Is there "too big" for a 1st pontoon?

[SnakeByte]

We're looking to buy our first pontoon and our first boat for that matter.

As I've read and learned more about pontoons and the lakes I'll be boating on, I am leaning towards getting a larger motor than the 115 HP I originally planned. Specifically a 150HP. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the 150HP doesn't seem to be common on a 22' boat, so this is pushing me towards 24' and even 25', just to find 150HP motors.

Am I getting out of my league for a first boat? Will I wish I had a 22'?

Also, one of the reasons I was moving to the 150HP in the first place was to get more power...am I now defeating the purpose by ending up in a 24'-25' boat?

Specifically, I lean towards a 24' tri-toon with a 150HP. Ideally with under-skinning and strakes.

Thoughts?

[smoker62]

Do it right the first time. I am getting out of the 115 and skipping the 150 . I just know if I get a 150 in a year I will want a 250. I am now ordering a Crest with a 300.

[fiddlebick]

In my opinion a 22' will leave many people wishing for more room. My first pontoon was a 20' with a 40 hp 2 stroke...after 2 seasons I was searching for a 24 and more hp/4stroke. I now ended up with a 2575 with a 135hp honda. I worried the boat was too big, but I did have room to keep it inside, I had to buy used, so choices were limited, but we now love every foot of it! I am a bit underpowered for the length and weight of my boat however. If I were buying new, I would have a 24' and no smaller, with at least 150hp and tritooned. Its up to you to assess what your needs are vs. what your willing to outlay for a purchase. I am sure you will get lots of guys kick in on this topic.

[OK Toon]

How many people will you have on the boat on a regular basis? We got our first "new to us" boat 2 years ago. Its a 22' and I love the length of it. Its only a 2-toon so 115 is the biggest motor I could have gotten - and we only went with a 90. I would like to get a 22' tritoon with a 150 and I would be set. But for me, its just the Admiral and our water-hating Lab, so a 22' is perfect for us. We occasionnaly have a couple of guests but 95% of the time it is just us.

[badmoonrising]

My first pontoon was an '06 Party Cruiser. Loved it, but I am happier with my 22 ft Party Barge in MOST ways. One thing I won't miss is paying over 3 grand for a slip, having to take it out of the water every storm that threatens and bottom painting.

I also had a 21 ft fishing boat when I owned the Party Cruiser. Now I use the Party Barge to fish and play. One boat is a lot less hassle.

[tadams]

I've been boating & pulling trailers for 25 years so the size of the boat was not really an issue. However, I can see where a pontoon could be a little intimidating for your first boat.

Here are some things you might want to consider:

Are you going to trailer the boat or keep in in a slip? How much experience do you have pulling & backing a trailer? They are pretty long but fairly easy to maneuver & they are not as heavy as a regular boat.

They are very easy to pilot on the water but you have to be careful because the wind can have an exaggerated effect on them.

As far as motor size goes- you can NEVER have too much power! No man has ever said "I wish this boat had a smaller motor! It's too fast"

[r.karjala]

I've had three boats.

First boat was a 1969 33' party barge with a 1968 100 hp Johnson. Bought it as a "hey let's try this boating thing. " It cost us $750 and sold it for $1000 after 3 season.

Next boat was a 1995 20.5 Lowe with a 50 hp Evinrude. Bought as "hey we like this boating thing but don't want something to big." It coat us $5900 and sold it after 3 seasons for $6500.

Current boat is a 2007 23.5 Elite by Premier. It has PTX and 4.3L Volvo Penta motor and drive.
We paid a lot but it does everything we want in a boat. Lots of room, very stable, and enough power to do want is needed. We can run in mid 30's all day long with great gas econony and have a top end in the low 40's. We have had this boat on Table Rock, lake of the ozarks, texoma, and beaver lake with no problems.

I don't see any problem with what we did. We learned a lot and made a lot of mistakes with the first two boats.

[MerkFalc]

I just bought my first pontoon, a 25' tritoon and I haven't had any problems with it. I test drove everything from a 20' to a 26' and I couldn't tell a huge difference in handling. You'll love all the extra room for coolers, dogs, or whatever you feel like bringing along. Even if you're a little intimidated at first, it's only going to take a trip or two before you're feeling pretty confident.

[zoom650]

FWIW, in another few weeks, I'm taking delivery on a 22' with a Verado 150. From test driving a few boats, I was satisfied with that performance package. I will be trailering a good bit and keeping the boat on my property, so in my mind, size mattered. The 22 footer also matched up with the number of folks I will invite aboard.

Now, I'm downsizing from a 26' offshore center console with twin Yama 200's. Believe me, 400 hp was nice, especially on the days you could turn it loose. The 90% throttle and it ran 54 on the GPS. That was fast speed over water, especially with the occasional sea turtle popping up.

I'll probably miss the extra HP on this new boat, but felt the gain in horsepower and speed wouldn't justify the extra 8-14 grand it would take to make a significant difference. Will I miss the extra ponies? Hell yeah, I probably will. But I did have an upper limit to my budget and I preferred to put the extra bucks into the boat itself.

You never mentioned test driving different boat. If you have not, you should. Have you read the spec sheets on the engines you're considering to check gallons per hour burned at which RPM/speed? Cost of operation might make a difference too.

If cost was no object, I'd have twins on a 26' tritoon.<big sigh> Love me some twins!

[robster]

Get a 23 foot Manitou Oasis.

Cheers,
Robert

[Cycleman07]

No brainer...Get a boat that will make you happy for years to come. Go big or go home. You will never regret it. Just my .02. A little biased as my boat is 25' long. Good luck and congrats on whatever you choose.

[Cycleman07]

No brainer...Get a boat that will make you happy for years to come. Go big or go home. You will never regret it. Just my .02. A little biased as my boat is 25' long. Good luck and congrats on whatever you choose.

[Bamaman]

It seems as if those that go ahead and get a 22' or 24' straked tritoon with 150 hp are not complaining about performance. And they're not trading after a year's usage.

My original 1985 Starcraft lasted 27 years. I'm going on my 3rd Summer with this 24SSLX Bennie, and hope that it'll be the last boat I ever have to buy.

I just wonder if I'll be 70 years old and buying another Waverunner? I just love those fast PWC's.

[JohnO]

My 24' with a 175 HP is my first boat. Should have got a bigger motor (I do 41.1 MPH GPS) but otherwise it's perfect.

It's small enough for me to handle alone yet big enough to put my kayaks on and use as a mothership

[SnakeByte]

Wow! I appreciate everyone's great feedback. It's all very useful and I appreciate everyone taking the time to provide it. There were several questions that people ask, here are the questions and my responses:

How many people will you have on the boat on a regular basis?

Minimum will be three of us (2 + 1 child) plus our dog. However, I expect on a regular basis we will have guests. Most commonly 3-4 guests (2 adults + 1-2 children).

Are we going to trailer or keep the boat in a slip?

We don’t have a place to keep a trailer and would use the boat much less if we had to trailer it each time. We will have a full-time slip that is about 20 minutes from our house. We will then go straight from the lake to dry dock at the close of the season. I have no experience trailering a boat.

I never mentioned test-driving different boats.

Unfortunately, the lakes are still frozen here in Wisconsin. So, I’ve not been able to drive any boats, although I wish I could. At the same time, I want to be proactive in finding a boat so that I get full use of it this spring/summer. Unfortunately, we’re limited to May – Sept, so want to maximize our time on the water. Do you guys think it’s a huge mistake not to drive a few? I figure I wouldn’t know the difference anyway.

Someone had previously asked about the size of the lake we would be on.

Here in Madison, we have a chain of three lakes, which are all connected by a river. The largest of the three lakes is ~10k acres. My understanding is that this gets some pretty decent waves. Someone I know had a 22' with a 115HP and they indicated there were some days they just turned around and went home, they have since upgraded to a 25' with 300HP. Now, on those days I could stay within the smaller lakes, but there are definitely activities on the large lake that would stink to miss out on due to an insufficient boat setup.

Thanks again for all the great feedback.
-Jason