Newbie here

[mikeauto2]

Long time lurker here and finally registered. Looked at a lot of boats. From double to triple pontoon to 20' to 24'. I have a 25k to 30k budget. looking to pull a skier and tubing. I am looking to put boat up on long lake in Maine where i am gonna have my camper at a seasonal site. looking for any info on any brands i should be staying away from. I am i better off with a triple pontoon or a double for the budget i am dealing with. Not looking to do any type of fishing just cruise around the lake and plenty of space for other to come aboard. Thanks for any info.

[Bamaman]

I'm not up to date on prices, but you may be limited to two toons with your current budget. If you're into water sports, go for the 115 hp 4 stoke motor--and nothing less. If you have time to order a boat, you can get lifting strakes on two tooned boats. They may not corner great, but they're fast running in a straight line with 115 hp.

Your other option would be to look for a good late model used boat.

[ron nh]

Hey Mike, just across the river in Litchfield. I love those lakes up in Maine, best part is connecting to others from long, you can go all day.

[smltooner]

Welcome to the club.

[RcgTexas]

Welcome!

[mikeauto2]

Thanks guys. Hey ron nh. i know litchfeild have a good freind that lives there. small world. Where you doing your boating?

[ron nh]

well, I haven't had a boat for a while but when it comes in hopefully in may i'll mostly be on the river & massabessic I geuss, but I'll be taking it all over New England. like you well know there are so many places within an hour or so. Thats really why I bought a small one so I can transport and drop in.

[ron nh]

Very hard to find a good used tri-toon around here. The dealers that do have them are so under powered that you'd be better of buying new. I was planning on a used but also with the difference in lending terms new was same monthly. I'm doing alot of water sports & fishing the coast so i had to have a tri-toon. if you stick to your budget you can get a super two-toon. If your only tubing and crusing people on here can tell you better than I but I think you'd be fine with a 90 or 115 with strakes. someone will correct me if I'm wrong. you'll also find prices up here are much higher than you'll hear on this forum. there are a ton of dealers around Im sure you've been to some, many gave me the msrp crap, you can tell right away who you're dealing with.good luck.

[Bamaman]

When in doubt about boats, RVTrader.com seems to be the place to get educated on most retail markets, specific brands, prices and which dealers are dominant in any market.

There always seems to be one dealer that's more willing to compete for your business with a fair price. It's not too hard to figure out who they are online.

If your local dealers are "go for the throat" operations, take a buying vacation a reasonable distance away.

[Gonefishing]

If you have a South Bay dealer checkout the excursion very good toon you can see from my what I have. Very nice toons and decent price. Got mine for just a little over 30 with trademark trailer 115 4 strok Yamaha rear fishing center. Just love it

[mikeauto2]

Ok thanks. we have a small boat show here in Milford NH this weekend i am going to check out. Went to the Boston boat show as i always do with my coworkers every year and could not believe the amount of pontoons over all the other boats. I guess time are changing and people are switching there boating styles.