Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Possibly buying our first pontoon boat….looking at a 20’ Crestline for cruising our lake with friends and grandkids.
Opinions welcome!

Are these a decent brand?
One thing I notice is that I feel like it sits a bit lower in the water than other boats I see around. The pontoons are a little more than half submerged at the rear. Normal?
It has a 70hp Suzuki 4 stroke said to have quite low hours.
Full cover, plus travel cover and Bimini top.
Upholstery seems good still.
What do you think?

my tubes are half buried when at rest in the rear.
questions.
Is there lots of heavy seating at the rear of the boat?
Full fuel tank?
How many batteries?
Is there a fresh water tank back there?

Nothing wrong at all with that brand of boat.
However......is there a Suzuki dealer/service near you.
Zukes are great motors but their dealer/service network is limited.

Here's a picture from the web of a Crestline and it clearly "squats" in the water. A lot of Pontoons do. And Here's a pic of my boat (tritoon) as another example. This was at idle speed where it tends to sit the lowest. It definitely comes out of the water more when it's on "plane".

Thanks for the replies... I guess I shouldn't worry about how it seems a bit low in the water. It might be because it has smaller diameter pontoons, being an older boat?

Here's how the boat sits in the water...

How many people are you likely to have on board? A 20 footer isn't all that big.

steve1313 wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 09, 2022 8:34 am

Here's a picture from the web of a Crestline and it clearly "squats" in the water. A lot of Pontoons do.
crestliner.jpg

And Here's a pic of my boat (tritoon) as another example. This was at idle speed where it tends to sit the lowest. It definitely comes out of the water more when it's on "plane".
my boat.JPEG

In the lower pic; the motor appears to be mounted way too low.

Lt. Dan wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 13, 2022 8:21 am

How many people are you likely to have on board? A 20 footer isn't all that big.

It's rated for 8 or 2000 lbs, but I'd think 6 people is more likely the most.

Rick McC. wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 13, 2022 8:13 pm

In the lower pic; the motor appears to be mounted way too low.

It does look that way, but it's not. It's the model (shaft length) that Yamaha recommends for that boat, and mounted where they say it should be. For some reason Yamaha motors appear to mount low compared to other brands, especially on pontoons. I actually showed that same picture to a Yamaha factory guy at a boat show, and he said it was right where it should be.

OK; must be a camera angle thing.