Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hi Everyone, My name is Laura and my husband Tom and I just purchased a 2012 Aqua Patio tri-toon, 26 ft with the performance package and 150 hp four stroke Yamaha engine. We have never had a boat and know nothing about boating, but we recently inherited a house on the water and figured we should have a boat. After much consideration we decided on a pontoon boat. We have elderly parents and they would never be able to climb into a regular boat. In addition, we don't really have any desire to go speeding around really fast. Just want to get out there on Barnegat Bay on nice days, see what everybody is talking about at Tices Shoal and explore a bit. Looking forward to early morning coffee and maybe a nice sunrise. My husband was also stuck on an outboard and I wanted deck space so our options were limited as I did not want a fishing boat since there not enough seating. We have been talking to a local dealer for a while and they had an in water show locally a few weeks ago. They had this 2012 demo for what I think was a decent price and when we went for ride I fell in love with it. Really stable and the thing can move. So, we bought it. I'm pretty excited and also a little scared. Hopefully did not get in over our heads. My husband works at an oil terminal and drives the boat in Newark Bay, but does not have a boating license (only the stamp on his drivers license). I have nothing. We are scheduled for a boating course in Nov. Hopefully we will pass, but gives us time if we don't since the dealer is storing the boat for us for free till spring. Anyway, since we can certainly use any advice or comments about owning a pontoon boat I thought I would join this forum. If any of you boat in NJ on Barnegat bay would certainly be up for any info. Actually any information you have for newbees is welcome.
Thanks! Laura

Welcome glad to have you on board

Welcome to the forums

Welcome. I think you and your husband will find a lot of useful information here. Don't be afraid to ask questions, the members here are very knowledgeable. By the way that's some boat to jump into as your starter boat! nice Job.

Welcome to the club.
Sounds like a very nice toon you got there.

Welcome

Without pic's you be could be pulling our leg

Welcome to the Forum. As it was said, there are many members that can probably answer just about any question you may have.

Northeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey should be a great place to boat. You're inside a bunch of barrier islands, and sights should be endless.

Usually, we talk about having proper ropes, anchors, life preservers, etc.--basic things. In your case, you might want to have a good marine compass, ship to shore radio, a and a very good GPS/depth finder. You might also want to carry a spare propeller and have the tools to swap out props. I would suggest that you equip your boat especially well since you're in an ocean area with "big water".

In the Spring, I would suggest you spend time maneuvering around a dock at idle on a still day. Just practice, practice, practice handling the boat.

Welcome............for never having a boat you made a pretty good selection on your first boat. Congrats on the house............know you will enjoy it
doc

Laura... welcome to the group, and congratulations on the new pontoon. Sounds like you picked a good one, especially for your first boat. Pontoon is the way to go... so much more comfortable and because of that comfort you can spend alot more time on the water... would love to see some pics of your new boat..

I have two suggestions for you:
1. Take a US Coast Guard Auxiliary boating safety course (should be able to find one through the internet)
2. Look into a membership with TowBoatUS (www.towboatus.com) It's a little pricey for salt water boaters, but if you are stranded and no one else is around, the annual fee will seem like a real bargain.

2.5. Have wonderful time!!

Welcome sounds like a nice rig! I really like the engine you selected!

hi laura,we boat in the bay as well and tices is always a great place to hang out,we have a 08 suntracker 21 ft pontoon 90 hp merc,we launch in forked river at townsends marine or in bricktown,great boat you described ,hope u enjoy,last sun we went to manasquan river and it was great,calm water and i even went out the inlet to the ocean for a while wich is not what i intended this boat for.,ttyl.kenny

Hi Everyone,
Thanks so much for the big welcome! You certainly are a friendly bunch. I'm glad to see so many nice comments about the boat. Being total newbees we just went with our gut feelings and bought as much we felt comfortable spending. This is all so new to us and we are bit overwhelmed, but as I said since we are right on the water with a large dock and a huge amount of bulkhead (I know big bucks to replace, hopefully not too soon ) we figure we should do this. We bought new since we have no experience and felt it was best to start fresh.

As for pictures, my husband has some on his phone. We don't have the boat home yet, the dealer has it. They are storing it for the winter. They are going to shrink wrap it and storing free this winter. Have seen lots of threads on best storage options, will likely be joining those with questions at the end of next season. I'm trying to get my husband to send me the pics but he is somewhat computer deficient and it is taking him way long. In a couple of days I will just have my techno son help him and then I can post. I assure you we own this toon

We are registered for a boating safety course so we can get our licenses. It is sponsored by NJ Power Squadron. It is a 12 hour safety course and then we test. Fingers crossed we pass.

Kenny, nice to see a neighbor here too. Forked River is just down the road. We do not have a trailer and NJ Outboards said they will launch it for us in the spring and then we will just keep it our dock until next fall. We are thinking of getting a lift since I know salt does real damage. The thing has bottom paint on the toons since the they used it as a demo, but I'm still concerned. I will be asking questions about that too. Also, I guess at some point we will get a trailer. More questions...

Anyway, Thank you all. I feel very welcome here.

Talk to you all soon. And will hopefully have some pictures to post also.

Laura

Here is a picture of our new boat!

WOW that's a beauty