Pontoon Boat

[Gene` Zartman]

New 2009 to boating/fishing enthusiast bought a place on the St Johns River Fl. Now I need a Pontoon Boat to entertain friends and relatives when they visit.

We are near to Lake George and I have been told to get at least a 22', to be safer should a quick storm occur, cause the lake can get nasty in a hurry.

Currently have a Nitro NX750 and plan to keep it for fishing. However if fishing from a pontoon is as handy as a bass boat, I might just have one boat, and it will have to be a pontoon cause of the capacity.

Questions; Is it practical to fish from a toon. If not I can get a party toon and forget the live well etc.

Is it worthwhile to get a tritoon?

Best and no good brands

What to look out for in a used Toon

Any pontoon websites where I can gain more knowledge?

Any other advice I can use?

I know you are all are Nitro owners and not toon owners, but after reading your posts I'm confident you all know more about boating and fishing than I will ever know.

I can listen to 10 boat salesmen, and not learn as much, as one post here!

Planned to go snowmobiling with grandkids all next week (no snow but will go anyway) be back next weekend.

Thank You in advance! Gene Currently in landlocked Pennsylvania till mid to late January.

 

[Ken Sabin]

I it were me, Id buy the biggest I coul afford, with a more than adequate motor on the back !!

 

[TROY WAINRIGHT3]

I agree with ken.Let me tell you something about lake george.Ive seen the 50 plus foot house boats get thrown around like jon boats there and up in silver glenn.I have a 20ft. nitro and dureing storms i keep my bilge running and top end is about 10 to 15 mph if im lucky.It gets like the ocean out there quick.

 

[Dan J.]

Just to echo the above, George can get ugly fast. I'd go big or go home in the form of a toon. (24'+) The high sided and low drafting can make you a pawn in the wind, but horsepower can make that rig quite fast and dare I say "nimble". :lol: A tri-toon will give you a bit more handling and quicker top end, but twin logs can scoot very well on their own when powered up with their less drag and overall weight, model to model. Search out the company AND THE DEALER thoroughly before your buying decision is made. "You buy the boat, but you marry the dealer." Good luck!

 

[Rich Stern]

Gene, I had a 22' Crest with a 60 HP Merc four stroke. Had a Minn kota 54lb. 12v on the front. We fished from it fairly often over the six seasons we owned it.



The good:



Enormous space

Comfortable to lounge on

Very safe for youngsters and elders

Good platform for trolling

Easy to take care of

Shallow draft



The bad:



Slow (two tubes with 60hp gave about 24mph at full throttle, cruise speed was about 18mph)

Sloppy handling

Trolling motor not effective in the wind

Difficult to fit in small creeks and coves



If I had to do it again, I'd get a tri-toon with at least a 140hp. That's enough to scoot along quickly, pull a skier, give a good tube ride, etc.



Ours was a good boat, but we eventually outgrew it (water sports, need for speed). For your purposes, entertaning folks, it's a good choice. We always felt comfortable having others take the boat out, because it's a safe platform.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

There's quite a few out there and a few with the high performance bottoms to get you out of a bad situation if need be.

I agree with Rich on getting a good size motor because you'll wind up with better gas mileage in the long run also.

Good Luck

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Get a tri-toon with a bigger motor. Bennington makes a very good unit. A guy I know on Lake Anna has a tri toon with a 225. It scoots. Google Jim Hemby/Lake Anna and look at his toon set up for striper fishing. Too bad you weren't asking earlier, Bill just sold his toon I think.



TOXIC

 

[Texas Transplant]

On Santee Cooper you see quite a few 'toons' there, as there is a huge amount of Catfish Guides on the lake (blue catfish). Since Santee is a large windy lake (at times) most of the pontoons are large (20'+). I remember one morning we were fishing and watching a guide take out somewhere around 8-10 anglers. The pontoon was probably in excess of 22', and to top it off it had twin Honda 4 Strokes on the back. Not close enough to get details, but likely at least 150's, maybe bigger. Man, that thing flew down the lake.



Having lived on Lake Palestine for almost 3 years, most of my fishing there would require me to use my Bass Boat (18' Stratos). If I would have had a pontoon boat, it would have proved to be more of a pleasure craft, rather than a fishing boat.



Hope that helps.



Tex

 

[Berry Lindley]

I personally don't like to fish from a pontoon due to lack of mobility, but if you are a casual fisherman then you will probably be OK with it. One moret thing, if you are getting a trailer, it really needs to be galvanized and not a painted one, that salt will eat it up.

 

[Gene` Zartman]

Thanks for all the replies with helpful information. Based on your suggestions, and the fact that I have very little boating experience, I have narrowed my search to a 24' toon with more than 90 hp. new or less than 4 years old,(hope I can afford).

Watching Ebay and Craig List and a few other sites, anyone know of a really good one let me know.

Not much in the way of boat sales in Pa. this time of year can't wait to get to Fl. late Jan.

I'll keep the Nitro for most of the fishing.

Thanks Again Gene

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Just remember, a 90hp on that size of toon will not be good for skiing and marginal for tubing. One alternative to just check out are the "Hurricane" style glass boats. Won't hold as many people but are a better dual purpose boat.



TOXIC