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Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 1:48 pm
by padregtr
We're still looking for our first boat and I've come to the conclusion that it's not easy. One of the things that has me confuddled is trying to figure out the differences in performance packages offered by various manufacturers, or even by the same mfr. For instance, we're looking at Premier. I was quoted a Gemini 220 with a triple toon package (25" I think) and lifting strakes. But that's not their PTX package, which BTW is the only way to get a larger capacity fuel tank and in-floor storage. Is there such a huge difference between the two? We're going to cruise some and fish some. Probably not tow anybody for a long time. I'm beginning to think that the Premier PTX really isn't a necessary expense especially if a triple toon with strakes will plane out and move along at a reasonable speed. I'm planning on a Yamaha F150LB for any of the boats

I'm also looking at a Sweetwater PE 220 DFS 27" triple toon with lifting strakes. It has the larger fuel tank and storage. Is it going to perform any worse than the non-PTX Premier? I'm trying to strike a good balance between value, performance, quality and comfort without overdoing it. We want a 2 point rear fishing, 22-24ft, with tritoon (the open water on Lake Murray in SC can get pretty rough), 70# trolling motor, etc Budget ~ $50K boat, motor, trailer new. Should we be looking at another brand ?? - the Berkshire dealer rough quoted me an STS with their 3.0 perf package at $41K w/o the trolling motor. The more I look, the harder is is to decide.

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 5:58 pm
by Bamaman
Just about all the premium brands of tritoons have 3-4 different hull configurations. If you're just going with 150 hp, going to the top line performance hull may be overkill--especially on your pocketbook.

It's the lifting strakes and tritoons that really make the boats more seaworthy--getting the nosecones out of the water. If you were wanting mega speed, I'd suggest going with the top line performance hull which deserves much more horsepower. But I warn you they get very expensive.

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 7:49 pm
by LittleRiver
padregtr wrote: We want a 2 point rear fishing, 22-24ft, with tritoon (the open water on Lake Murray in SC can get pretty rough), 70# trolling motor, etc Budget ~ $50K boat, motor, trailer new. Should we be looking at another brand ?? - the Berkshire dealer rough quoted me an STS with their 3.0 perf package at $41K w/o the trolling motor. The more I look, the harder is is to decide.
24 foot sun tracker fishing special two seats in the front. Trailer. HP is a little down but could be increased. Have a 50 on it. 8200 dollars.

Then build your own.
Twin tops, JB Audio Kenwood sub, and stereo, custom home grill, LED.s inside and out. Extra transducer kit , use the Lowrance off the bass boat. vhf.
Automatic anchor. Extra captain seat switch. 85 pound Co Pilot. lazer guided trolling motor.
2200 dollars.

You could pick up a 150 used , lets say 5 grand. Sell the motor on it now, say 2500.
Top speed about 34 add your flaps. LOL maybe 38 mph

Always a way to try something before buying the whole cow.


Add those number up your closer to 16 thousand than you are 60.

Play with cheap and fun first then you will know just what you want.

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 8:22 pm
by mpilot
The big difference in some of the cheaper tritoons is that it isn't actually a full third toon, but what most call an express toon. The advantage is that typically it's actually a little faster than a full third toon when comparing apples to apples but you don't get quite as much extra buoyancy from it which means a smaller motor and the back might squat a little bit more. It also doesn't ride quite as nice as a full third toon and you often cannot get in toon storage. I'm not familiar if Premier does this but many manufacturers do now (Bennington, Bentley, Tahoe, Avalon, etc).

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Thu May 19, 2016 8:27 pm
by mpilot
padregtr wrote:We're still looking for our first boat and I've come to the conclusion that it's not easy. One of the things that has me confuddled is trying to figure out the differences in performance packages offered by various manufacturers, or even by the same mfr. For instance, we're looking at Premier. I was quoted a Gemini 220 with a triple toon package (25" I think) and lifting strakes. But that's not their PTX package, which BTW is the only way to get a larger capacity fuel tank and in-floor storage. Is there such a huge difference between the two? We're going to cruise some and fish some. Probably not tow anybody for a long time. I'm beginning to think that the Premier PTX really isn't a necessary expense especially if a triple toon with strakes will plane out and move along at a reasonable speed. I'm planning on a Yamaha F150LB for any of the boats

I'm also looking at a Sweetwater PE 220 DFS 27" triple toon with lifting strakes. It has the larger fuel tank and storage. Is it going to perform any worse than the non-PTX Premier? I'm trying to strike a good balance between value, performance, quality and comfort without overdoing it. We want a 2 point rear fishing, 22-24ft, with tritoon (the open water on Lake Murray in SC can get pretty rough), 70# trolling motor, etc Budget ~ $50K boat, motor, trailer new. Should we be looking at another brand ?? - the Berkshire dealer rough quoted me an STS with their 3.0 perf package at $41K w/o the trolling motor. The more I look, the harder is is to decide.
I just saw you are on Lake Murray, we are too. We ordered a Cypress Cay (made by Harris) at the boat show in February. We did a lot of customization on the boat but got a 23 foot tritoon with a 150, pillow top seats with inserts, vinyl floors, second bimini with full enclosure, changing room in lounger, etc for under 40k. I would give Berkeley outdoors a call and see what they can do for you. They also carry Godfrey (Sweetwater, and Aqua Patio) and Bennington. They can probably cut you a pretty good deal. Be aware though if you order a Cypress Cay that isn't on the lot you are looking at a lead time of at least 10 weeks I would imagine. Ours took 14, but once the boat came in we are ecstatic with the way it turned out. It's actually the same style seats from some of the higher end Harris boats but in a budget minded boat.

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 6:25 am
by padregtr
LittleRiver wrote:
24 foot sun tracker fishing special two seats in the front. Trailer. HP is a little down but could be increased. Have a 50 on it. 8200 dollars.

Then build your own.
Twin tops, JB Audio Kenwood sub, and stereo, custom home grill, LED.s inside and out. Extra transducer kit , use the Lowrance off the bass boat. vhf.
Automatic anchor. Extra captain seat switch. 85 pound Co Pilot. lazer guided trolling motor.
2200 dollars.

You could pick up a 150 used , lets say 5 grand. Sell the motor on it now, say 2500.
Top speed about 34 add your flaps. LOL maybe 38 mph

Always a way to try something before buying the whole cow.


Add those number up your closer to 16 thousand than you are 60.

Play with cheap and fun first then you will know just what you want.
You know if I was younger, I might take you up on that. I had a former business partner that took on a double decker project. I don't know if he ever completed it. At 56 though, I want to 'buy my second boat first'.

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 6:33 am
by padregtr
Bamaman wrote:Just about all the premium brands of tritoons have 3-4 different hull configurations. If you're just going with 150 hp, going to the top line performance hull may be overkill--especially on your pocketbook.

It's the lifting strakes and tritoons that really make the boats more seaworthy--getting the nosecones out of the water. If you were wanting mega speed, I'd suggest going with the top line performance hull which deserves much more horsepower. But I warn you they get very expensive.
Thanks Bamaman. I'm not looking for mega speed. I can afford to go more but just don't see the need.

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 6:36 am
by padregtr
mpilot wrote:The big difference in some of the cheaper tritoons is that it isn't actually a full third toon, but what most call an express toon. The advantage is that typically it's actually a little faster than a full third toon when comparing apples to apples but you don't get quite as much extra buoyancy from it which means a smaller motor and the back might squat a little bit more. It also doesn't ride quite as nice as a full third toon and you often cannot get in toon storage. I'm not familiar if Premier does this but many manufacturers do now (Bennington, Bentley, Tahoe, Avalon, etc).
Thank you mpilot. Good to know how the express toon makes the boat behave. I haven't seen them on the Premier site, but I know others offer them, and that's not really what I'm looking for, for the very reasons you say.

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 7:07 am
by padregtr
mpilot wrote:I just saw you are on Lake Murray, we are too. We ordered a Cypress Cay (made by Harris) at the boat show in February. We did a lot of customization on the boat but got a 23 foot tritoon with a 150, pillow top seats with inserts, vinyl floors, second bimini with full enclosure, changing room in lounger, etc for under 40k. I would give Berkeley outdoors a call and see what they can do for you. They also carry Godfrey (Sweetwater, and Aqua Patio) and Bennington. They can probably cut you a pretty good deal. Be aware though if you order a Cypress Cay that isn't on the lot you are looking at a lead time of at least 10 weeks I would imagine. Ours took 14, but once the boat came in we are ecstatic with the way it turned out. It's actually the same style seats from some of the higher end Harris boats but in a budget minded boat.
Mpilot - that's a good deal, and I read your post about the finance guy getting bent. Nice. I'll need to add a trolling motor w/gps and a trailer. I also have a couple of 'nice to haves' like an elevated helm platform, and arms on the two fishing seats in the rear, but they aren't deal breakers with the right boat (well maybe the raised helm).

We're going to Berkeley in the morning. It's close by. It's good that they rep so many manufacturers. We also have time. I know that this late in the season I'd probably have to order what I want and wait 8-12 weeks. Ray Clepper on Broad River in Irmo (Premier dealer) already told me that for the Gemini. He also said that it would be a 2017 model, though he doesn't have any idea what changes will be made from the 2016 - he'll find out around labor day when all the Premier reps visit the factory. We might wait for the shows. The one in Greenville is in January. We're thinking of going up there to find what we want, then order it down here at the show in Feb. Just a thought.

I've heard that the dealer is so important. Raymond is a real nice guy - he spent a close to 2 hrs with us on Saturday and his shop has high reviews on Yelp. They sell South Bay as well as Premier and from the folks I've talked to, he's the one I'd be most inclined to buy from, from a dealer perspective, but he needs to have the right boat. How was your overall experience with Berkeley? Have you been in for service yet?

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 6:42 pm
by Bamaman
Berkley? I assume you mean Bentley Encore pontoons which are made locally around Columbia, SC. They're a good mid range quality boat, and would possibly be a good value.

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 7:50 pm
by LittleRiver
padregtr wrote:
LittleRiver wrote:
24 foot sun tracker fishing special two seats in the front. Trailer. HP is a little down but could be increased. Have a 50 on it. 8200 dollars.

Then build your own.
Twin tops, JB Audio Kenwood sub, and stereo, custom home grill, LED.s inside and out. Extra transducer kit , use the Lowrance off the bass boat. vhf.
Automatic anchor. Extra captain seat switch. 85 pound Co Pilot. lazer guided trolling motor.
2200 dollars.

You could pick up a 150 used , lets say 5 grand. Sell the motor on it now, say 2500.
Top speed about 34 add your flaps. LOL maybe 38 mph

Always a way to try something before buying the whole cow.


Add those number up your closer to 16 thousand than you are 60.

Play with cheap and fun first then you will know just what you want.
You know if I was younger, I might take you up on that. I had a former business partner that took on a double decker project. I don't know if he ever completed it. At 56 though, I want to 'buy my second boat first'.
59 both the pontoon and bass boat are tricked out to the max , race a rear engion dragster and run coast to coast hauling 9 cars on my back.
your just getting out of diapers. :thumbsup

Once you get what you want, let us know. We'll let you know how to "TURN IT UP A NOTCH" :happy

:thumbsup

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 8:30 pm
by padregtr
Bamaman wrote:Berkley? I assume you mean Bentley Encore pontoons which are made locally around Columbia, SC. They're a good mid range quality boat, and would possibly be a good value.
Berkeley Outdoors is a local dealer here.

http://www.berkeleyoutdoors.com/

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Wed May 25, 2016 8:28 pm
by mpilot
padregtr wrote:
mpilot wrote:I just saw you are on Lake Murray, we are too. We ordered a Cypress Cay (made by Harris) at the boat show in February. We did a lot of customization on the boat but got a 23 foot tritoon with a 150, pillow top seats with inserts, vinyl floors, second bimini with full enclosure, changing room in lounger, etc for under 40k. I would give Berkeley outdoors a call and see what they can do for you. They also carry Godfrey (Sweetwater, and Aqua Patio) and Bennington. They can probably cut you a pretty good deal. Be aware though if you order a Cypress Cay that isn't on the lot you are looking at a lead time of at least 10 weeks I would imagine. Ours took 14, but once the boat came in we are ecstatic with the way it turned out. It's actually the same style seats from some of the higher end Harris boats but in a budget minded boat.
Mpilot - that's a good deal, and I read your post about the finance guy getting bent. Nice. I'll need to add a trolling motor w/gps and a trailer. I also have a couple of 'nice to haves' like an elevated helm platform, and arms on the two fishing seats in the rear, but they aren't deal breakers with the right boat (well maybe the raised helm).

We're going to Berkeley in the morning. It's close by. It's good that they rep so many manufacturers. We also have time. I know that this late in the season I'd probably have to order what I want and wait 8-12 weeks. Ray Clepper on Broad River in Irmo (Premier dealer) already told me that for the Gemini. He also said that it would be a 2017 model, though he doesn't have any idea what changes will be made from the 2016 - he'll find out around labor day when all the Premier reps visit the factory. We might wait for the shows. The one in Greenville is in January. We're thinking of going up there to find what we want, then order it down here at the show in Feb. Just a thought.

I've heard that the dealer is so important. Raymond is a real nice guy - he spent a close to 2 hrs with us on Saturday and his shop has high reviews on Yelp. They sell South Bay as well as Premier and from the folks I've talked to, he's the one I'd be most inclined to buy from, from a dealer perspective, but he needs to have the right boat. How was your overall experience with Berkeley? Have you been in for service yet?
The experience with the Columbia team has been pretty good so far. The boat was delivered this past Friday night and we were out Saturday and Sunday. We opted against the trailer because we leave ours in the water and I have a few trailers to choose from if I need to pull it out and clean it. Berkeley will come get the boat for service for less than 100 bucks so that's our plan as of now. Some pen got on one of the seats before they delivered so when they dropped it off he told me they already had a new cushion on order. There was also an issue with a zipper on the enclosure but rather than delay delivery or deliver it without the enclosure they took it to an upholstery shop in town and got it fixed so we could take delivery on time.

I sent them a list this morning of a few other things we saw that need to be addressed, but have not heard back yet on how we are going to get them taken care of. It has to go through the rep so I hope to hear something this week on these items.

We'll probably come close to the 20 hour mark after this weekend, but I can't find anything in the warranty info or mercury manual that recommends a 20 hour service that most mercury dealers we talked to recommended. If it's not required I'm going to pass since it will probably go in for the 100 hour service mid summer. I'll be able to tell you more about the service department then. If it doesn't live up to expectations there are plenty of other dealers closer that can service a Mercury but as long as they keep me happy I plan on using them through the 8 year warranty.

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Thu May 26, 2016 7:43 am
by Bamaman
I've never seen a $100 maintenance service. That's what most dealers charge per labor hour, and it takes'em 1/2 hour just to move the boat into the shop and put it back on the lot. You might want to ask the dealer their charges prior to any servicing--to keep down any confusion when you get the bill.

I did change the oil and filter on my Yamaha 150 hp @ 20 hours, and it was just a 15 minute job. After that, it's a 100 hour service interval. Even though your motor is a new Mercury, you should consider at least changing the oil @ 20 hours. The rest of the 20 hour maintenance is just labor--more looking over the motor than anything.

20 and 100 hour checklists are usually outlined in the owners' manuals. Until my motor gets to 1000 hours and requires a timing belt change, there's no maintenance I cannot complete. On my first Yamaha 115 hp 2 stroke, I spent $241 on the motor--in 28 years.

Re: Tritoon performance packages - is there really a difference?

Posted: Thu May 26, 2016 10:49 am
by mpilot
Bamaman wrote:I've never seen a $100 maintenance service. That's what most dealers charge per labor hour, and it takes'em 1/2 hour just to move the boat into the shop and put it back on the lot. You might want to ask the dealer their charges prior to any servicing--to keep down any confusion when you get the bill.

I did change the oil and filter on my Yamaha 150 hp @ 20 hours, and it was just a 15 minute job. After that, it's a 100 hour service interval. Even though your motor is a new Mercury, you should consider at least changing the oil @ 20 hours. The rest of the 20 hour maintenance is just labor--more looking over the motor than anything.

20 and 100 hour checklists are usually outlined in the owners' manuals. Until my motor gets to 1000 hours and requires a timing belt change, there's no maintenance I cannot complete. On my first Yamaha 115 hp 2 stroke, I spent $241 on the motor--in 28 years.
It's $100 for them to come get it from our house and take it to the shop, do the service (they charge the appropriate rate for the service) and then deliver the boat back. It's around a half hour each way to the shop so they are basically charging me around $50/hr to transport which is reasonable in my opinion. If I took it to them I would need to borrow a trailer a half hour away, take the boat and drop it off, go back and pick it up, and then drop the trailer back off. Basically it would take me four hours on the road so it's well worth it for me. Plus I have to have it serviced 20 times before I would break even on the trailer.