New to pontoons and need advice before buying

[_AJ_]

I'm a newbie to pontoons and have only spent time on a G3 that we rented in McCall Idaho last summer while on vacation. We had a great time and I have been looking ever since. We just sold our bowrider and are ready to purchase.

My choices see to be limited here in NW Washington but there have bee a few used toons on the market. I think I prefer an I/O so that I have the ability to add a warm water shower for the kids before and after tubing in the cold lakes we have.

My budget is about 22K to 25K.

A couple choices that I am looking at are-

" 2005 Jamiaca 220 Tri-toon Suncruiser Pontoon. In great condition like new.It has a Mercury 350 in/outboard, fish finder, sirus radio w/ additional added audio."

and

" 2004 Sweetwater Pontoon BoatLike "new" 2004 Sweetwater Pontoon Boat for sale from owner. Boat has 33 great hours on it that basically makes it perfectly "worn in" for it's next owner. The boat is 24ft long but with extended deck is 26ft and change." This one is a two toon boat, has a engine is a 3.0 OL 135 Horsepower 4 Cylinder and comes with it's EZ loader trailer.

What do you guys think would be the boat here?

Thanks

AJ

[jafo9]

350 tri-toon vs. 4 banger "iron maiden" 2 toon. easy choice. for that budget, you can get alot of toon. i used http://www.searchtempest.com to find my latest boat. had to drive a good bit, but i got what i wanted. if you are coming from a planing boat, you'll likely want to stick with at least a triple toon and you will probably want to seek out a performance pontoon. manitou, playcraft, bennington, and premier come to mine. south bay was mentioned recently on this board.

i was also an "i/o" guy and during my search i realized that i would have a MUCH bigger selection by accepting an outboard. the only i/o's i found were 40K plus or crap. for the most part, you can get more performance with a smaller motor with an OB vs an I/O. i had a toon with the 3.0L mercruiser and it just didn't fit with our needs. i would at least go with the V6 I/O.

[lakerunner]

With a ok from a mechanic I would go with the Jamaica

[captain kurt]

Aj, I can totally relate to your search, budget and desires.I too was looking at the same type boat. I Would recommend the tritoon with the V6. I picked our family up a sweet little deal just in January see post in members photos 2001 PREIMEIR 250 Majestic. Easy to maintain, ski able, loads of room, tow es well. It did take me almost a year of research ,study and searching to find it. Paid with a little negotiations under $20500. I'm very happy with mine.

[_AJ_]

Any major quality issues with the Suncruiser line. I know they are not a Bennington, but would I be facing major issues as far as construction goes. I'm not to concerned on the motor end.

The Suncruiser is a long drive from here and the Sweetwater is only a couple hours away.

[trott46]

It is always worth the drive to find what you want. I drove 6 hours to get mine one way. Coming from a bowrider you would want a tri toon with strakes if possible for the best speed. Suncruiser has been in the game for some time, should be a sound toon. Buy it and enjoy it.

[WaltF]

Hey Now! sonofa...
I have a 4 banger "iron maiden" 2 toon, and we love it!









but i agree... a 350 vs 135? no brainer...;>

[martys]

I know what you're going through. I spent a year researching before finding mine. My opinion would be, go with the tri-toon - 350 hp. Get as much hp as you can. The extra power and speed will always come in handy pulling skiers, tubes, etc. My only "flag" would be the I/O itself. There's more maintenance involve than newer outboards.

[layne4]

Of the two, providing it checks out okay I would go with the tri-toon 350 i/o. I'm not familiar with that brand though.

[BrianP]

I thought I would throw in something for consideration. I own a bow rider with and I/O. I love the boat, but one of the reasons that I added a pontoon was to get an outboard. Why? Because I have to winterize my bow rider after Halloween, and I don't get it dewinterized until late April or May. This is a lot of the year that I don't get to use the boat. With the pontoon using an outboard, I can get it out whenever I want! This is very nice, plus I don't have the expense of winterizing/dewinterizing every year. It looks like you are in a cooler climate as well where it might freeze, so I would think this would apply to you too.

[badmoonrising]

Well you could always add a closed cooling kit to the I/O. Closed cooling = no winterization other than fuel filters and tune ups.

[badmoonrising]

One BIG plus for the I/O is the motors outlast outboards 2/1. Yes maintenance is tougher, but you gotta take the bad with the good.