Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hey guys--great forum. I've been reading for the last two weeks and just went in with my dad and purchased a 2004 32' Party Cruiser. We're on Lake Ray Hubbard, just east of Dallas, Tx.

I've got tons of questions so I'll just get started:

1. Anchors--one or two? How much weight for each one? Chain or no chain?
2. Depth/fish finder? Color screen or black and white? Not looking for anything too fancy, just decent.
3. Battery switch--having a switch installed this week with a second battery and having a charger installed as well.
4. Paddle--do you need a paddle on the boat for safety rules and regs? Is there a good web-site for safety check lists of what is required on the boat?
5.Lighting--we want to put LED lights on the boat--the interior of the cabin has lights, but I want some lights on front deck and the back deck as well as possible rope lighting around the outside of the cabin.
6. Gas mileage is terrible on this mercruiser 3.0--anyone else have experience with what my gas mileage should be?
7. Any other tips are greatly appreciated!

I'll get some pictures up asap. Thanks again for the great resources! Happy boating!

Lots of lifejackets (we bought 8 cheap orange ones)
2 anchors, one for each end. The size/weight/style battle will rage on this one... I have (1) 20lb mushroom and (1) 25lb platic coated navy anchor neither with chain and I almost never use them, just beach and chill while the kids play...
My depth finder is a built in Garmin, it tells me what I need to know, water depth, water temp, and is there any fish down there. Black and white, I don't fish so the fancy ones would be wasted on me.
Paddle.. Some people actually use them (see posting from Roland) to get unstuck or help dock. If it is required by your regs get one, and others will also suggest a boat hook to assist with docking or pulling your dog out of the water...
Lighting. Keep it on the dimmerish side so as to not interfere with your or any other boaters night vision. There is a fishtoon project on here that he showed where he put some LEDs under his seats.
Gas Mileage of the I/O 3.0L. I go nothing, except you are pushing around a 32ft long barge, milage and speed may never be your friends...

Extras.
Lots of rope for tying off
a Whistle (regs)
a spare key somewhere on the pontoon where it can't fall off.
sunscreen
a few towels
a place to store your cold beverages
A small spare gas can, just incase...

welcome to the forum.
-ron

ronb wrote:Lots of lifejackets (we bought 8 cheap orange ones)
2 anchors, one for each end. The size/weight/style battle will rage on this one... I have (1) 20lb mushroom and (1) 25lb platic coated navy anchor neither with chain and I almost never use them, just beach and chill while the kids play...
My depth finder is a built in Garmin, it tells me what I need to know, water depth, water temp, and is there any fish down there. Black and white, I don't fish so the fancy ones would be wasted on me.
Paddle.. Some people actually use them (see posting from Roland) to get unstuck or help dock. If it is required by your regs get one, and others will also suggest a boat hook to assist with docking or pulling your dog out of the water...
Lighting. Keep it on the dimmerish side so as to not interfere with your or any other boaters night vision. There is a fishtoon project on here that he showed where he put some LEDs under his seats.
Gas Mileage of the I/O 3.0L. I go nothing, except you are pushing around a 32ft long barge, milage and speed may never be your friends...

Extras.
Lots of rope for tying off
a Whistle (regs)
a spare key somewhere on the pontoon where it can't fall off.
sunscreen
a few towels
a place to store your cold beverages
A small spare gas can, just incase...

welcome to the forum.
-ron

+1 bOAT HOOKS ROCK

Congrats on your purchase !!! Awesome

Boat hook, I've never seen that before. How is it attached to your boat? I can only see the end on that pic ? TY

A first aid kit with some real bandaging supplies (most small kits are insufficient for anything that actually needs first aid).

Sun Block and bug spray.

A hand held spot light

A good flashlight in a spot you can get to quickly in the dark.

Tools and a few parts (spare fuses, bulbs, fuel filter, maybe some spark plugs at a minimum)

a pretty good length of fuel hose, handy for lots of stuff.

Bottled water, we carry at least a dozen .5l bottles.
That is good for all sorts of emergencies.

Kalop wrote:Congrats on your purchase !!! Awesome

Boat hook, I've never seen that before. How is it attached to your boat? I can only see the end on that pic ? TY

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product ... rchID=4005

Thanks for the tips so far--keep them coming! Here's a picture--this isn't mine, but they are pretty much identical!

This is what you can make if you want a heavy duty boat hook.

Hoe handle and a 7/16" SS (18-8) bolt.

GregF thats one long picture

... and I didn't even get to the end. It's a long boat hook

I still can't pick up my dog with it tho. The hook would handle the 112 pounds but I wouldn't.

best speed i could ever get out of my 3.0 "iron maiden" was about 21-22 on my 22ft party barge. you're pushing alot of weight on 2 displacement logs. not gonna go fast or get great mileage.

led rope lights can add great ambient lighting and they don't draw much current. put them under the seat pointing down and they won't interfere with your night vision. i think i cost me less than 100 bucks to replace the incandescent rope lights on my current toon.

as for what you need on your boat for safety, start with the regs for your state and use that as your minimum. a well planned tool kit can go along way in a pinch. for each boat i'll go out and buy a cheap all plastic tool box from home depot. i'll buy it small enough to fit under a seat. then i populate it with cheap tools that i don't care much about if they get rusty or lost. harbor freight is a good source for cheap tools. i'll skew the tool box toward the boat. my pontoon has a honda motor so its mainly metric tools and basic hand tools. there isn't much that can be done in the water so i don't carry much beyond basic tools, knife, zip ties, etc. i don't remember, but my guess is that your mercruiser is mainly SAE.

i don't know how the PC's come from the factory, but while you are adding electrical switches, you might consider an automatic charge regulator and a shore power setup along with the charger. especially if you plan for extended floating time.

Don't cheap out too much on your tools. You don't want to be down to that one chance of fixing this thing and have your dollar store chinese wrench round off the bolt you need to get out.
Get an ammo can for your tools and they will be fine, even in a salt water environment. Wipe everything down with an oily rag when you put it away so they won't rust.

GregF wrote:Don't cheap out too much on your tools. You don't want to be down to that one chance of fixing this thing and have your dollar store chinese wrench round off the bolt you need to get out.
Get an ammo can for your tools and they will be fine, even in a salt water environment. Wipe everything down with an oily rag when you put it away so they won't rust.

+1 for that, ammo cans are awesome toolboxes and decent tools are cheap insurance

Cooterbrownlsu wrote:Hey guys--great forum. I've been reading for the last two weeks and just went in with my dad and purchased a 2004 32' Party Cruiser. We're on Lake Ray Hubbard, just east of Dallas, Tx.

Welcome ! I have an '06 Party Cruiser and love it, would buy another one in a heartbeat.

Cooterbrownlsu wrote:1. Anchors--one or two? How much weight for each one? Chain or no chain?

I found out a HUGE plow anchor works best for my PC. With the Chesapeake tides, every other anchor type didn't hold well. I always use chain. my plow anchor is 50 lbs. I use a 15 lb. danforth as a stern anchor.

Cooterbrownlsu wrote:2. Depth/fish finder? Color screen or black and white? Not looking for anything too fancy, just decent.

I have a Humminbird Piranhamax installed, the cheapest model available. It has water temp., etc and they work great. In all the years I've been boating, I've never had a Humminbird go bad.

Cooterbrownlsu wrote:3. Battery switch--having a switch installed this week with a second battery and having a charger installed as well.

My PC uses 4 batteries. One starting, one starting (backup), one dedicated to my refrigerator and one "house" battery. I have a Perko switch one the 2 starting batteries and 2 2 bank Guest Chargers to charge all 4 when I'm at the marina plugged in or when the generator is on.

Cooterbrownlsu wrote:4. Paddle--do you need a paddle on the boat for safety rules and regs? Is there a good web-site for safety check lists of what is required on the boat?

I would search your state's boating authority. It's usually the state DNR (Maryland's is).

Cooterbrownlsu wrote:5.Lighting--we want to put LED lights on the boat--the interior of the cabin has lights, but I want some lights on front deck and the back deck as well as possible rope lighting around the outside of the cabin.

I have LED rope lighting under my bimini and under the overhang in the rear sleeper. I got 100 ft on eBay for $45. This was a few years ago and they ares till working fine.

Cooterbrownlsu wrote:6. Gas mileage is terrible on this mercruiser 3.0--anyone else have experience with what my gas mileage should be?

I honestly can't complain about the gas mileage on my PC. I also have the same motor on my 21 ft. Starcraft Chieftain. Expect about 5GPH WOT, 3 1/2 at GPH at cruising. These motors are carbureted. In 2010 Mercruiser started building the 3.0 liter with fuel injection and gas mileage is a lot better. PC's are heavy, slow boats. I bought mine to have as many topless women on board as possible....speed and mileage wasn't a consideration. That being said, I average less than $400 a season (April-Nov). If you want to retrofit your 3.0 to fuel injection, a kit is available here:
http://www.affordable-fuel-injection.co ... 29-44.html

Here's my LED lighting: