Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Well starting to look at new boats, probably about a year off but trying to decide what to buy
My local dealer sells Bennington and Harris so it will probably be one of those.
I have a 20" two tube Harris with a 90 but need more speed
My ideal boat would be a 22' tritoon with a 150
The dilemma i have is that my trailer is a center lift and my covered boat lift is also a center lift type so i would have to
buy a new lift and trailer $$$. One other problem is to get from my house i have to go under a low bridge, in the spring time with the
high water i have to remove the windshield, head rest and drop the Bimini off the short legs and sometimes only clear by a couple of inches. This only last 3-4 weeks in the spring but with the higher ride height of a tritoon i may not able to go out on the lake.
I am thinking that a 22' two tube boat with lifting strakes and a 150 may work. we do not do much in water sports maybe ski or pull a tube a couple time a year if we have guests. mostly cruising and anchored at the sandbar.
how does the lifting strakes affect the boat compared to a regular pontoon, if i can get into the mid to upper 30's i would be happy.
My neighbor has a 22' Harris two tube boat with a 150 (no strakes) and he runs about 35 mph.
I would be OK with buying new lift and trailer but the bridge is the big concern. My budget for the boat is approx 35,000.00.
upgrading the lifts and trailer will cost an additional $5000.00 even after selling my old ones. I could probably save almost 10,000 by going with the two tube boat.
I anyone has a two tube boat with strakes your thoughts would be welcome.

Mike

It's a good thing your dealer has Bennington. They have a pontoon with elliptical (oval) toons with lifting strakes. It's actually faster than tritoons even though turning tight may not be quite as good. A 22' boat with ellipticals and 150 hp Yamaha is a 43 mph boat--about 3 mph more than my express tube tritoon.

Now I have no idea what the height in the water is--to clear that bridge. If your 20" toon barely clears the bridge, I expect you'll have to wait until the water goes down because ellipticals are very buoyant and 25" tall.

If you have a while before you need the boat, consider ordering it exactly to fit your needs. At least your present lift and trailer will handle it, which will save you big.

Bamaman,

my boat is a 20' long with 25" tubes, so the elliptical may be an option however speaking to others, the center lift trailer and lift may not clear the elliptical pontoons. This may solve my bridge problem however and i would like to run 40, that would make the admiral happy. I think i will check with the dealer on the space between the elliptical pontoon. how do they handle compared to the regular two tube pontoon. maybe i will join the bennington site for more info.

Thanks for the idea

Mike