Page 1 of 1
Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 10:19 am
by Trollin79
I have a 28ft pontoon I am doing a rebuild on. I am currently tearing it down to the tubes. This is gonna be a family fun boat. I am not a fisherman. We mostly want to cruise around the lake and play on the boat. I eventually want to put 150hp motor on it. Now my question is? Should I do center pontoon or a waterglide? Either option I will have to address the engine mount. Either buy a new heavier transom or have the center tube modified with a transom on it. I don't have fabrication experience so any center tube modifications will be farmed out. Now my question are.
• Would you recommend waterglide/heavier transom over center tube with transom?
• does the center tube need to be same length as the other tubes or is it ok to set further back? (In this case It would set about 6ft behind the side tubes)
• Currently my motor sits between my tubes, I have noticed on the new boats it sticks out being the boat quit a bit. If I go with the center tube should I have it modified to stick out further? This would be nice cause I could go all the way back with my deck.
I am stalling at this point because I am not sure what direction to go here. PLEASE HELP
Re: Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 10:39 am
by RcgTexas
Now I have never operated a boat with a glide. However if you want performance from a 150 and you need a better transom, from my experience you may as well go up to Missouri and get that guy Bill to either make you one( a pontoon) or get you one with strakes and a mount that will handle the 150! I know that will be the difference in night and day.! IMHO.
It will save you money in the long run!
This guy!
http://springfieldmo.ebayclassifieds.co ... ad=3202272
Re: Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 11:59 am
by ToonGuy
Trollin79 wrote:
• does the center tube need to be same length as the other tubes or is it ok to set further back? (In this case It would set about 6ft behind the side tubes)
This is a very bad idea. A center tube should always be mounted even or ahead of the outer tubes in front. The reason is because of the massive turbulence created by the center wake of your outside tubes. It would be seriously blasting the nose cone of the center tube and killing your efficiency.
As far as the motor mount, the further back you go the better handling you will get. As you mentioned it is now industry standard to set the motor 18-24" behind the outer tubes.
I second Bill...especially with you logistics. He can set you up with pretty much a bolt in tube ready to roll. Good luck and remember...pics or it didn't happen
Re: Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:31 am
by Luke
Add a center toon! I added one to mine and it made lots of improvements
Re: Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 1:39 pm
by Onegun
Late to the party again, it seems. If anyone has made a decision on the third toon vs water glide, I'd love to hear about it. Posting that "adding a toon to yours made an improvement" when you have no experience with the WaterGlide is not helpful.
My outfit is a 2013 Avalon LS 2500 with 25" logs and a 2014 Evinrude eTec 135 HO short shaft. I'm already getting some ventilation/cavitation in 2' seas, so that's a concern. My dealer assures me that's "normal" on toons in the ocean, but I question the engine setup. It could drop one more bolt hole without adding a jack plate, and I'm sure I'll need to do that no matter which "add a toon" option I pick.
My usual load is four over-fed adults, 30 gals of fuel, lots of beer & chicken, the bimini up, and I can do around 30 mph at 5500 rpms WOT. Looking to get to 40 under the same circumstances.
So ... whatcha think? Am I dreaming on either of these? Has anyone here actually used a WaterGlide and has experience on a tritoon? Which way to go? It looks to be a $2000 upgrade any way i go, so I don't want to make a mistake if I can help it.
Thanks,
Bill
Re: Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 1:59 pm
by ron nh
Onegun wrote:Late to the party again, it seems. If anyone has made a decision on the third toon vs water glide, I'd love to hear about it. Posting that "adding a toon to yours made an improvement" when you have no experience with the WaterGlide is not helpful.
My outfit is a 2013 Avalon LS 2500 with 25" logs and a 2014 Evinrude eTec 135 HO short shaft. I'm already getting some ventilation/cavitation in 2' seas, so that's a concern. My dealer assures me that's "normal" on toons in the ocean, but I question the engine setup. It could drop one more bolt hole without adding a jack plate, and I'm sure I'll need to do that no matter which "add a toon" option I pick.
My usual load is four over-fed adults, 30 gals of fuel, lots of beer & chicken, the bimini up, and I can do around 30 mph at 5500 rpms WOT. Looking to get to 40 under the same circumstances.
So ... whatcha think? Am I dreaming on either of these? Has anyone here actually used a WaterGlide and has experience on a tritoon? Which way to go? It looks to be a $2000 upgrade any way i go, so I don't want to make a mistake if I can help it.
Thanks,I would recommend the 3rd tube option for sure.I've heard good and bad for waterglide so hard to say.I think though 3rd tube would be much more expensive and with the added weight I don't see you getting out of the mid 30's, that's a big boat,but the sea worthy aspect and handling wood still be a huge benefit.
Bill
Re: Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 2:01 pm
by ron nh
Don't know how that happened, but there is a reply in there somewhere.
Re: Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 3:27 pm
by ron nh
I would also highly recommend under skin if not already on there. And strakes on the center tube wouldn't hurt, except maybe in the pocket book.
Re: Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 6:46 am
by Onegun
ron nh wrote:I would also highly recommend under skin if not already on there. And strakes on the center tube wouldn't hurt, except maybe in the pocket book.
Yeah, that's a step I plan on taking. Sheeting comes with the waterglide kit, but due to shipping, (I suppose), it's in 2' X 8' sections. I was thinking of just going to a local sheet metal shop and getting some longer / wider goods.
Re: Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 6:50 am
by Onegun
ron nh wrote:Don't know how that happened, but there is a reply in there somewhere.
Got it! How it happened is you either placed your answer inside the "end quote" brackets, or you accidentally deleted them altogether. They look like this: [/quote]
Re: Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 10:04 am
by ron nh
I did delete them. I forgot the glide comes with the skin. One guy I was talking to got a full 30% more mph after installation. pretty good for the investment.
Re: Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 2:10 am
by tuned
I had a glide. Quick summary.
Lots and lots of work. Several remounts to 'tune' it. If it is to be mounted on a 'known' hull, it likely would be OK on the first try. Consult with the glide manufacturers on this.
Definite performance improvement. Horsepower IS required. A 90 on a light boat would be about the absolute minimum.
Perhaps worth it to the guy on a tight budget with good energy and tool skills. However, I would recommend looking into a pony pontoon, or better yet a triple with strakes.
Sorry I don't have time to get into this deeper at the moment. PM me if you have more questions and I'll send you my phone number. Todd
Re: Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 6:41 am
by Bamaman
You don't say what brand, year and model boat you have. Since you're talking a 28' boat, I assume you're talking a pretty old boat as we don't see so many very long hulls any longer. The 28' boats are quite difficult to store, dock and tow around.
I see no reason to put good money after bad. Just fix up your current boat and enjoy it as it is. You can spend a bunch of money fooling with center toons, etc., but aluminum fabrication is quite expensive. I'd hate to see you put so much money into your current boat and it not perform any better.
If your boat doesn't suit your present and future needs, clean it up and sell it. Then buy something that works better for you.
Re: Should I add a center toon or water glide?
Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 4:24 pm
by tuned
Wow. I was in too much of a hurry to notice that it was a 28 footer. I don't think a Glide would be near as helpful on such a monster. Mine was a 20. Even a 24 might be pushing the limits.
I totally agree with Bamaman above in that you might consider Keeping It Simple. The amount of work and money spent (on ANY solution) likely would not be worth any small gains you might get.
Please don't consider adding strakes. Although they have been known to work, they have consistently given people trouble (falling off, tube leaks etc....).
Although painful, you will never go wrong with a proper triple. Please give serious thought to this.