Friends had us out on their pontoon boat today. This isn’t the kind of Stylin’ and Profilin’ craft that JHN prefers, but Mrs. Holmes was gushing about its comforts, blah-blah-blah. Thoughts?? Hard to see myself driving one of these, ascot or not, but wondering if anyone has any long-term experience with these things. Thanks in advance.
Pontoon Boats?
- Thread starter JohnnieHolmesNole
- Start date
Roman: I think we should go into town tomorrow and pick up a ski boat. Whaddya say? Sound good, guys? Uncle Roman'll blow some coin on a kick-ass drag boat!
Chet: That's OK, we're renting a pontoon boat.
Roman: Pontoon boat? What the hell are you gonna do with a pontoon boat? Retake Omaha Beach?
Chet: That's OK, we're renting a pontoon boat.
Roman: Pontoon boat? What the hell are you gonna do with a pontoon boat? Retake Omaha Beach?
Embrace it. Calf high socks with sandals, plaid shorts, button up alligator print shirt, Gilligan hat. Who care how others think you look if it feels right.
You can wear your mini-skirt bathing suit on it.....rubber swim cap optional.
Do you have little kids? Having a wide, flat deck is nice with little kids, and we gave a pontoon a lot of consideration (although we wound up getting a fish/ski “crossover” instead).
They are great if you want to take a group out on the water and fun for kids to jump off of. Fine for pulling tubes but a little slow for skiers.
What type of water are you wanting to go into? Pontoon boats are great for lakes and very calm water, but if you want more than that then you are in for a rough trip and you will get very wet( feet). I have a Hurricane Deck boat, and it works well for having large groups and comfort( similar to a pontoon) but I can take it in the ocean too. Now it does not have the comfortable ride that a deep V Hull would have, but I go in the ocean with it a lot. And of course it’s great for the intra coastal.
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Every time I see an ad for pontoon boats it's full of good-looking women in bikinis. So clearly chicks dig them.
I'd go pontoon.
I'd go pontoon.
So, they are the minivan of boats?
Pretty much. You can fit a large group of people on them, and they are good to cruise in. You have a lot of room and can cook easily on them and party on them. Also can do some tuning on them. Great for lakes and still water.
Agreed. If you Pontoon you gotta go full tacky as hell pontoon. Get the fake grass, a tailgate grill, lawn chairs, maybe rig a TV up somehow.
There are some pontoon boats that will do 60-70mph.
Those are poontoon boats.
The minivan of the boat world is an apt description. They provide a stable platform for children to move around on and to jump off of, and with enough power they can tow tubes at a decent speed. Good for leisurely puttering around the lake, not meant for high end water sports.
90 percent of your time on boats is spent cruising slowly, drinking beer, and enjoying sunsets. You can buy pontoon boats that go 70mph+ now, you can ski behind them, you can fish the flats too. You don’t look cool, but they cover most everything you need with only one boat.
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I really don’t think people don’t look cool in them. Actually people look like they are having fun on them. It just depends on what type of boat you need, and if you just want to go in lakes and still water then it will do what you need.
Underrated honestly. Most people don't intend to go out in tough water or need to pull a competition slalom ski.
Hey are good for easy fun in good weather. Now tritoons actually have some decent seakeeping ability and performance with the room of a pontoon, but they also have a price tag to match. Many small tour boats and ferries are tritoons.
Here is a little article I found describing the difference.
http://pier51keystone.com/pontoons-vs-tritoons-whats-difference/
Hey are good for easy fun in good weather. Now tritoons actually have some decent seakeeping ability and performance with the room of a pontoon, but they also have a price tag to match. Many small tour boats and ferries are tritoons.
Here is a little article I found describing the difference.
http://pier51keystone.com/pontoons-vs-tritoons-whats-difference/
They're great to use as a mother ship when playing on the lake with wives and kids and other boats. The kids like hanging on them, you can store lots of beer, towels, tubes, etc. Hop on the small boat when it's your turn to tube.
I have had boats all of my life, actually got my first boat when I was 10years old. I have had fishing boats, ski boats, off shore boats, flats boats, you get the idea. The most fun we have ever had on a boat as a family was on a tri-toon I built several years ago. We could take 12 people on it, even went offshore diving a few times, put a grill on it and spend the day at the island being useless, pull tubers or skiers, and most anything else you do on most boats. Got rid of it because I built it 11-1/2' wide and it was a pain in the butt to pull it down the road. Keep saying I am going to build another but with the kids out and busy with their lives and families doubt I will ever do it. My advice is if you are just looking for a fun family boat you can do some fishing or cruising on and not take it serious then the pontoon is the way to go. Serious skiing, fishing, diving or other boating activities then buy a boat specifically designed for your interest.
We have a deck boat like the one a previous poster mentioned. It is a nice mix of the fun and versatility of pontoon boat with your traditional ski/pleasure boat. You cant carry as many folks in it but we've done 8 people comfortably. We rarely go into the Gulf but can do so since it is a Vhull. For getting to and from the island and just relaxing pontoon boats are pretty perfect.
I am the one with a deck boat. I am surprised you don’t go in the Gulf, but I agree that it was not made for choppy water. Like all boat owners, I am thinking about my next boat or next toy. I have 3 options. Trade in and get a Cobia so I can do more fishing in the ocean; just sell it and wait a bit; or sell it and get a class C RV. That would be when my oldest goes to college and if it is close enough to go there in ( hint FSU)
I have two kids aged 6 and 3. All they want to do is get to Shell Island and play with hermit crabs and jump off the deck lol We go out through the pass every now and then and go up and down the shoreline for a little bit when its calm but just dont have the time to go fishing. I have no doubt it could handle them Gulf fine for longer. When oldest is a little bigger might go out more to do fishing. We are very pleased with it for our family.
I hear you. My 12 year old still freaks out when we go into the Atlantic, and I only go when it is flat. I take it over to Ft Myers and go in the Gulf since it is calmer waters.
We go to the lake country in Minnesota every year and pontoon boats are about 75% of what you see up there. As people have said, they're good for cruising lakes. My in-laws have a pontoon and they have a boat for fishing and water skiing.
I've seen people use them down here on the Intracoastal.
I've seen people use them down here on the Intracoastal.
I belong to a local boat club in my town. They have about 35 boats. Deck boats, ski boats, center console fishing boats and pontoon boats. about 75 percent of the time I opt for a pontoon boat. They are way more comfortable. If you get one with a smaller engine just for putting around they are great because you can tool around all day and spend little money on gas, they are great for fishing because you can fish from any point off the boat with plenty of room to maneuver.
If we are out to go skiing / wake boarding than I get a boat specifically for that, but otherwise the pontoon is the way to go.
I was like a lot of people here, I thought they were pure redneck, but man, they are just better in nearly every way for the rivers by my house. I think my boat club has 5, and a couple of them have 250hp engines, so they will move out at about 40mph. About the same as a deck boat with a similarly powered engine.
If we are out to go skiing / wake boarding than I get a boat specifically for that, but otherwise the pontoon is the way to go.
I was like a lot of people here, I thought they were pure redneck, but man, they are just better in nearly every way for the rivers by my house. I think my boat club has 5, and a couple of them have 250hp engines, so they will move out at about 40mph. About the same as a deck boat with a similarly powered engine.
I have a Hurricane Sun Deck myself.Its a Hurricane sundeck of some type. Pretty much like this.
Im not a seasoned seadog lol So I mainly stick to putting around in the Bay. Would like to take it out fishing nearshore on a calm day. Its quite versatile. Originally thought I wanted to a center console but with kids this has turned out a lot better. I need a few things worked on, does anyone know a good place to take a boat to in the PCB area?
We've considered a small pontoon boat or a boat like some of the try whole hurricane deck boats. But we have too many irons in the fire right now. And too many vehicles in the yard for just two people. We have an RV and I'm looking there still move up to the toy hauler just haven't pulled the trigger yet. We have three motorcycles two cars a dually Truck & Jeep. Kind of hard to tell your camper and a pontoon boat at the same time unless you take to tow vehicles with you. Something we're not quite ready to do. But we like the idea of a small pontoon or deck boat for us and whenever any of the family might happen to be up or take it down to where they are. As well as our two dogs they would love having a deck boat or pontoon. But currently I don't think we would get enough use out of it maybe in a few years
It sounds like you have a lot of toys and need to pick the ones you want the most. I know your feeling because I have wanted a class C RV for a long time, but I can’t keep the boat and the RV. I have to choose.
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