Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

In about three years, I will have my 2010 gs 202 suncruiser pontoon paid for , We love the boat , seats , the appearance and most everything about our boat . Except for the performance , it has a 50 hp Merc on it and it is rated for up to 60hp . It has 23 inch logs and runs 18-19 mph .

My question is this , ( I know there has to be others out there wondering the same thing ) In the next couple of years , I could trade the boat in and get a tri toon with a 150hp for around $30k and probably get 5k in trade in for a difference of 25k .
I could buy a center toon with transom , upgrade with extra support , underskinning , even lifting strakes purchase a new 150hp and that would run somewhere around 15k -16k but I could sell my 2010 50hp for 3-4k and only be out around 12k .

So it would be about half the money to upgrade .
Has anyone on here done this to their boat and if so what kind of results did you get ?
Its okay be brutaly honest with me , you won't hurt my feelings
thanks

Good Luck if you can purchase all that 'stuff' including a 150 hp motor for 15 grand. It would be a fun project and a lot of work.

Me being lazy, I'd drop the bucks, bite the bullet, and go for the new Tri with the biggest engine I could.

I say this because we just bought an 18' with a 75hp motor and can do around 25mph. In a few years this boat will go away for a 21 or 22' Tri with at least a 200 hp motor. I like going fast when I can.

You could always put your current boat on the retail market this Summer. Most boats are sold thru Craigslist.com, Boattrader.com and the local newspaper want ads.

You will get more money for your boat by directly selling it to an individual than you'll ever get from a dealership. Don't get in a hurry, and your deal with come to you.

Then, you'll be free to take your time and look for YOUR deal on a tritoon with 150 hp.

There are many different brands that'll suit your needs, but they're not all created equal. Sometimes you can get a premium brand for the price of a Suntracker, or even less. I went with a Yamaha F150 (list price $15K), but the new Mercury 150 FourStroke can be bought for a little less. Either will do the job.

A new 150HP motor is pushing $15K alone, unless you are plannig on buying pre-owned. My new 115 cost $11K plus rigging.

My local dealer's prices on Mercury motors are as follows without controls, gauges or setup:

40ELPT $4860 / 50ELPT $5405 / 50ELPT BF $5515
60ELPT $5660 / 60ELPT BF $5830 / 75ELPT $6975
90ELPT $7190 / 115ELPT $7855
150ELPT 4S EFI $9950

I post this just for relativity in the market in case someone's looking to buy a new boat. They don't emphasize Verados on this inland lake retail market.

115 PRO XS $7695
150 PRO XS $9950
175 PRO XS $11095
200 PRO XS $11995
225 PRO XS TM $14295
250 PRO XS TM $14950

I did exactly what you are wanting to do. Turned my 2 toon that I loved (other than performance) into a tritoon added strakes, and just put on a 150hp. Best part boat was paid for before the upgrades and the upgrades were paid for as I did them, which equates to a boat I love that is paid for!!!

Heres what I suggest and associated costs:
1. You MUST have the dealer/manufacturer put on the center toon or I say stop and buy a new boat. Reason is you must have the manf blessing so that they will upgrade the engine hp rating. In my case the manf sent a new center tube with stakes installed, as well as strakes for the existing set of tubes for about 4000.00. Dealer installed center tube for 500.00.

2. Since dealer did not want to get involved with the welding of strakes to the outer tubes, I had it done by a local shop for 1000.00 ( I think this was a little high)

3. Engine, my thought was since the boat is not new why do I need a new engine?? Plus a new Yamaha 150hp was 14.5k before rigging and installation - yikes.

I found a used 2008 Yamaha 150hp with 176 hours for $8200 and $300 to ship from Louisianna to South florida. Rigging/mounting and new controls and tachometer (service as well) cost me $1500.

4. I have been offered 5000 for my motor and controls (have not accepted it) but using this as a benchmark, total out of pocket cost was right at $10,500. Now biggest difference is that your engine may be worth less than mine (115 Mrec 4 stroke with 220 hrs.)

thanks for the replies everyone,

rbiederwolf, thats what I would like to do as well ,and it's great that you saved lots of money versus buying a new tri toon but what kind of performance gains did you get from the tri toon vs the pontoon ?

I will contact lowe to see if they would put a center toon on and if they would increase the hp rating to 150 , not sure if they would do it . but worth a call

If they wont, I would definitely buy another boat.

When I was doing this I found a few used tritoons in the 23-25000 range that were great boats - benningtons 2274 rl's with 150 hp and low hours (less than 300 hours). Problem was I did not want to go through the hassel of selling my boat. Plus mine was paid for and I unless I sold my boat first, I had to come up with 25 g's which I did not have. Since I did mine in steps I was able to pay for it as I did it. Toughest part was finding the right engine. Was not alot of good used Yamaha 150's with 20 inch shafts on the market.

You also may find that with a 150hp you might want a larger boat 22 ft perhaps? Dont know your boating habits, but if you are looking for speed and performance with a tritoon, I would think you would want at least a 22ft. Just a thought

I just sold a 2004 Premier. I was shocked it sold in a weeks time, and for about 20% over book value. What I was told by the buyer is that there are very few nice clean used boats on the market. Lots of old junk worth hundreds, but very few really well kept ones. I would not be afraid to market a pontoon on Craig's List. That's where both my Pontoon and fishing boat were sold.

RJF wrote:I just sold a 2004 Premier. I was shocked it sold in a weeks time, and for about 20% over book value. What I was told by the buyer is that there are very few nice clean used boats on the market. Lots of old junk worth hundreds, but very few really well kept ones. I would not be afraid to market a pontoon on Craig's List. That's where both my Pontoon and fishing boat were sold.

Well maintained used toons in our area are easy to sell and command a very good trade value. I traded my Bentley (that I bought new) for a new South Bay 2 years ago. The quoted trade value from my dealer was so high that I had to question him on the numbers.

It's like buying a car. Do you want one new with all the bells and whistles or can you go to a boat show and get what you want on the last day of the event, or can you get something loaded with a couple of years on it. When it comes to buying a boat New is out. You can get the same model a couple of years older for a lot less. Of course boat shows do have some really good deals on the last day because the dealers don't want to take anything back to the show room. Or can you get a model change over. I bought my 07 in 09 for a song compaired to the new price and almost got the trailer for free.And what extra's can they throw in to sweeten up the deal. Your money ,there boat.

The prices have and are still rising on pontoon boats. If you want all the speed and luxury now is the time to do it as waiting will only lower your trade in and raise the cost of the new boat. That will cost you more. Every year they add new features and stuff that we can't live without so we trade up. Its a never ending battle.