New to Pontooning.

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ambtn723
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2020 8:04 am

New to Pontooning.

#1 Post by ambtn723 » Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:19 pm

Hey guys:

I'm new to the whole boating thing. My late father in law did a full build of a pontoon from scratch stitching together parts and doing his own labor. It's a 20 footer, has the railings and the carpeting mounted along with a Evinrude 40 (not sure what year) engine, a 5 gallon tank, and a Bimini cover that doesn't have the support mounted. I took it to the shop to have the console mounted and the seating, and to get an estimate on what needs to be done to get the boat started.

They quoted me a price of $2400 and it includes rebuilding carburetor, new few lines and electrical that we need.

Here are some questions for y'all:

What is your estimates of what the motor is worth? Is it better to repair, sell and buy a larger one in the winter?
Is the 5 gallon tank large enough to do a full day on the river? Or is that way too small?
My Mother in Law already put $4000 into this boat. You think after the additional $2400 the boat is worth what we put into it?

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jrolin1
Posts: 400
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 7:42 am
Location: Lexington SC Lake Murray

Re: New to Pontooning.

#2 Post by jrolin1 » Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:00 am

Is it better to repair, sell and buy a larger one in the winter? Maybe
Is the 5 gallon tank large enough to do a full day on the river? Or is that way too small? Too small. You could get by with two 6 gallon tanks depending on how far you plan on going.
My Mother in Law already put $4000 into this boat. You think after the additional $2400 the boat is worth what we put into it? Hard to tell without pics and more details but I would lean to not. But the market is crazy now so it is possible. I just sold an excellent condition (seats perfect) 24 foot Bentley with a perfect running 90 Mercury for 9200. That had a great sound system, dual battery setup, gps/fishfinder and an inverter for the blender.

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TWB
Posts: 658
Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2018 7:40 am
Location: Navarre, FL

Re: New to Pontooning.

#3 Post by TWB » Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:21 am

Hey, ambtn723 -
First, Welcome to the group! You'll find a wealth of experience here to help with questions and advice.

I can't necessarily speak to your cost/ value questions except to offer this thought or 2:
What was the $4K invested by your MIL used for? When you say the shop wants $2400, I understand that includes the motor work, console and seats mounted... I'm not sure it's a bad price, if it gets you on the water, ready to go.

I agree with jrolin1 that pics would be nice to help evaluate what you're dealing with, but I will say that $6400 to be ready to go, with a boat that is comfortable and serves your needs reliably, is not a bad cost to start out. Use it for the season - maybe even a second season - to help make the decision of how much you feel it will be used and enjoyed. Love it? Buy another later. Don't love it? You're not out a ton.

And No - one 5 gal tank is not enough. You'll just be getting started and have to turn back because you don't have enough gas. THAT will piss you off!

Post pics. Have fun.

:2cents

-Paul
Paul & Michele
2003 Landau DX 24' Cruise "Loretta Jane"
2003 Mercury 75hp
My Rebuild: http://pontoonforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=26135

"Don't waste brain cells over something you can do nothing about." --My Wife

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Marc K
Posts: 743
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2018 4:35 am
Location: Eustace, TX

Re: New to Pontooning.

#4 Post by Marc K » Thu Jul 30, 2020 7:04 am

Welcome!

A good rough rule of thumb for fuel consumption of an outboard motor:

When running close to full throttle you will burn 1 gallon per hour for every 10 HP.

So about 4 gallons per hour for a 40 HP - remember it's a rule of thumb!

It is likely that the fuel consumption will drop by half when running 2/3 of full throttle. It is also likely that you will often run close to wide open to get some speed.

Common sizes for portable fuel tanks are 3, 6, and 12 gallons. I run two of the 12-gallon tanks on my 25' with 115 HP, and I rarely use more than 12 gallons on a typical outing because we cruise at 2/3 throttle at 4 to 5 gallons per hour. That gives me 19-20 miles per hour, so 40-50 miles of boating on 12 gallons.

And I do agree - you have the opportunity to get into boating for a low cost. Do it to find out what you like and don't like before committing a lot of money into another boat.

Marc
Big and ugly but we love our 1999/2000 Crest II DL with a Yamaha F115

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