New guy from TEXAS
Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 3:02 pm
Howdy,
New to the forum and new to pontoon boats. I have had boats all my life but almost exclusively go-fast boats - HydroStreams, STVs, Baja, Checkmates, Eliminator. Raced a 24' Skater Cat with twin Merc outboards on the pro circuit for 4 years.
I live on a lake about 35 miles east of Dallas. Two years ago when the lake was down about 10 feet due to the Texas drought and partially for that reason, I sold my Eliminator Fun Deck (tunnel/catamaran hull with a 525 Merc Racing motor but the deck was laid out like a pontoon). I loved that layout because the boat would run about 75 - 80 with just me in it but I could haul 8 to 10 folks if I wanted (but not at those speeds). However, I came to the realization that I had a ton of cash tied up in this thing and all I really did was go from the marina to the party cove and drink beer - it was a very expensive beer drinking vessel!
Plus I was always fearful that someone would bang into it at the party cover, ruin the gel coat and then it would off to Mira Loma to get repaired. 
So I sold that and bought the kids a couple of jet skis. Freakin' nightmare (I had to launch and retrieve and do all the maintenance etc) and couple that with the fact that they weren't a lot of fun in my opinion and off to craigslist they went at the end of that summer! Last summer it was no boat for me and that is the first time in a very long time (decades) that I have not spent the summer on the water.
So now the lake is full again and I am aching to get back on the water. While going fast is cool, I think a pontoon fits the need for pulling the kids on the tube and getting to the party cove along with some compadres without breaking the bank. To be honest, I never really paid too much attention to pontoons because I never let them tie up next to me - something about metal sides and fiberglass grinding together didn't excite me too much.
Plus they were slow and old folks drove them! 
(Hey wait, that's me I am talking about! 
)
Imagine my surprise when I bounced out to some of the pontoon manufacturer websites and I see some cool looking pontoons with twin 300 hp Mercs and I was like "right on, now we are talking!"
and then I see the MSRP and I am like "you got to be 
kidding me! At the end of the day, it is still a freaking pontoon 
and I am not spending more money on a pontoon than I had tied up in my Eliminator or more than I can buy a used Skater!"
So I quickly reset my mental expectations and went back to what I was originally looking for in a pontoon - a somewhat normal pontoon with a somewhat normal price tag more in line with my pontoon price expectations! Here is what I am looking for:
I started looking at Avalons because I like the look of the smooth sides -just looks cleaner than a normal pontoon with the exposed rails. I know most of the $100k plus pontoon boats that I was immediately drawn to on the websites (yes the ones with the big motors kind of like the girls with the big...well I digress ) - those had smooth sides as well (the pontoons people NOT the ladies but they typically have smooth sides too! 
)
There is an Avalon dealer in the DFW area so we are going soon to crawl into and around one of those. I found a dealer (by searching the forum) in Georgia that sells Avalons cheaper than my local guy is advertising - but unfortunately, everything in DFW seems to be over priced! I have played the game long enough to know that the highest volume dealers are the highest volume for a reason, either they have fantastic service or the best prices. Typically, it is the best prices that drive their volume. I am not afraid to drive the miles to get the deal. I drove to Lake Havasau from DFW to get the Eliminator (it helps that my brother lives in Havasau). Have truck, will travel to save significant cash!
Sorry for the long winded intro
, but do you have any suggestions on dealers, boats, models or options that I can not live without? Also what is the rule of thumb for discount off of MSRP?
Pics of a few previous boats are below.
Thanks and look forward to the interaction!
New to the forum and new to pontoon boats. I have had boats all my life but almost exclusively go-fast boats - HydroStreams, STVs, Baja, Checkmates, Eliminator. Raced a 24' Skater Cat with twin Merc outboards on the pro circuit for 4 years.
I live on a lake about 35 miles east of Dallas. Two years ago when the lake was down about 10 feet due to the Texas drought and partially for that reason, I sold my Eliminator Fun Deck (tunnel/catamaran hull with a 525 Merc Racing motor but the deck was laid out like a pontoon). I loved that layout because the boat would run about 75 - 80 with just me in it but I could haul 8 to 10 folks if I wanted (but not at those speeds). However, I came to the realization that I had a ton of cash tied up in this thing and all I really did was go from the marina to the party cove and drink beer - it was a very expensive beer drinking vessel!
Plus I was always fearful that someone would bang into it at the party cover, ruin the gel coat and then it would off to Mira Loma to get repaired. So I sold that and bought the kids a couple of jet skis. Freakin' nightmare (I had to launch and retrieve and do all the maintenance etc) and couple that with the fact that they weren't a lot of fun in my opinion and off to craigslist they went at the end of that summer! Last summer it was no boat for me and that is the first time in a very long time (decades) that I have not spent the summer on the water.So now the lake is full again and I am aching to get back on the water. While going fast is cool, I think a pontoon fits the need for pulling the kids on the tube and getting to the party cove along with some compadres without breaking the bank. To be honest, I never really paid too much attention to pontoons because I never let them tie up next to me - something about metal sides and fiberglass grinding together didn't excite me too much.
Plus they were slow and old folks drove them! (Hey wait, that's me I am talking about! ) Imagine my surprise when I bounced out to some of the pontoon manufacturer websites and I see some cool looking pontoons with twin 300 hp Mercs and I was like "right on, now we are talking!"
and then I see the MSRP and I am like "you got to be kidding me! At the end of the day, it is still a freaking pontoon and I am not spending more money on a pontoon than I had tied up in my Eliminator or more than I can buy a used Skater!" So I quickly reset my mental expectations and went back to what I was originally looking for in a pontoon - a somewhat normal pontoon with a somewhat normal price tag more in line with my pontoon price expectations! Here is what I am looking for:
- 20 - 24' Pontoon - actually a Tri toon
- at least 150 hp (mercury is preferred - I trust those Black beast with my life offshore, no need to trust them less on the lake)
- Underskin, underpinning, whatever you call it
- NO CARPET (don't want the wet dog smell, the mildew or the stains from spilled coolaid, wine, beer, etc)
- Ski tow
- not interested in a fishing model
- Full instrumentation (Speedo, Tach, volt, trim, fuel, depth etc. )
- Mooring cover
- double bimini
- Aluminum trailer (Galvanized if I have too - I hate a rusty trailer with a passion and painted always rust eventually)
- probably more but that gets you started
I started looking at Avalons because I like the look of the smooth sides -just looks cleaner than a normal pontoon with the exposed rails. I know most of the $100k plus pontoon boats that I was immediately drawn to on the websites (yes the ones with the big motors kind of like the girls with the big...well I digress
) - those had smooth sides as well (the pontoons people NOT the ladies but they typically have smooth sides too! )There is an Avalon dealer in the DFW area so we are going soon to crawl into and around one of those. I found a dealer (by searching the forum) in Georgia that sells Avalons cheaper than my local guy is advertising - but unfortunately, everything in DFW seems to be over priced! I have played the game long enough to know that the highest volume dealers are the highest volume for a reason, either they have fantastic service or the best prices. Typically, it is the best prices that drive their volume. I am not afraid to drive the miles to get the deal. I drove to Lake Havasau from DFW to get the Eliminator (it helps that my brother lives in Havasau). Have truck, will travel to save significant cash!
Sorry for the long winded intro
, but do you have any suggestions on dealers, boats, models or options that I can not live without? Also what is the rule of thumb for discount off of MSRP? Pics of a few previous boats are below.
Thanks and look forward to the interaction!
