Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hi folks
Being on inter coastal waters in Florida do I go with deck or pontoon 18 - 22ft we are only looking to cruise around and fish as we are in Our late sixties it will be kept out of water when not used we might on occasion go on the gulf on calm days
Look forward to your replies

I have never owned a deck boat, but I personally know two people who were unhappy with the ride anytime it wasn't dead calm.
My only ride/drive in one had lots of horsepower on a glassy lake. It handled nicely, cut clean turns and had plenty of room.

My two cents in a world where pennies are worthless Buy a tri-toon and be happy.

Wanna stay ahead of pop-up storm cells? Get more HP so that it's there if you need it. In the meantime. your slow cruising will be very fuel efficient because you are not pushing the motor.

Marc

Want another two cents worth?
I used to live in Boca Raton, and there is no way I would want to be on the intercoastal on a pontoon or deckboat. Too many boats causing BIG wakes that are going to beat you to death. Or a sudden storm in the ocean kicking up waves with no warning. If I was to move back I would get another Scout center console.

They do make fiberglass pontoons, my Sister has one with a potty room below deck, Her husband bought that one to take out in the salt water too

I have taken my tritoon quite a few times down the waterways in south fl. Big boats with big wakes are seldom an issue. Once in a while A huge wake will come over the front of deck but really no big deal. I would not take it out of any of those inlets down there. I will be doing it again this weekend.
I would never ever ever own another deck boat.....they ride like crap....I am in my 60s and we love our tri toon.
We also take it into the gulf for scalloping too. I would recommend a tri toon rather than just two logs.

...this may be helpful...….

viewtopic.php?t=14867

Here is another $0.02.

My friends that had ("had" being the key word) deck boats got rid of them and went with tri-toon's. The intracoastal I have been going to for 40+ years (Gulf Shores/Perdido area), is full of tri-toons but the waterway is very wide in that area so large wakes are not an issue. Since I'm spending your money....I would definitely get the biggest tri-toon (22') and largest motor (150+) I could afford.

I go out in the gulf every weekend in my Tritoon, and everywhere from Destin to Mobile Bay on the Intercoastal. A tritoon with a 150 or better motor will out perform any similar sized center console in rough and confused chop and large boat wakes. I have a video from 2 years ago leaving the blue angel air show from Pensacola beach, everyone was running from a huge nasty storm, where we were the ICW narrows and the area had been turned into a washing machine from large cruisers and 60 FT sport fishers hauling ass. I watched several 23-25 CC's bury the bow coming off big waves, our video shows us, and a few other tritoons leaving the rest of the pack behind, never even one bit of spray came onboard. I'll try to post a video, but the picture of the storm is attached.

Thanks for all your information as this is our first boat or pontoon we will get a used one first and if we like it get new one in a couple of years

Kind of an experiment to see if this works, I added this video to YouTube, hoping it will link from another web page.. if it plays, this should show how well the tritoons handle rough seas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms75jVfTis0

Cool video to show rough water handling!

I'll add another $.02 as an ICW boater... Mine's not a tri-toon but an older 24' that handles things quite well. As FLOUNDERPOUNDER225 said, the wakes/waves aren't that bad, but I'm also content to smooth ride at about 16-18 mph. Not looking to fly. A few sprays every now and then but no deep plowing.

Great video, what engine?

Like others have said: tri toon with a 150 or better. And get the largest size diameter pontoon your budget can handle.

Had a 26 foot center console out of Panama City Beach and downsized it for a 22 foot Harris. It eats up the bay on a sloppy day like it's nothing at all.

bansil wrote: ↑

Sat May 11, 2019 8:21 am

Great video, what engine?

150 yamaha