Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

howdee . went to the show . wow. the never seem to disappoint. unlike the first time i went and looked at everything i only made it to one spot , and those folks are tops . even after letting them know i wasn't buying today the factory rep spent a great deal of time answering everything i wanted to know ,

i was hoping you guys and gals might share with me what would you buy , name brand and model ,the pros and cons .

i have a favorite but want tell just now .

I would buy exactly what I did last July--Bennington 24' SSLX trihull (with strakes), a Yamaha F150 engine and the extended rear deck. It has virtually every option, including blue led lights and the ottoman ice cooler. I'm seeing 40 mph @ 6000 rpms with a Reliance 15 pitch prop.

It has all the quality of the more expensive Benningtons, but at a far less price. And it's certainly plush enough for me.

The same boat is available with 25" twin toons with lifting strakes and a F115 Yamaha for less money. It would still perform well, and would be my pick if I had to hold down the cost.

I just get a little bored with the 20' pontoons with 40 or 50 hp motors. I may be retired, but I'm not ready to move that slow.

I'd probably go the same route I went the first time, another bennington..... When I was boat shopping I wanted to get a bigger boat with a larger motor, but just couldn't justify spending the extra cash to do it... now that I've had the boat for going on 3 years, I'm glad I got what I have, a 20 footer with a 75 horse four stroke.... that's because 95% of the time it's just me and my wife and we use our boat for fishing almost exclusively.... there are a few times each summer when a bigger, slightly faster boat would be nice, but those times are few and far between so for us, what we got fits our needs just fine.... you just need to know how you plan to use your boat before you buy.... then pick accordingly.

RL, the key is not what other people would pick, but what you feel is the best value for the money you have to spend. Sure, others opinions are important, but they don't have to live with your decision.
Overall quality is important, but if you don't have a dealer that gives excellent after-the-sale service, then not much else matters. Ask the dealership for some referrals, especially for folks who bought the same boat you are contemplating at least a year or two ago. As with this forum, most boat owners are only too happy to tell you what they like and don't like about their dealings with the dealer.
My last bit of advice is to get the biggest motor for the type of activity you will be doing mostly. You can always use a lower throttle setting, but if you don't have enough power you are (and so will the admiral) going to be unhappy.
Best of luck!!

Bamaman wrote:I would buy exactly what I did last July--Bennington 24' SSLX trihull (with strakes), a Yamaha F150 engine and the extended rear deck. It has virtually every option, including blue led lights and the ottoman ice cooler. I'm seeing 40 mph @ 6000 rpms with a Reliance 15 pitch prop.

It has all the quality of the more expensive Benningtons, but at a far less price. And it's certainly plush enough for me.

The same boat is available with 25" twin toons with lifting strakes and a F115 Yamaha for less money. It would still perform well, and would be my pick if I had to hold down the cost.

I just get a little bored with the 20' pontoons with 40 or 50 hp motors. I may be retired, but I'm not ready to move that slow.

It didn't happen without pics!!!

thankyou for the replies so far .
what i am looking for out of this post is why do you like or dislike the boat you have or one that you have been on .
yes i have a boat and have been on one other pontoon boat. there are things with both of these i like and dislike . i have a very limited experience with the pontoon , but have a great deal with a deck boat . which i bought new in 1994 . a sea nymph 19 foot with a 120 johnson . so i have a lot of time on the water and know what i want to have .

salesman can promise you the world. but the boat owner can give you the real deal.

i all ready know to get as large a motor as the boat can carry , and at this time i am favoring the etec 150.
as far as the boat i like the avalons . so far no body as chimed in with anything on the avalon . but they are talking most about benningtons . so i am now looking for a website to that boat.

i need to get the real deal or lowdown on how the boat handles the water , how well does the boat it self hold up under very harsh conditions . i intend to go overboard on capability of the boat , that way i can be ready for anything i come up against , under any condition any lake as i will be taking the boat to different lakes .

other things i hope to find here are what i should look for as far as enclosures and what not to get .


i realize i want get all my answers from this one post , that is the beauty of being part of this place and the future discovery i will find from other post i and others make

A 2 log will get you there at speeds in the 20's. Most are rated at 115 hp. 2 log with strakes still in 20's but close to 30 with 115 to 150 hp. 3 log with strakes, hp 90 to 300, best performance and speed.

Some Avalons are owned by members here and the love them.

Decide what you want in a toon, like mainly fishing, pulling a tube or skier, Slow cruising with family and friends along with size of lake's you will be on. All toons are good it is just how plush do you want it or how little you want on it.

rlcrews wrote:.....how well does the boat it self hold up under very harsh conditions . i intend to go overboard on capability of the boat , that way i can be ready for anything i come up against , under any condition any lake as i will be taking the boat to different lakes .....

I am sure others may argue against what I am fixing to say but in my opinion, your above quote just narrowed down your choices to 22' or bigger, tri-toon, 150hp and above (plus a good size tow vehicle - ha ha). With that type of boat, you can enjoy water sports, lenghty cruises, good speed, large enough for family and friends, etc.

Next, I would consider a list of reputible area dealers and then start narrowing down the manufacturers. I traded my 20' Bentley in a couple of years ago for a 22' South Bay becuase the local dealer is very good and he carries both brands. I probably would have gone with Bennington or Harris or G3 or Fisher or Lowe or Avalon or _______ if they carried one of those brands.

While first what r u going to use it for. Me boating and fishing. Had the deck boat had pontoon prior also. Pontoon the best. I purchased a 23 foot xcursion 23x RFC rear fishing center. Rod holders, tackle storage large livewell. Plus plenty of seating for the family. Freshwater tank, changing curtain. 115 4 stroke Yamaha. Before making a decision check it out. Very nice looking toon and grate price.

If you want to be sure you can handle rough water, go to 3 logs, strakes & underskinning.
Bennington (some others may as well) offers a rough water package that beefs up the transom.
The water at Lake of the Ozarks can get extremely rough between wind and large boat wakes. Everyone who's ridden on my Benni remarks how well it takes the big waves.

rlcrews wrote: as far as the boat i like the avalons . so far no body as chimed in with anything on the avalon . but they are talking most about benningtons . so i am now looking for a website to that boat.

www.benningtonmarine.com

The Avalons are a top tier pontoon boat, and they have an elaborate product line. Their other brand of boat is the Tahoe.

I saw them at the boat show this year, and the quality's there. They make their own seats and use the thickest vinyl on their seats available--50 ounce.

See TandMMarine.com for the website of the biggest Avalon/Tahoe dealership. They're also the largest pontoon dealer in the country stocking hundreds of pontoons.

An Avalon dealership just west of Atlanta (Douglasville, GA) is pretty aggressive and appears to be selling them well.

I have a 2007 Manitou Osprey Pro SHP (They no longer make the Osprey which was their fishing pontoon) with a 175 Yamaha VMAX HPDI motor.

Trolling motor, GPS/fish finder, four fishing chairs (upgraded the two front ones to luxury chairs) double bimini, dual live wells, tackle boxes, rod holders, rod locker, ski tow bar, Two versa track ladders (one 4 step one 5 step) etc etc etc.

The SHP package includes three tubes, (center one is larger and set deeper for a virtual V hull) power assist steering, underskinning, strakes on all tubes.

Things I dislike:
Since I have fishing chairs on all four corners I have no sun pad. Although the front chairs recline nicely for a front tan I don't really have a place for a back tan.
I do not have in the floor storage for skis and such.

Things I like:
Roomy
Fast (19.63 with a 15 1/2 x 15 aluminum prop. Just bought a 14.25 x 17 Yamaha Reliance stainless prop which should put me up to about 42MPH or so. maybe a little faster). Still love teh looks I get from other boaters "A pontoon is not supposed to move like that!"
Handling. The boat handles like a v-hull. Turns very quickly, (can jump my own wake at speed while the wake is still big enough to be worth jumping)

Fit and finish. Everything is very well put together and very comfortable.
etc
ect
ect

Love my Avalon. I would not hesitate to buy another. I think they and Benningtons are the best BUILT boats. They are the only two that I know that truly thru bolt EVERYTHING, not just the cross members to the pontoons but also the entire decking. Almost all others I have seen only use screws for this. I liked the layoutof the Avalon the best. Also as stated above they have the best vinyl.

Absolutely get a tritoon. Strictly from a stability/ safety standpoint, it is the closest thing to a Vhull boat.

Good luck. Bottomline if you stay with the main brands you wont go wrong. Biggest thing is the layout for your personal needs, and deciding how fast you want to go. If you hope to break 30mph you have to get at least a 150hp.