Looking to buy a pontoon for the first time...

[AndrewG]

I am very new to boating. So new, I don't even have a boat (yet). I am in the market for a pontoon boat, and found this site and have learned quite a bit just from lurking about.

Ok, I'm 43, and the primary reason I'm buying this boat is cruising and relaxing. I wouldn't mind being able to get up an go, and there might be some tube pulling, but probably not skiers (maybe,I guess) and little to no fishing (unless a friend really wants to). We're in California, and the boat will reside 99% of the time at Lake Nacimiento, near Paso Robles, CA. We have a small vacation home a stone's throw from the lake. So, it will be trailered very little, and might even reside in a permanent slip a good part of the year.

I have a friend who is very boat experienced (5 boats in his lifetime), but no pontoon experience. He's helping me.

I will be going to the LA Boat Show this February (2012), and will be looking here as well. I've kind of limited myself to brands that have dealers within driving distance of my primary home in Orange County, CA. The means Godfrey (Sweetwater), Harris, Bennington, Manitou, Tracker and Premier. I have visited most of the dealers, and also checked out a large used boat dealer in Perris, CA.

I found www.seedealercost.com, which was an eye opener for pricing. I was/am thinking about used boats, but the used boats that I have had interest in seem to be almost as expensive as a new boat, and a bit worn (2007 or older so far).

If I'm going to spend between $25k-$35k, I figure I might as well get a new boat, with a full warranty on the boat and engine. How much over dealer cost (but less than MSRP) can I reasonably be expected to pay? 10%? 15%? 25%?

I want to TRY to keep the price in the $25-$35k range, am looking at a 22'-25' pontoon. I've seen tri-toons, and rear sun loungers (I like these). Everyone talks about why their boat is the best (bolted to the frame, lifting strakes, solid piece here as opposed to the competition, this gate mechanism, that UV resistant vinyl, etc). It's hard to separate fact from fiction. In the end, are they all pretty good, and it just becomes preference at a certain point?

Engine wise, I'm looking at something between 115-150hp, 4 stroke.

Do I need a triple toon? If you had to choose between a bigger engine, or a third toon, which way do you go? Is there a brand to stay away from? I realize this is a little like Chevy vs. Ford vs. Dodge, but I like to hear the different ideas.

How much should I pay for a trailer? The Godfrey dealer is adding (and promoting) a trailer that is running about $5k. I'm sure it's a very robust trailer, but since my house is on the lake, and the boat will be towed further than a few miles very infrequently, do I need to spend $5k, or would a $2k-$3k trailer do me fine?

Seems everyone has about $2.5k or so in "freight" and another $1k or so in "dealer prep", so with the trailer, it seems to be $6k-$10k over the cost of the boat itself.

Anyway, long story. I hope to get different people's opinions.

[HandymanHerb]

Welcome, can't help with new prices, haven't shopped in a long time, but the guys in the know will jump in here soon.

[Bamaman]

There have been a few potential pontoon buyers in the past few days asking many of the same questions you have. I would refer you to look at those sites for specific recommendations by the experienced forum members.

Let me just say to take your time looking at all the different brands. Make it a business decision--not buying it from the heart. You can make a pontoon into anything you want to --according to your pocketbook. At least you've given us your price range.

For a first time buyer, I would suggest going with a 22' tri-toon with lifting strakes and a 90 hp Yamaha--if that will fit into the low to medium range of your budget. If a 115 hp will fit into your budget, go with that. If you go to the higher end of your budget, I'd suggest a 24' boat with a 150 hp--either Yamaha or the new Mercury 150 (just out.)

Note: I suggest tri toons, as they're just so much more efficient. When tubing, you need the capability of tight turns to whip the tubes outside the wake, and 2 toon pontoons handle terribly. (I have one.)

As far as brands, your price bracket won't allow you to go really high line/high performance--Premier, Bennington, Manitou. Some of these brands do have less expensive boats, however. I would look at the second tier of lesser price but perfectly nice boat--like Bentley, SunTracker, and many more brands.

By all means, go to the boat shows. Competition often brings prices down. But, I would be very wary of any dealer that tries to sell you a $5000 pontoon trailer, as I'm sure you didn't fall off a turnip truck. Trailers run $2000 on low end and around $2800 with brakes.

Before you go to the boat show, go into Boattrader.com and filter it for pontoon boats within "X" miles of your home.
Compare prices of new and slightly used boats--and you can often figure out who the dominant boat dealers in your retail market are. There's no substitution for being an informed buyer.

Forget about DealerCost.com. This is not the car business being supported by volume sales. The boat business is just not that good in a down economy--and, that dealer's probably not going to sell the boat you're looking at today. Don't let'em rush you.

[1roadking]

I went through this a few years ago and ended up with a bennington 2075 gli with ESP and a 150 hp Yamaha 4 stroke. I had to go with a 20 ft due to a length restriction at my docking site. I would go with at least a 22 ft triton and a 150 hp or more. If you do, you will be very happy with your boat and not looking for a new one in a couple of years. If properly taken care of, your boat will last a very long time. Dont spend a lot on the trailer if you will only trailer the boat very little. The prices are pretty flexible, don't be afraid to make a reasonable offer and hold to it.

[robster]

Last Feb. 2011 we went to the boat show to just look and ended up buying our first pontoon boat a 2011 22-ft. Manitou Oasis VP package tritoon with a Yamaha 150HP 4-stroke. We were in the same spot as you,the used boats that nearly met all our needs were pricey. This is the third boat we have purchased over the past 12 years and the best to date. In our area the Manitou was $5-6K less than a Bennington. Plus our Manitou is sportier looking than the Benningtons we looked at. Our Manitou turns extremely tight which is great for water sports,we have the power assisted steering and are extremely glad we spent the money to get it! For fit and finish,performance,best boat for the money,customer service,we have been more than extremely happy with our Manitou. I just wish we could have spent the big bucks and get a Manitou Xplode with a 250 HP motor but that was well above our affordability even a used Xplode was out of our reach. We spent around $35K for our Manitou and that was a super major purchase for us.

Cheers,
Robert

[Bryden24shp]

Here ya go....
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2007- ... -101090215
And the interest rate right now is 4.75 through US bank. Its the perfect time to buy a used Manitou, thats in almost new condition. I gotta make room for Manny #2. I'll go down to $31,000 it books for over $40,000 yet.
Plus I'll fix you up with a date with Jennifer Aniston!


Sorry, wife says her last name is Anderson, girl she works with, sorry!

[BobL]

A few questions....

How big is your "home" lake?

Does the lake get very rough?

How far do you expect to travel while on the water (i.e. 8-10 miles or 40-50 miles per trip)?

You already answered the water sports (tube, ski, wakeboard) question but there are levels of watersports. Pulling kids at 10-15mph on a tube with little turning is a lot different from wakeboarding or "extreme" tubing. If you are doing a lot of water sports then 3 logs and big horsepower is a must.

Is the boat going to be stored in or around your home lake? EDIT - you already answered this.

Do you plan on trailering the boat to other lakes and if so, how far is the trip?

I feel confident you will enjoy the boat but at some point, you may be like many others and want something bigger and faster. With that in mind, you may want to go into this with the understanding that you may upgrade in a couple of years. If that is the case, you can surely remain within your budget and get a very nice boat (i.e. a 22', two toon, 100hp 4 stroke range, etc.). Used toons tend to hold their value very well where I live.

I started with a 20' Bentley (good product and on the lower end of the pricing scale - less than $20K) and 50hp, kept it for 4 years then traded in on a 22' Southbay with 130 4 stroke. I also have a jetski and Mastercraft for watersports so we dont tube or ski behind the party barge. We dont fish, our lake is 8 miles long and it never gets rough. What all this means is we dont take long trips and 130hp is plenty of power and we dont need 3 logs.

P.S. get snap-in carpet OR dont get any carpet - especially if you think you may fish. We dont fish from our boat but I would never go back to carpet again. I used the carpet once on the Southbay and unsnapped it after a few trips and never put it back in.

[AndrewG]

Well, thanks for the responses so far, I appreciate it. A few more things, and to answer BobL’s questions.

The home lake is Lake Nacimiento, CA (http://www.nacimientoresort.com/ is one site). The lake does not get that rough. The lake is 14 miles long at it’s highest, so a daily trip would be in the 8-10 mile range at best, I believe.

I will rarely (at least in my mind so far) remove the boat from this lake.

I am finding a few boats in my price range that I want to mention:

1) Sweetwater 2286 – This boat is being listed as a promotion by Sweetwater right now, in conjunction with Yamaha. The engine they’re offering is the Yamaha 115. The offer now (http://sweetwaterboats.com/amazing-boat-deals) lists the 2286, triple-toon with under skin, and the 115 engine for $21,299 (before freight, prep, and trailer). Out the door is about $27k + tax. One thing about this boat and price is that the option to move up to a bigger engine (135 or 150) isn’t available because the Yamaha/Sweetwater promotion is tying that engine to that boat (see the website).

2) Manitou Aurora 22 – This boat is being offered here locally with a 90hp Honda engine, double-toon, for about $25k out the door (+tax).

3) Harris Cruiser CX 22 (or 24) – This boat is being offered here with a 115hp Mercury ,double-toon, for about $29k.


All of these are pre-boat show. The boat show is coming to Los Angeles in early February. Harris and Manitou will be there, Sweetwater will not.

Although everyone’s opinions differ, all things being equal above, does one of these scream better than the other? Will that third pontoon on the 2286 at that good price be worth it all.

Again everyone, thanks for the comments and suggestions. I appreciate it all.

[Bamaman]

You really couldn't go wrong with any of the boats you've mentioned. They're all good brands.

FYI: The Sweetwater's third toon is worth approximately $2,500. The 115 hp motor should push it well.

Too bad they have that asterick (*) that says plus taxes, freight, prep. etc. If you were just paying $699 for prep/prop/controls it wouldn't be too bad. But, transportation to California is costly. Your 9%+ sales tax in California is triple tough (compared with my state's 2 1/2%.)

If you can, wait for the boat shows to come to L.A. You've got time to go back to Sweetwater before the program ends.

[Liberty MO]

I bought my first boat back in July. We were pretty budget conscious as it was our first boat and we didn't want to over extend ourselves. We bought a new Lowe SS210 with a 90HP 4 stroke Mercury and a double axl trailer with brakes. We paid $21,000 for the package. It was a good value for the money. There are nicer boats out there, but this was the best we could afford and buy something new.

It has been a very good purchase for our family, we had a great summer together and are looking forward to the next. If we continue to enjoy it, we may upgrade, but the Lowe has been great for crusing and tubing.

[dockholiday]

Welcome Andrew

Think on the bottom end a 22-24 with a 90 would be a nice boat, had one for over 10 years and was happy with it and a good cruising boat. When time came to trade I went with the tri toon and am completely sold on them. Not necessarily for the additional speed as to increase my cruising range during the day. I just wasn't visiting the places I did when I had my bowrider with the two log and the nintey. More often than not you can make up the cost diff between the two by going to a couple of year older boat, but the tritoons are a little harder to find on the used market.

Think most here will agree there are no bad toons for the most part manufacturer wise. Things like the third toon and lifting strakes are a one time purchase and will increase the boat performance. Cutting down on drag will increase the speed and also save on fuel consumption. For instance my lifting strakes cost about 500 additional and I am sure with out them I couldn't purchase enough hp to make up the diff for 500.

The 2 to 3 k trailer will be fine.........go tandem for sure. Brakes are nice but traveling short distance like you said will probably be fine. Just drive more cautiously especially on the intersection since it is really hard to stop on a dime when you got two or three thousand lbs pushing you.........

Oh regarding Godfrey they make a great boat, my last was a San Pan and was good as new when I sold it, less the vinyl, but that was my error........

Sure you can make a good deal in your price range...........best of luck
doc

[AndrewG]

Ok, I don't want to offend anyone with this next question...well, maybe the question isn't offensive, it's the answers that some may give...

I've heard people here speak about "top tier" and "second tier" manufacturers. Who are some of the manufacturers in each of those categories. Since there are people with all different kinds of boats here, I suppose some people might not like their boat being described as "second tier", but I 'm just looking for opinions.

Secondly, it sounds like most people are saying that lifting strakes, and a third toon are just as important as a bigger engine. So that all things being equal, I should get (for example) a 115 with strakes and a third toon, say over a 135/150 without the strakes and just two toons. Right?

[badmoonrising]

Simply put, all pontoons are similarly constructed, even the higher end models. Engines are similar between manufacturers as well. The only difference between first and second tier boats is how plush they are. You can pay 60k for a Premier, but the fact is higher end pontoons are made of the same parts as the low end models. Tracker used to be routinely bashed at the other site, but I've never heard anyone having problems with them anymore than the most expensive makes.

Some people just believe that if they paid more for something than you did, well then it must be better. Not true in many things, especially pontoons.

[Bamby]

BMR is right all pontoon boats are similar in construction but there can be significant engineering differences found under the deck that isn't readily apparent to the novice who's sold on the furniture that's bolted onto the deck.

PontoonBoatlog.jpg (75.47 KiB) Viewed 3942 times

Poorly_Constructed_Pontoon_Log.jpg (57.54 KiB) Viewed 3939 times

Third_Pontoon.jpg (115.56 KiB) Viewed 3942 times

The above three photo's all show different construction techniques utilized in pontoon construction.

pontoon_cross_members.JPG (59.45 KiB) Viewed 3937 times

Pontoon boat Z channels.jpg (137.31 KiB) Viewed 3940 times

Here's an example of couple of photo's of pontoon boat cross-members off a couple of builders. See the difference in spacing and how apparently beefier on design is over the other.. So to say all pontoon boats are built the same is really a bit generic because sometimes their are big differences under the deck that can and often do make a real difference.

[badmoonrising]

Then there's Tracker's Duradeck. It's far superior than any boat with plywood and has a lifetime warranty.