Pontoon boat

[cincinnati]

Fill me in on the In's and outs of a pontoon boat.

Best brands, what size engine, What does insurance cost (Ball Park) What do you pay for a dock fee, how much gas do you go through in a day etc.. Looking at a 20 foot Suntracker or the like.
Know this will all depend on what one owns. Just like to get a general idea of what cost are.

And yes, I know all the sayings, Happy days in a boaters life. The day he buys \, the day he sells. Break Out Another Thousand. Etc...

[judaspre1982]

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[judaspre1982]

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[fjimp]

Every time someone mentions buying a pontoon boat I am reminded of a coast guard auxiliary instructor telling a story about a family fishing on a small lake in Nebraska when a squall came up. As explained pontoon boats are known to experience rough waves coming over the bow and "Pitch Poling" to the bottom of the lake. The bad news is that anyone not wearing a life jacket can be in danger. As well as anyone hit by the hull of the boat on the way down or when they return like a cork to the surface. I personally have operated pontoon and V-hull fishing craft. I have never seen this happen. I personally never enjoyed the Pontoon style near as much as the high horse motors and the speed delivered by the slicker V hulled boats. That being said I still believe the two happiest days in a boat owners life are the day they buy and the day they sell their boat. I swore I would never own another boat after selling the last one. now my ten year old granddaughter is expressing an interest in fishing with grandpa. Hmmm there may be another small fishing boat in my future. As to storage and dock fees. At the last Lake we lived on the pontoon with a small horse motor was far less expensive than my 17' ski/fishing boat with 150 and 15 horse motors. I am thinking I was paying $250 per summer. Understand that was 14 or 15 years ago. Jim

[judaspre1982]

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[RobertTaylor]

the two happiest days of a boat owners life are 1. the day he buys the boat. 2. the day he sells the boat.

[shipwright]

RE;: the happiest day............
Have you ever noticed how these cliches seem to get a life of their own even though the have very little truth to them? I have survived over sixty years and have had several boats. It was always a great day when I acquired / launched one and usually a sad day when I had to let one go, but the best days were always when I was sailing or cruising in them. I think if you took a pole of real boaters, not dabblers, that this would be the same for almost all of them. In short, I'd say it's a cute catchy little witticism, but that's about all it is. OK , stepping down off the soap box now.

Paul M

[shipwright]

Post script to my post above:

This is where I spent last Sunday night.

[ATTACH]9633[/ATTACH]

[iclark]

What do you pay for a dock fee, how much gas do you go through in a day etc

around here some marinas still charge by the length of the boat while most seem to have gone to charging by the beam (max width).

gas usage is commonly in the gallons/hr range.
larger boats can get into the 10s of gal/hr.

in salt water, metal hulls used to be unwelcome in marinas because of galvanic corrosion attacking the fasteners in the marina pilings. new hull coatings may have changed this, athough, it would be at the expense of likely pinhole corrosion (think pitting) in your hull. if sacrificial anodes are recommended for your hulls or motor in your area, take the recommendation very seriously.

if the body of water you will be navigating is noticeably tidal, then floating docks at the marina are a big plus. educate yourself about what constitutes flood levels for that water and when they occur. tying off you boat to a piling and then having a flood put your boat underwater is a bad day. having the floating dock float off of its guide pilings also makes for a bad day. hurricane Isabel proved that one to me.

also, don't overlook the possibility of having a friend or co-worker who lives on the water with a dock. sometimes you can work out a good deal.

[etc92guy]

Cincinnati - Got a question......What are you going to use it for? Cruising? Fishing? Water skiing? How big is the body of water that you"ll be on? How many people will you typically carry?

A neighbor has a 20' Suntracker. He has it outfitted for fishing. But it's not a barge and has very nice upholstry. I do believe he has a 115 hp Mercury on it. Engine size has gone up with the increase in pontoon diameter over the years. But never exceed the mfg. max. rating.

I personally sent a 16' pontoon into dive mode years back. Being 16' it had the minimum diameter pontoons with the splash guards barely out of the water. It was set up for fishing WITH warning signs that the two forward fishing seats should not be occupied while under way. The passengers ignored the sign and I didn't pay attention. I throttled back from cruise for a no wake area and the dive master promptly took over. I launched myself from the center helm console to the stern sundeck and thankfully the boat popped right up. Unnerving, but no damage done. As with any boat, you have to watch load distribution.

If you have an option get the biggest 'toon that the mfg. offers for that size. I've also seen triple 'toons for those that want the party platform and want to tow a tube or skier, but from when I last looked these tended to be longer than 20'. And due to the extra tube, they were able to be outfitted with I/O's.

As a frame of reference, we're on a 1 mile wide by 5 mile long lake. Currently have a 1996 19' Wellcraft with a Volvo I/O and a 12' aluminum fishing boat with a 9.9 Mercury. Have access to the homeowner associations 24' pontoon boat.