pontoon owner wannabe (questions)

[chuck9997]

Looking at pontoon boats.. I am a former camper.. Sold my travel trailer.. got tired of the problems of camper ownership.. i.e.: leaks, rotting floor, roof maintenace,.. etc etc. Looking for a new fun toy. My wife really would enjoy a pontoon boat.. she never liked camping.

What are the "down sides" of pontoon boat ownership? are there any?
I am concerned about:
trailering and towing (I have a 2006 4X4 Nissan Frontier crew cab.. tow rating: 6100lbs, pulled a 3000 lb (unloaded) camper, no problem.
launching
pulling boat out of the water
handling boat on the water
regular maintenance needs
what are guides?
should I buy new or used?
wood floor or aluminum floor?
any other "newbie" stuff

Thanks for your input.

[chuck9997]

ALSO.. I am not an avid fisherman.. but with a pontoon boat.. I might want to try my luck from time to time. Fishing would not be a big factor in the boats usage.. Would I be better off to tlook for a pontoon boat with or without the fishing chairs on the front (or back)? Can you, occasionaly) fish ok without the "fishing" seats?

[mike]

your truck will do just fine, if you dont want to deal with the possibility of rotting floors get an all aluminum deck. Launching the boat will be similar to backing up your trailer, it will be scary and foreign at first but after a few times you wont even think about it... I personally have very few maintenance issues with my boat, they are pretty basic in design so you shouldnt have any trouble. Good luck!

[cbavier]

As said above and start looking around at Marinas and in the newspaper want ads for a used pontoon. If you don't fish, a pontoon with full furniture seats will do you fine. If you really want to fish, front single fishing seats will be your best bet. MAKE SURE WHEN YOU BUY ONE that the Deck comes almost to the front end of the tubes and not set back 24 inches or so. You want to be able to board a pontoon from shore by stepping on the deck. If it's 18-25 inches back from the front tip on the pontoons it will be hard for anyone to board it. I would not recommend any pontoon under 20ft. Most shorter than 20ft only have 7 ft or 7/12 ft wide decks and are unstable in rough water. If you think you might want to pull tubers or skiers don't get anything under 50 HP and probably a 90 would even be better. What you have to do is figure how much you want to spend for your first pontoon and start looking. There are some good buys out there for $10,000 or less. In fact you can buy a pretty good pontoon boat for $5,000. Make sure if you buy a boat that you get a trailer with it. A float on trailer will be more stable on the highway towing than a crank up but a crank up will launch in much shallower water so there are pluses and minuses to both types of trailers.

[Ray Jr.]

Yes you can fish from a regular cruise type pontoon with out any problems.
Here is a shot of the Admiral fishing off the sundeck.



Most all of the top manufacturers have a lifetime warranty on the deck,
Premier has a lifetime on the deck, the tubes and the furniture framework.
A good option in my opinion is buying a rental toon, our dealer sells off their rental fleet each season , you get as new warranty and financing with a very good discount on price.

Mike is dead on your truck will pull it no problem.
Guides will help you get the boat on the trailer easier, I had them on our other trailer but not on the new one, now that I am more experienced at loading It goes on fine without the guides.

Plenty of knowledgeable folks on here that will answer any questions


Personally I dont think there is any "down side" to a Toon.

[bassn386]

You didn't say where you live/boat, but if you are going to be on big bodies of water with lots of traffic, consider a triple log and buy the biggest motor you can afford that the boat can handle.
If the motor is a two stroke, not much in the way of regular maintenance other than changing out the impeller periodically as well as the fuel-water separator and lower unit lube (same for 4 strokes). Four stroke require annual oil changes. If you buy used, it might be a good idea to have a certified marine mechanic do a compression check on the motor. Check the prop for damage.
For the boat itself, keeping the upholstery and carpet (if it has carpet) clean and mildew free will extend the life (and your enjoyment) for years to come.
If the deck is wood and the seating is on wood bases (most new toons have seat bases on some type of plastic), check for rotting on top and underneath on a used toon.

Find a boat dealer/marina close to home and start going there to talk to the folks. Tell them what you are looking for. When you tell us where you live there's probably someone on this forum who can point you in the right direction on dealers, marinas, etc.

Good luck and Happy Boating!

[DWill3332]

Chuck 9997 - there is a downside to owning a pontoon. When the weather is too bad to take it out, it is real aggravating to have to sit and look at the toon sitting on the trailer sitting in the yard. But, when you are able to get the bottom wet in your favorite body of water, you can't beat it. It is a great family activity opportunity. We love ours.

[smltooner]

Welcome to the club.

[Rangercd]

You've already had loads of good advise and you have a lot to consider.
I'll toss out a few more things.
Take a US Coast Guard boat class. Even if you do not own a boat yet, this class will help you make a few decissions.

Launching concerns: Go to a local busy boat ramp and watch for a few hours. My gal and myself went there for the comedy to begin with a several times. It's really pretty funny to watch Then when I was waiting for my boat to be delivered to the dealer, I went more often to learn proper technic and think it through so people wouldn't be coming to the launch to watch and laugh at me.
My first ever time of putting a boat in was just a month ago and from the trailer touching the water until my guest were on board was two minutes. Taking out was accomplished in less then 3 minutes and that included me getting out of the truck and walking out the dock to get the boat.
You just have to work out a system. My honey won't back the trailer but she is fine pulling it out and parking. I back it part way in then get on the boat. She back it up about another 6 feet and I'm floating. Taking the boat out, I back the trailer into the water, she gets in, I get back on the boat, pull it on and she drives us out and to the staging area.

I was really worried about the process but the class helped and watching and learning helped even more.

[chuck9997]

WOW.. thanks for all the advice and comments.. I really appreciate it. I am from Tennessee.. near Knoxville. I would guess the a lot of my boating would be on NORRIS LAKE and/or the Clinch River.

[ROLAND]

Hi Chuck...being a newbe to boating last season, I had some of the same concerns you have now so let me address a couple of them for you. Downside to tooning... I'm sure there are some, but I havent found any...love my little 20 footer and wish I had done this 10 years ago... a pontoon offers the ability to take more people out on your boat, comfort is huge...after 4 or 5 hours of let's say fishing, on a pontoon you can walk around and stretch... try that in a bass rig.. as far as pulling it with your truck, you should be fine.. we have a 2010 4-Runner rated for towing 5000 lbs and it pulls our toon easily... .. launching is usually pretty easy depending on the launch you use.. Like I said, I'm only on my 2nd year in a pontoon boat and I never really had a problem launching....now putting the boat back on the trailer did present a few problems, but that was mainly because I was still learning. I added a set of 48" pvc trailer guides to the back of my trailer and now loading the boat is much much easier.... new or used... that depends alot on you. If you're handy then used would be a good alternative and save you alot of money... I am not mechanically inclined so I went new. Also I wasn't looking for a project, I just wanted to buy a toon and go fishing....been lovin it ever since... Good luck with your search and let us know what you decide