Buying a New ‘Toon; 2021 Qwest

[Rick McC.]

Thanks Paul! And after reading about the motor/prop/gauge/anything boat related shortages; I realize just how fortunate we were to have that Honda Rep work with our dealer and get us that 225 HP Honda!

[Rick McC.]

We headed out this morning about 11:00 AM. I went about four miles out in the gulf, then headed north to go up to the Homosassa River for lunch at K.C.Crumps, which is on the north side of the river, across from the Homosassa municipal boat ramp, and McRaes Landing.

Crumps has plenty of good dock facilities, and the food is excellent (the drinks are too, according to the wife). She likes to have a drink with her lunch, but I never drink any adult beverages when operating a boat; period.

Anyway, the trip up was very smooth, but the tide, wind and waves had come up for the trip back south. The boat ran dry, but it was more comfortable to run at 25-26 mph than the 31-32 mph I ran on the way up.

It’s about seven miles from our dock to the end of the Bayport channel, then another 13 miles north to the Homosassa channel. From the channel marker I go to, it's another 5-6 miles to the mouth of the Homosassa River, then another 8-9 miles up the river to Crumps. All told; it makes a nice day trip, and dockside ethanol-free gas is available at the Riverhaven Marina, just to the west of Crumps.

There are two no wake zones along the Homosassa on the way to Crumps (with more farther upstream), one at the mouth, and another starting a half mile or so below Crumps. The channel in the river has a speed limit of 25 mph, and extends to 1500 feet offshore, for manatee protection. All areas out of the marked channel in the river are idle speed only.

Our river; the Weeki Wachee, is spring fed, and crystal clear. It’s entirely idle speed only for manatee and property protection. It’s also packed with Kayaks and canoes pretty much year round, which is a major PITA! We have our own kayaks, but we know how to use them, and are aware of the applicable navigation rules. Probably 90% of the kayaks you meet on the river will be rentals, manned by clueless individuals. It does keep the trip through a couple of dicey areas in the river from getting boring!

The new tri-toon rocks!

[TWB]

[Marc K]

I'm still interested to hear about the top-end speed under good conditions! It's really kind of a moot point because I wouldn't want to run wide open for long periods anyway. But inquiring minds like to dream.

[Rick McC.]

I'm still interested to hear about the top-end speed under good conditions! It's really kind of a moot point because I wouldn't want to run wide open for long periods anyway. But inquiring minds like to dream.

I’ll have to check that out soon and I’ll report back here.

We haven’t been out on the boat since the trip last Tuesday; the tides have been bad, and the dryer quit last Wednesday. We got a new dryer and washer on Friday, but we live in a stilt home (waterfront/flood zone), and my back’s not quite recovered yet.

[Rick McC.]

We headed south in the Gulf yesterday to an island that we like to anchor off between Bayport and Hernando Beach. I cooked hamburgers on the grill, then hopped in the water and scrubbed the ‘toons with a brush I keep on board. It was a very nice day, and some porpoises came by for a bit to see what we were doing.

With our old ‘toons, running out in the Gulf would clean off the sides of the pontoons pretty quickly. But I’ve found that with a tri-toon, since they’re planing rather than displacement surfaces; they ride higher in the water at speed, which puts the slime/scum line above the surface of the water.

[TWB]

Being on the ICW, we are in brackish water. My wife usually takes her jetski and I take the pontoon to "our spot." We are pretty ritualistic in flushing and washing both with Saltaway after every use. The only drawback to the blue aluminum fencing and blue jetski we have is salt water spots. Hate that.

[Rick McC.]

Being on the ICW, we are in brackish water. My wife usually takes her jetski and I take the pontoon to "our spot." We are pretty ritualistic in flushing and washing both with Saltaway after every use. The only drawback to the blue aluminum fencing and blue jetski we have is salt water spots. Hate that.

We live on a canal off the Weeki Wachee River; which is a spring-fed river (actually the outflow of the spring) that wanders about 7 1/2 miles to the coast at Bayport, which is in Hernando County in SW Florida. Our dock is right at two miles upriver from the mouth, and the vast majority of our boating is in the Gulf of Mexico, not the river.

I usually scrub the pontoon sides and backs off whenever we anchor at one of our inshore spots, but I don’t worry about water spots, other than those on the engine cowling after I rinse the rear of the boat and motor off when I get back to the dock.

Edit:

The boat stays in the water pretty much year round, though I do intend to put this one on a trailer about November. The last two (over the last 17-18 years) stayed in the water year round unless a hurricane was coming.

A guy came from the dealer’s today and replaced the Bimini top motor on the port side, which wasn’t working when we got the boat home from buying it new. All that’s left is to have a second top made and installed the first week in June, and we’ll be all set for the summer. Well, except for the 20 hour service on the motor, which I plan to have done while the boat’s up in Crystal River having the second top made.

It gets pretty hot up in the front now, but the second top’ll take care of that.

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4D5EEB68-70C4-4C43-9900-D931D4FC7CD9.jpeg (452.86 KiB) Viewed 4367 times

[Rick McC.]

Got the new ‘toon back this afternoon from having it’s 20-hour service, and second top made and installed.

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[TWB]

Got the new ‘toon back this afternoon from having it’s 20-hour service, and second top made and installed.

Wow, man! That looks great!

[Rick McC.]

Got the new ‘toon back this afternoon from having it’s 20-hour service, and second top made and installed.

Wow, man! That looks great!

Thank you Sir.

JP in Crystal River made both the frame and top. He also makes a boot for the new top, and modifies the existing boat cover so that it’ll fit with the new hardware and top installed.

I found him back in ‘06, when we wanted a second top made for the Hurricane we had back then, and have used him ever since.

JP grew up and went to school in Crystal River, and has never left. He’s been in business in the same place for many many years, and is exactly the kind of small businessman that I appreciate, and want to support!

If there are any members fairly close to here needing Bimini top work; I’ll be glad to provide his contact info.

[JerryTx]

That is a good looking boat, congratulations.

Excuse a newbie's question; I've not seen pics with the front of the logs having those concave(?) extensions. Are those spray catchers? And what are the hooks on top of them used for, trailering?

[Rick McC.]

That is a good looking boat, congratulations.

Excuse a newbie's question; I've not seen pics with the front of the logs having those concave(?) extensions. Are those spray catchers? And what are the hooks on top of them used for, trailering?

Thanks Jerry!

I think that the ”concave extensions” you’re referring to are the top part of the log skin carried forward as some sort of deflector (or maybe it’s a manufacturing expedient). I don’t think that I’ve had a ‘toon, regardless of manufacturer, that didn’t exhibit that feature.