Looking at buying my first boat soon!!

[clintusaf]

hey guys,

im new here and my name is Clint. i'm plan on buying a pontoon boat for my first boat. i like the thought of being able to have plenty of room, pull a skier and fish from the same boat.

here are my priorities for purchasing.
1. I'm on a budget($15,000), so buying new is out of the picture
2. 24 ft or above
3. 90hp or above
4. prefer a fishing version
5. custom cover

so here go some questions

1. ive been told to stay away from suntracker and that bennington and bentley were better brands. what are the brands i should look for/stay away from since ill be buying a used boat?

2. tri-toon or regular pontoon? advantages/disadvantages of both?

3. what are strakes?

4. what are some things that i am going to need for general maintenance for a pontoon? (battery charger, etc)

5, if i buy from a private party, what should i check to make sure im not gettin screwed?

[Durante]

Hey Clint

I am new here as well as a new pontoon owner myself. But I have been shopping toons for the last 6 months. I bought a G3 by Yamaha, but the three brands you mention all stacked up well when I was shopping, though, out of the three you mention I like the Bennington the best. The advantages of a tri-toon is a more stable platform, the ability to carry a heavyer load and it helps the boat ride higher out of the water, the disadvantage is they cost more. Poontoon (2 tubes) advantage is they cost less. Strakes are built into performance pontoons to help lift them out of the water, less friction = faster speed and better performance. The last two questions I will leave to the pros here to answer, becasue they know alot more than me. Good luck

[ROLAND]

Hi Clint... I'm not going to bash suntrackers, I've got a friend who has one and he likes his fine. I have a bennington, but it's from thier "value" series line which is a nice way of saying cheaper boats. The warranty on my benny is the same as on a 40K rig, but my boat is smaller ( 20 footer ) and does not have alot of the bells and whistles. None the less it's all that me and my wife need for weekend fishing excursions, plus it still allows us to take out a group of 6 to 8 people comfortably. The one thing I think you need to be careful of if buying a used boat from an individual is the motor. Have it checked out by a mechanic, check the compression. If you end up buying a pre owned boat, and then six months later have to turn around and invest in a new motor, then you probably would have been just as well off to buy new. Having said that don't be afraid to by used, there are a lot of great bargains out there right now, you should be able to get alot of boat for not alot of money.. just do your homework. Good luck.

Roland
2010 Bennington 20 SFi
Yamaha F-75

[Ghost Rider]

I also have a couple friends with Suntracker toons and they love them.

[jafo9]

used is the way to go. suntracker is a good brand. think of it like cars. bennington, premier, manitou and a few others brands are like lexus, infiniti, etc. that doesn't mean ford doesn't make some great cars. at your price point you are either gonna have to go with an older high end toon or you can get a newer "normal" toon. if this is your 1st boat, you are probably better off getting one that's less than 5 years old. if you buy used, you wont take a big hit if you sell it in a few years when you find the boat you love.

our 1st toon was a suntracker regency 22ft and we loved it. it also helped us figure out what we wanted on our "next" boat. another big consideration is what types of motor can your local mechanic work on. my honda requires some specialized tools and there is no one around me to work on it. since i do the majority of work its not a big deal, but its probably something to consider.

another major theme you'll see over and over on this board is buy the biggest motor you can afford. you'll never sit back and say "damn, i've got too much horsepower".

good luck.

[clintusaf]

wow guys thanks for all your replies. i guess i wont count out suntracker then. one more thing. how is a boat loan different froma car loan?

[badmoonrising]

Love our Sun Tracker, no problems with it at all and we love it. Don't know where those comments come from but Tracker has always made good boats and they are one of the stronger companies. It probably came from dealers of the overpriced brands. Tracker has a lifetime warranty on the Duradeck and pontoon logs as well.