Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hello All, first post here!

I am in the market for a pontoon and we have a local dealer here who sales Lowes Boats. I do not know much about them, would anyone here have any info on them? Are they well made? I built one online just to get a cost and they really aren't that badly priced.

Also what kind of speed would I be looking at on a 25' 7" toon with a Verado 300?? (Lowes SS250 Walk Thru)
Could I expect mid to upper 50's empty and high 40's loaded ?

If I'm spending that kinda money with a 300 Verado I would want it to be on a nicer Tritoon. The Lowes are more of a budget boat. Makes sense when they come with 150 and under. But buying one with the bigger motors, I would want a higher end brand.

I would guess 53-55 mph with a light load.

There are relatively few ultra large outboard out there on pontoons. Firstly, large 4 stroke motors are very heavy. And they're very expensive. Tritoons are very difficult to get much over 45 mph as.they hit a speed wall.

These boats are meant for carrying people, and you might scare the he'll out of your passengers with so much power. Such a motor would deserve a Manitou or Bennington or Playcraft boat with high performance options--very expensive hulls.

That's what I needed to know, that's why I came here. I didn't know much about them but I know I could probably get a nice playcraft rigged out like that for another 10k

I am also looking at a 2008 Playcraft Power Deck xtreme 26 that I really like. Who does great boat loans on older boats? My credit union will only do 3 years on a 08 and that puts to high of a note for me

I have "Lowes" tubes under my rebuilt pontoon and the construction it very sound for ~150hp engine but I'm not sure I'd want to push them with 300hp. The "scratch n' dent" tubes I got were .090 material, inside strakes, 24" center spacing, and ONLY 2 baffles. I'd want .100+ tube material, more baffles, and 16" spacing for a 200hp+ motor.

Last month I bought a 2017 Lowe SS210 Tritoon with the wavetamer package, dual biminis, stainless package, premium ski tow, premium vinyl floor, a Mercury 115 Pro XS with CT, and Karavan tandem trailer for $30k OTD.
The boat hull looks to be very well made, lots of fasteners and good welds. The furniture is very nice, good thick vinyl, and good stitching. The fit and finish of some things is a bit off. I've found multiple loose fasteners on the bimini frames, the wiring inside the helm console looks like it was just tossed in there, I had to refasten the fuse block as it was dangling by a single loose screw, I also had to zip tie all the wires up so they wouldn't flop around putting stress on the gauge connections and harness connectors. The boat runs and handles great, it's a nice quiet ride. While I wouldn't exactly call it a "budget" boat (like the Sun Trackers), it certainly isn't a premium brand either, but it was $10-$15k less than the premium brands. All in all, it's a solid boat and will last us a long time as we take care of our toys.

[quote="MidWestBoater"]Last month I bought a 2017 Lowe SS210 Tritoon with the wavetamer package, dual biminis, stainless package, premium ski tow, premium vinyl floor, a Mercury 115 Pro XS with CT, and Karavan tandem trailer for $30k OTD.
The boat hull looks to be very well made, lots of fasteners and good welds. The furniture is very nice, good thick vinyl, and good stitching. The fit and finish of some things is a bit off. I've found multiple loose fasteners on the bimini frames, the wiring inside the helm console looks like it was just tossed in there, I had to refasten the fuse block as it was dangling by a single loose screw, I also had to zip tie all the wires up so they wouldn't flop around putting stress on the gauge connections and harness connectors. The boat runs and handles great, it's a nice quiet ride. While I wouldn't exactly call it a "budget" boat (like the Sun Trackers), it certainly isn't a premium brand either, but it was $10-$15k less than the premium brands. All in all, it's a solid boat and will last us a long time as we take care of our toys.[/quote]



That's a great review. Thank you for the info. I really wanna get the used 08 playcraft power deck i found but I need to find a great lending source as my credit union will only do 3 years on that year model boat. If I can't get that one I am going to see what kind of deal I can get on the Lowes. I have yet to go look up close at one as he didn't have any there.

No problem. I ended up with a loan through the dealer's lender, Huntington National Bank, they beat my credit union on the interest rate.

Lowe pontoons had never crossed my mind because I always remembered them as making very basic john boats, fishing boats, and very entry level pontoon boats.. I looked locally at Sylvan, Premier, Avalon, and Bentley tritoons and then discovered that Lowe makes some pretty well equipped tritoons.. For the price the Lowe just seemed like a better value for that type of boat I wanted. I'm cheap too, this is the first new boat I've ever bought and the most I've ever spent on a boat. I generally like to buy used boats that have already had their major depreciation in value, but I just could not for the life of me find a well maintained used tritoon for under $27k.. so for $3k more I bought brand new.

I bought a 2015 Lowe SS 210 RFL tri-toon with the XL package and 150 HP Mercury back in August 2014. My brand choices were limited out here in San Diego and Harris was the only other nearby option. Very happy with it, runs 39.7 GPS and I love the quite motor. Have now a bit over 180 hours on it. Paid 33K OTD with dual axle galviniced trailer.
Happy tooning!

[quote="Reiner"]I bought a 2015 Lowe SS 210 RFL tri-toon with the XL package and 150 HP Mercury back in August 2014. My brand choices were limited out here in San Diego and Harris was the only other nearby option. Very happy with it, runs 39.7 GPS and I love the quite motor. Have now a bit over 100 hours on it. Paid 33K OTD with dual axle galviniced trailer.
Happy tooning![/quote]


If I can't get the power deck I believe I will continue to look into the Lowes. Sounds like a pretty decent boat. I seen the option to add the XL package and option for a 300 verado and sounded like a toon i'd drive!

I have a 2016 Lowe 210SS as well w/ the 150hp Mercury. I paid $28,300 OTD w/ Karavan trailer. I haven't had any problems with it besides the cheesy trailer. With the 150, WOT on a good day I can get 41 mph but usually 38-39 mph is the norm in rough wind and water.

Here is a link to a Lowe 250 w/ 300 Mercury. Looks like they are getting top speed of 50-51 out of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xCoHqENep4

[quote="Gearbanger"]I have a 2016 Lowe 210SS as well w/ the 150hp Mercury. I paid $28,300 OTD w/ Karavan trailer. I haven't had any problems with it besides the cheesy trailer. With the 150, WOT on a good day I can get 41 mph but usually 38-39 mph is the norm in rough wind and water.

Here is a link to a Lowe 250 w/ 300 Mercury. Looks like they are getting top speed of 50-51 out of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xCoHqENep4[/quote]



Awesome, I searched youtube but couldn't find anything.. Thank you for that link!

[quote="Gearbanger"]I have a 2016 Lowe 210SS as well w/ the 150hp Mercury. I paid $28,300 OTD w/ Karavan trailer. I haven't had any problems with it besides the cheesy trailer. With the 150, WOT on a good day I can get 41 mph but usually 38-39 mph is the norm in rough wind and water.

Here is a link to a Lowe 250 w/ 300 Mercury. Looks like they are getting top speed of 50-51 out of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xCoHqENep4[/quote]

Dang, you got a screaming deal!