Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hello all. I'm new to pontoon boating and this forum which is great. Been reading/studying here for a couple days and learning a lot about toons. Our family boated for 25+ years cruising, skiing, tubing and etc until the kids grew up and moved on. Then we seldomly used our relatively new 24' Sea Ray (only 40 hrs on meter) so we sold it about 8 yrs ago. Now we have grand kids that love boating so we've been renting pontoon boats the last two summers for each outing. We are now looking at purchasing a new 22' pontoon boat -- one that will work for skiing, tubing and cruising. Should add we like to go fast now and again (40+ mph).

Now I need some help in deciding some features and options. Been looking real hard at the South Bay 522 CRTT with the Trifecta package and 150 hp 4 stroke Yamaha engine. I could go to other brand dealers which are 50 miles away but the South Bay dealer is very close distance wise. The Trifecta package includes full center tube. lift strakes, full aluminum under deck skin, and power hydraulic steering. My dealer says I can save quite a bit of money by getting the 3/4 center tube in another package instead of the full tube. I'm trying to avoid being disappointed and having to do this all over again.

I'm looking for confirmation, comments and/or any additional advice on the above. Thanks.

sunnyside wrote:Hello all. I'm new to pontoon boating and this forum which is great. Been reading/studying here for a couple days and learning a lot about toons. Our family boated for 25+ years cruising, skiing, tubing and etc until the kids grew up and moved on. Then we seldomly used our relatively new 24' Sea Ray (only 40 hrs on meter) so we sold it about 8 yrs ago. Now we have grand kids that love boating so we've been renting pontoon boats the last two summers for each outing. We are now looking at purchasing a new 22' pontoon boat -- one that will work for skiing, tubing and cruising. Should add we like to go fast now and again (40+ mph).

Now I need some help in deciding some features and options. Been looking real hard at the South Bay 522 CRTT with the Trifecta package and 150 hp 4 stroke Yamaha engine. I could go to other brand dealers which are 50 miles away but the South Bay dealer is very close distance wise. The Trifecta package includes full center tube. lift strakes, full aluminum under deck skin, and power hydraulic steering. My dealer says I can save quite a bit of money by getting the 3/4 center tube in another package instead of the full tube. I'm trying to avoid being disappointed and having to do this all over again.

I'm looking for confirmation, comments and/or any additional advice on the above. Thanks.

We have the 3/4 tritoon and love it. If your looking for 40 mph then go with the full tritoon and 200hp.
The 150hp Yammy probably will only do around 36/38 mph with 2 adults and a lot less with a skier on it or a tube.
One thing about toons, the more people on it the slower they go, unlike a SeaRay which will only see a slight difference in speed, at least that was what I seen on the 3 SeaRays that we owned.

You will want a changing room with a PortaPotti, the Power steering will probably have dual batteries, if not add them. Ski Bar, ( Gps fish finder depth gage combo ) in one unit in dash, safer that way.
The South Bay is a great boat.

We have a 925 triton with the trifecta package. We love our southbay after looking at the other manufactures and comparing build quality the southbay was the choice for us. All I can say is get the biggest motor you can, southbay builds their boats like a tank and they are heavier then the same size counter part, but will hold up to lots of rough seas. When the lakes around here get rough I just cruise right by all those stupid wake board boats bobing up and down in the big waves while I beat them to the launch.

gramps wrote: We have the 3/4 tritoon and love it. If your looking for 40 mph then go with the full tritoon and 200hp.
The 150hp Yammy probably will only do around 36/38 mph with 2 adults and a lot less with a skier on it or a tube.
One thing about toons, the more people on it the slower they go, unlike a SeaRay which will only see a slight difference in speed, at least that was what I seen on the 3 SeaRays that we owned.

You will want a changing room with a PortaPotti, the Power steering will probably have dual batteries, if not add them. Ski Bar, ( Gps fish finder depth gage combo ) in one unit in dash, safer that way.
The South Bay is a great boat.

Great info! Just what I'm looking for. I'm meeting with the dealer tomorrow. He is putting in his first 2013 order and mine will be one of them if all goes well. Many thanks.

cruiser wrote:We have a 925 triton with the trifecta package. We love our southbay after looking at the other manufactures and comparing build quality the southbay was the choice for us. All I can say is get the biggest motor you can, southbay builds their boats like a tank and they are heavier then the same size counter part, but will hold up to lots of rough seas. When the lakes around here get rough I just cruise right by all those stupid wake board boats bobing up and down in the big waves while I beat them to the launch.

Excellent input. The dealer already convinced me to go with the 500 series instead of the 700 series because South Bay is adding more luxury in the 2013 500 base model. I will be talking to the dealer tomorrow about a bigger outboard. Many thanks for your reply.

Southbay builds a nice toon, as stated, you can never have too much motor. welcome to the site, JT

Agreed on getting the biggest motor possible...you can always use less throttle!

pond tuuunes wrote:Southbay builds a nice toon, as stated, you can never have too much motor. welcome to the site, JT

Another vote for more HP. I'm enjoying the site already. Thanks.

wrakoski wrote:Agreed on getting the biggest motor possible...you can always use less throttle!

This particular boat is rated at 225 hp max with the mid toon so I can't go over 225. Hopefully will get settled tomorrow but it's looking like either 200 or 225 Yamaha 4 stroke. Thanks for your reply.

I got pulled over the other day and the sherriff asked how much HP I had. I dont know the exact hull rating as my boat is basically hand built, but I told him 340 It sounded way better than the actuall 625. JT

Looks like the hp questions have been answered. Make sure you get at least seastar steering,(dealer should know this though. The double bimini would be a nice add on and you could probably use it in the negotiation price of the boat. Dual batteries are another place to work in the negotiation price
doc

vinyl floor. double bimini top. dual batteries. mooring cover.

beer. beads.

Get the seastar power assist hydraulic steering, not just hyd. steering. Get a power bimini top or 2 would be better. max out the hp. i dont think you will see 40 with a 150. Full center toon.

Welcome to the board, here are my thoughts in order of priority:

1. Get the full center log with strakes
2. Get the biggest motor you can afford. Price the suzuki, IMO they are just as good/reliable and should be slightly cheaper

Everything else is just personal preference. If I had to do it again I would get a vinyl floor and a wake board tower, but it comes down to how you want to use your toon.
The 150hp may hit 40 mph if it is mounted and proped just right... and you are running with very little extra weight on board. That's a great selling point in the dealers eyes, but if that's not how you will spend the majority of the time on it really doesn't mean much.

Many thanks to all who responded. Met with the nearby South Bay dealer today and he tried to convince me that 150 hp engine is best for the 522 CRTT toon and anything bigger is a waste of money. He showed me Yamaha online test data and called the South Bay factory rep in Indiana to discuss the engines for this exact model while I was there. The factory rep stated he owns a 2012 South Bay 522 CRTT with third toon (same as what I am ordering) and a 150 hp 4 stroke engine which will go 39.6 mph. The dealer priced the boat with 150 hp and 200 hp engines. The 200 hp engine is $6000 more. I told the dealer I'd think about it and let him know which engine. Stay tuned........