Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

ROLAND wrote:Stephen, the pics of the boat look really good. as for the price, not bad, but you might try haggling alittle bit. I wouldn't concern myself too much about the motor being a 50 hp. Especially if you don't plan on pulling skiiers. There's only 1 foot of difference between the size of your boat and mine. We have a 75 yammy on ours and it scoots us along just fine. at 3/4 throttle I was running 23 mph by gps. I havent had it wide open yet since it's still early in the break in period. If after you've had the boat awhile and you're unhappy with the motor you can always upgrade but be warned, those babies are not cheap... anyway I think you'll be happy with that boat.. it sure looks good.. did you have some place to store it? If not I would suggest some kind of pontoon cover.. Just sitting out in the sun can really take it's toll on your upholstery. Sounds like your pumped... congrats on the new boat.. just 2 more days to christmas!!!!

I appreciate the kind words. Man would I like to see your boat, though. A 2010 Bennington?? Awesome!

I don't have a place to store it, yet. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it in my drive way or keep it in a storage location. My wife wants me to store it, so that's probably what I'll do, but I don't want to pay for covered storage. The guy told me it has a cover, so I don't think I need to store it in a covered location. Is there any reason I would with a cover?

Nice boat, A buddy of mine has one laid out almost exactly like the one your getting. It's been a fine boat for him so far, except for one annoying reoccurring problem. It absolutely eats radio's, I pretty sure he's on his 5th one in about two years. The only thing we've came up with is that the console's built awful tight, and that heat buildup inside it is cooking them. He now props open the front upper access door on the console and let's it vent there, it does look like hell, but so far the last radio has held up since he started doing it.

The guy told me it has a cover, so I don't think I need to store it in a covered location. Is there any reason I would with a cover?

Well, the cover will take a beating over the years, for sure. And, they aint cheap. Also, it depends on where you live. Does it snow? If it does, when it does, it will flatten that thing out and then melt, and create a big, frozen, 500 pound pond in the middle.

I basically built 7 foot tall saw horses and set them in my toon length wise, and then drape a tarp over it, for the winter. The extreme slope sheds the snow. Worked good for me so far out here in Colorado!

I just talked to the guy who prepares the boats before they sell, and he told me I was going to be amazed how fast this boat is on the water. He said it gets 25-27 mph. I liked that he mentioned it without me even bringing up the fact that the motor size was one of my top concerns. I was expecting it to go about 15 mph. I'm really glad to hear that and hope he's not just yanking my chain to take advantage of a new tooner.


I'm really interested in doing four main things once I buy this boat.

1) Adding a rail mounted grill. I've read a ton of threads on this site chock full of information you guys posted. I just need to select one and sell some of my stuff to make money for it.

2) Add an in dash GPS with a depth finder if possible. If you notice in the picture on page 1 of the helm, you can see there is room for a few additions, so I want to make sure anything I add goes in dash. How hard is it installing something like that?

3) Add speakers/sub. I'm worried about what Bamby said above. I think if I ran into a problem like that, I'd look into installing a fan or something in the side of the helm to keep it cool. I don't know if I'm good enough to do something like that, though. I know some of you guys have added speakers and subs. Where do you put them?

4) Add a remote controlled winch from the helm for the anchor.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be doing #'s 2, 3, and 4 anytime soon. My wife and I agreed to save up and add things to this boat slowly. I can't wait for the grill, though. I've got to have that bad boy on there BEFORE summer hits. We'll be doing a lot of floating, boating, eating and drinking this summer. What's that without a fresh burger off the grill?

He said it gets 25-27 mph.

Doubtful

I was expecting it to go about 15 mph.

More likely

We'll be doing a lot of floating, boating, eating and drinking this summer

Most likely

He said it gets 25-27 mph.

\
No way. hes either bsing you or reading a non GPS speedometer.

2) Add an in dash GPS with a depth finder if possible. If you notice in the picture on page 1 of the helm, you can see there is room for a few additions, so I want to make sure anything I add goes in dash. How hard is it installing something like that?

its not that hard to do

I know some of you guys have added speakers and subs. Where do you put them?

Everywhere (Ed we need an evil laugh smiley)

Holy Shit dude! That's awesome!


My plan is to take a GPS with me and compare the mph reading I get from that to the speedometer. I'm sure you guys know what you're talking about, so it's probably too good to be true, but I'll find out for certain.

Stephen, I agree, I'd be stunned if you hit 25MPH. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is a warranty. Something where the dealer has to come and fix it, not you tow it back. It's a blast when the motor is working, but if it dies on the water, takes lots of joy away. Enjoy.

stephen, found this if later down the road u have some extra cash, mount this in your helm to keep it from over heating Ouch! be nice if they were more like $ 20. $30.

This is Nicro's smallest diameter solar exhaust vent. It has a 100% waterproof shut-off damper operated from below. Vent attaches directly to the deck without a Nicro deckplate.

*Solar powered exhaust ventilation during daylight - passive exhaust at night
*No batteries or wiring required
*Whisper-quiet fan operation
*Durable white ABS construction
*Shut-off damper to prevent water intrusion in rough seas
*2-year limited warranty and 5-year qualified warranty
*Mounting hardware included
*Optional Stainless steel cover available
*Dimensions: 7 inch diameter x 1-3/4 inches high [/list][/list][/list][/list]

I was going to break down and buck up for one of the rail mount Magmas, but when it came down to it.........I couldn't drop $200+ on a small grill, about the same price as my home grill.........so I rigged this up...maybe $50 in it and it works great.

DinoWethersfieldCove wrote:One thing I haven't seen mentioned is a warranty. Something where the dealer has to come and fix it, not you tow it back. It's a blast when the motor is working, but if it dies on the water, takes lots of joy away. Enjoy.

The warranty is no longer in effect on the outboard motor, but they are offering a 36 month "Pinnacle Protection Plan" to protect the motor. It's about $1,000 with a $25 deductible ($10/mo). One of my good friends is a boat guy and always works on his own motor, so I've decided I'll probably pass on it and just learn as much as I can with his help.

walter wrote:I was going to break down and buck up for one of the rail mount Magmas, but when it came down to it.........I couldn't drop $200+ on a small grill, about the same price as my home grill.........so I rigged this up...maybe $50 in it and it works great.

That's Freaking sweet ^^^

I've thought of doing this myself, but my ideas weren't this clean. Hopy you don't mind if I take your idea.

GXPWeasel wrote: That's Freaking sweet ^^^

I've thought of doing this myself, but my ideas weren't this clean. Hopy you don't mind if I take your idea.

Not at all Weasel, I can't take full credit, I borrowed part of the idea from another fellow pontooner (SteveStormy, don't know if he's on this site) and modified it a little, extending the grill over the side and adding my BEER and utility/BEER table. It is very stable, I've left it on for a week of boating while driving and pulling tubes, doesn't budge! I've been contimplating making it a bit easier to attach, instead of the U-bolts, but I don't know if the time savings is worth it, might take away from BEER time.

good luck

oh, the table is made from the top of one of my wifes TV tables, stained and a few coats of Polyurethane........so the BEER doesn't soak in.

So, I'm officially a Toon owner. We took it out on the lake Saturday to test drive it, and spent probably an hour trying different things out and just getting a feel for it. We loved it and are very happy. It turns my truck into a gas hog, though, so I'm not sure if Al Gore would approve. After getting it home, we went straight out on the lake and spent probably 4 hours driving around and having a good time.

The pontoon is 100X smoother than I expected. It really does ride fast, and handles extremely well. The water was very choppy at times and I kept walking up to the bow and feeling the deck... not a lick of water. I couldn't believe that. It really did an amazing job not dipping into the water.


I have an old vintage gaming collection, including about 100 old NES, SNES, and N64 games along with the consoles and controllers. Great shape. It took me years to collect everything I have, and I'm working now on putting them all on ebay and Craigslist so I can make money to put a grill and some speakers on my boat. I gotta say, although it's hard giving something like that up, gaming is quickly becoming a past time for me as I get more and more into this boating thing.

Where the hell are the pics>>>>