Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hi all, I'm brand new to this site and new to pontoon boats (but a very experienced motorboater and sailor) too so am looking for some insights from some of you more experienced pontooners because I'm planning on getting one soon. I'm a little shocked at prices of new pontoon boats, especially tritoons so plan to buy a used pontoon boat. I don't need a really big one so am thinking that either a 20' or 22' one would be about right for me. Right now, in my area, there is a 20' and a 22' pontoon boat for sale with 60hp and 90hp 4 stroke motors on them respectively. Both seem in excellent condition and are under consideration but I am still shopping.

I currently own a somewhat overpowered monohull with a mint condition freshwater only 135hp 2 stroke engine on it that I will sell once I purchase a pontoon boat. My outboard mechanic loves 2 strokes and this engine starts and runs better than any other I've ever had, and it is simple and inexpensive to maintain.

I'd like to be able to occasionally waterski behind my future pontoon boat so have been thinking I should put my current 135hp 2 stroke on it and the lower hp but newer 4 stroke that comes the pontoon boat on my current monohull before selling it.

I realize that I really should spend the big bucks and buy a tritoon but my budget is only about $15K for this boat so that's not going to happen. I also realize that 4 strokes are quieter and more fuel efficient and don't smoke like 2 strokes do so hopefully we won't need to rehash all that. I also realize that pontoon boats aren't optimum for waterskiing due to lack of maneuverability and wake but I already have 3 other boats (cruising sailboat with diesel engine and diesel generator and RIB dinghy with 20hp 4 stroke and 14' aluminum utility boat with 10hp 2 stroke outboard) that I have to maintain so don't want to be bothered with owning yet another boat just for waterskiing. I only waterski a few times a year and only when conditions are optimum and lake is glassy smooth. I also occasionally take kids tubing at slower speeds in slightly wavy conditions.


My biggest question has to do with the feasibility of putting my 135hp 2 stroke outboard on a 20' or 22' pontoon boat and if that will allow me to use it to safely pull a slalom waterskier. I've heard that since pontoon boats really aren't planing hulls they can be hard to get up past about 20mph so wonder if my 135hp engine would push it fast enough to waterski behind and also whether its safe to get a 20' or 22' pontoon boat going fast enough to waterski behind? Most of the time I will use my pontoon boat for just cruising and occasionally fishing on our 9 mile long lake here in Maine during a pretty short boating season. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm very far from a newbie to boating in general but have almost no experience with pontoon boats other than fishing with my cousin off his that only has a 40hp engine on it so would like to hear from some experienced pontoon boaters regarding their thoughts on what i'm thinking about doing. Thanks in advance to any who can help enlighten me on this subject, as well as any other advice on buying a used pontoon boat.

Jt,
Can you give any other info about the pontoons you are looking at such as make, size of tubes and and any upgrades they may have.
I would assume(and hate to do that) that since they have from 60-90 hp that they are fairly basic toons especially the 60 hp. Given that, it may be possible to extract some possible speeds from a 135. Some thought might be given to what is the max recommended HP on the given boat. If it is not a warranty issue then going from a 90 four stroke to a 135 two stroke will "most" likely not make much difference to the handling of the boat but should get you about 3-6 more mph than a 90 but that is dependent on boat. Usually a 115 will get you about 3 mph more than a 90. If you start trying to add more and more HP to a basic 2 tube pontoon then there will be a diminished return in that it will bog down and the rear may squat as the hull can not utilize the HP with a basic two tube set up. That is why we started seeing tritoons as they add buoyancy and planing surface compared to a basic 2 tube set up. Planning augmentation would help but your boats may not have that.
I am no expert and I am sure you will hear more valid opinions but to expect to slalom ski at over 20 with more than a few folks on board might be pushing the boat...It also may be hard to deep water start on slalom due to drag but a jump start may work but again may be dicey..
You might be able to do 20 with full throttle but turning will not be easy with 2 tubes.
Interested to hear what others may say...

You will easily pull up a slalom skier but enough speed will be an issue. What speed do you slalom ski at, I like to slalom at atleast 30 mph. Try to find a used pontoon with lifting strikes. My guess is 25 mph Max without lifting strikes.

My heavy, old two tube 25' with 115 hp pulls a single skier at about 23-24 mph on very smooth water. Plenty of hole shot available with 4-6 people aboard - IF they are seated mid-to-stern. Put 4-6 adults toward the bow and the nosecones PLOW like crazy. We spend a LOT of time tubing with a large 3-4 person "couch" style towable at 22mph - which meets our needs.

I assume that a 22'/135hp will do waaaaay better than mine, but I also suspect that you will want more HP or a tri-toon to meet your need for speed.

Marc