Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

picked up a new (to me) 21' 95 sunbird fiberglass tri-hull pontoon, put a new deck on and threw on some parts i had lying around the house to try it out for it's first run yesterday. I am using a 25" 1990 johnson 140 with a 15x17 ss prop. I took it out on the intercoastal with heavy chop 2'-4' and it went really well, got it up to 30mph, the tach was malfunctioning so not sure what my RPMs were, I have it fixed now and am going to try again today on the fresh water canal, should be very calm, hoping to get 35mph. now that I like the way it handles waves and broke the 30mph mark I think I am going to pimp this one out, I have a T-Top guy making me a custom aluminum tube fence/railing, not sure about the furniture set up but would like to incorporate a bar and bar stools like on the new South Bays.

well I was hoping to be back out on the water this weekend but the new power bimini came in this week but was missing some parts (hopefully missing parts are on the way) and the new fence came in today but they sent me the wrong color, the paneling was suppose to be black, (so I guess the missing parts for the bimini doesn't matter at this point) this wasn't my dream fence but I am going with it until someone out there makes a nice aftermarket kit, i checked with a few fabricators, 1 was outrageously priced and 2 I submitted plans/ specs and never heard back from them.

Sweet now its time to enjoy.

yes, i just need to get the engine dialed in, i have the wrong prop for this hull, 15x17 need something like a 15x13or14, only getting 4000rpms @30mph, hoping to get 5500 @ 35+mph

just ordered a brand new 150hp E-Tech, went into the dealership to but a new Suzuki 175 but was talked out of it, Evinrude is offering for 1 month only a 6 year warranty, free rigging and guages, should be in next thursday, hopefully I will have in on saturday and trying out on saturday

keosports wrote:just ordered a brand new 150hp E-Tech, went into the dealership to but a new Suzuki 175 but was talked out of it, Evinrude is offering for 1 month only a 6 year warranty, free rigging and guages, should be in next thursday, hopefully I will have in on saturday and trying out on saturday

I got a 5 year when I got mine

maybe this is good timing because my 140 caught on fire today, luckily it was in my driveway and I had my shop fire extinguisher near by, it was completely engulfed, I put it out fast, washed it down and there is no sign of a fire at all, under the cowl was filled with gas, guess my mechanic forgot to tighten something up last week when he cleaned the carbs. (after all was washed down it started right up and ran like a champ) bottom carb appears to be leaking. I got really lucky because I had the boat parked right next to my other "sold" boat and my shop and none are insured, looks like I am going to have 3 extinguishers on board at all time from here on out.

When a boat is stored on your property, it's covered under your home owner's ins.

badmoonrising wrote: When a boat is stored on your property, it's covered under your home owner's ins.

any idea if homeowners insurance would cover theft too? I am going to call Geico to get insurance but I am not hopeful since the boat is overpowered, I may get a new HIN# issued since I rebuilt everything on the boat from the hull up (not sure if that would make a difference for the insurance co.)

keosports wrote:

badmoonrising wrote: When a boat is stored on your property, it's covered under your home owner's ins.

any idea if homeowners insurance would cover theft too? I am going to call Geico to get insurance but I am not hopeful since the boat is overpowered, I may get a new HIN# issued since I rebuilt everything on the boat from the hull up (not sure if that would make a difference for the insurance co.)

If the boat was stolen from a residence, it's generally covered under homeowners. A boat being towed is generally covered under car insurance. Boat insurance can be for the place it's stored (marina, slip, rack, lift, etc.) OR only damages that occur when the boat is in/on the water. I had some crackhead steal $1800.00 worth of equipment out of one of my fishing boats years ago (mostly rods/tackle/etc.). I called Boat US who informed me that that's under homeowner's. Homeowner's paid for all new equipment, didn't bat an eye.

As for overpowering, it depends on the insurance company. Boat US has been scrutinizing everything the last few years.

I got a lot done this week, got the furniture in & installed, swim platforms installed, built the bar, bass tube, fresh water system, and got to take it out for a few hours on Saturday until a big storm came rolling in.

also got the diamond plating on and sharkhided, still debating on what to do with the sides,trying to find some cool striping, I priced out wrapping the panels on through to the hull to the water line but I am a little hesitant on spending $2k on something that is only good for maybe 5 years.

I hate to think of the hours you've spent on your boat reconditioning and rebuilding it. You've done a marvelous job.

I like the way your boat sits in the water. It's more of a tri-hull deck boat to me than an actual pontoon boat.

We'd be interested in what speeds you're getting, and what rpm's. Picking a prop for such a boat might require a good prop shop.

You've essentially got a new boat, so a new engine is warranted. Your ETEC should be a good fit, as they're stronger coming out of the hole than 4 strokes of the same horsepower.