New to Site! Pontooner wannabe!

[GaCarolinaTn]

I am presently scouring every piece of info that I can find in search of the right tritoon. The kids and I presently ride dirt bikes, but they and the wife REALLY want a boat, as do I. I've long been sold on deck boats, but after a long day on a friends Manitou tri, I am a believer!

Wish us the best!

[smltooner]

Good luck with your search.
You will get a lot of good info here.
Welcome to the club.

[Bamaman]

Good luck on your search. You didn't say how your friend's Manitou was equipped, but a 24' high performance tritoon of any premium brand with a big motor can set you back big $.

Since Memphis is lacking in quality lakes, many people buy boats @ Pickwick. I believe Paul Seaton carries Premier--one of the nicest boats on the market (on par with Manitou.) Marine Sales (Sea Ray) sells Crest pontoons. Pickwick Water Sports sells Palm Beach.

In town, Counce Marine sells Sanpan and Sweetwater. Memphis Boat Center carries Veranda and Berkshire. Fortunately, they're across the street from each other off Getwell Rd.

As far as Manitou dealers, there's one at Heber Springs/Greers Ferry Lake and one around Parsons, TN/Kentucky Lake--both 135 miles from Memphis.

You're getting to the end of the boating season, with school starting and Labor Day around the corner. You might could save big $ if you'd wait until the January/February, 2012 boat shows in Memphis, Little Rock and Nashville. Boat shows bring out the competition amongst dealers, and the prices are usually much lower.

In the meantime, continue reading on this forum to get more knowledge on what to get to meet your needs. Also, watch Boattrader.com, EBayMotors.com, IBoats.com and CraigsList.com for people wanting to dump late model used boats.

[GaCarolinaTn]

Thanks for the feedback on boat dealers. Decent used tritoons look to be scarce, and the ones I do find have asking prices too high in my opinion. Our friends Manitou was about 24 ft long (Legacy model maybe) and has a 175 horse 4 stroke Suzuki on it. I didn't ask them too many questions, but it may have been a few years old when he bought it new.

I don't get hung up over brand names too often, but with so many different brands of boats out there, I do want to weed out the cats and dogs from my consideration set. Also, not looking for the best of the best in terms of options, just something around the middle of the road - moderate quality interior, swim ladder, radio with speakers, and the biggest 4 stroke my bank will allow. For some reason I'm drawn to JC Mfg boats, not sure why. Spend a day marina in Ohio has the best pricing on these guys (and Benningtons and Premier). Worth the drive to save 5-10 k!!!!

[GaCarolinaTn]

Smitooner - I used to live south of you outside of Winston-Salem! I miss that area of the country and climate and friends. I've heard about Smith Mountain Lake, but have never been there. I've been told it is very nice there, and isn't as congested as Norman - that place is a wreck on the weekends.

[playcat]

Welcome. good luck in your search. Don't ignore the power of personal info - we found our barge only because we knew the owner. Turns out he had already taken delivery of a bigger (!) pontoon and had the one we bought sitting in the middle of his front yard! he needed it GONE and we matched the low-ball offer he got from a dealer.