better. IMO, the less canvas to deal with the better.

Although we have a bunch of women up there on Canal Days and at our raft ups without issues. Either that, or it doesn't bother me enough to care.

ahh ya.,....
Who in their right mind would say "Hey you... Bikini girl.. get off the roof!"


I also have the 3.0 on our 22 foot 2007 regency.
Love the thing!
When were not in the party cove, we troll all over the place and dont have vibration problems at all...
Must idle along good enough as we caught 6 bass and 1 trout on Friday..

Memorial weekend we will have 14 peeps on it!