Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I'm thinking about buying a 22' Hurricane fundeck and wondered how people that own them like them. Maybe share with me the upside and downside of them?

Thanks
Butch

My dad has one and loves his. We spent a lot of time on them! Doesn't handle rough stuff well, seats about 6-8 comfortably and have lots of storage. Easy on and off for the dogs, good for fishing. I really think the only con is not handling rough stuff and it might get crowded once three kids bring their families on board, it was always me and two siblings with families. Good boat for small family though.

I had one sounds like the one you have. I had it for six years and then traded it for another pontoon. Only draw back I had was it didn't have as much room as the pontoon. Also the area I fish sometimes gets a little rough and it did not handle while. It does not handle large wakes from other boat while also. The pontoon handled better in the same water. What I did like about it was it is fiberglass and in the saltwater I didn't have to do anything special to it. Before it I had a pontoon and traded it for the deck boat. The wife did not like it at all is why I traded it for another pontoon.

The Hurricane is the biggest seller in the deck boat business by far, but there are some Bennington Azure fiberglass deck boats on the used market that are far superior. They're absolutely beautiful.

There have been some pontoon owners that switched to deckboats, and then switched back to tritoons.

Deckboats are really a trihull boat with the furniture on top of the hull--rather than down in the hull. They do have better room than a V-hull boat, but not the room of a pontoon. And they ride very, very rough in comparison with a tritoon.

I had a Hurricane 24Midships. (I went from a pontoon to it) It was overall a great boat with a head and bed under the console.

But (there's always a but) our lake became way too rough and the hull shape pounded us like crazy. So we went to a triton.

There is one on our lake out pretty regularly, its a nice boat, basically a small pontoon body on a fiberglass hull. I do agree with others, it seems like it has a high center of gravity and when the waves are up, he's always rock and rolling.

Thanks guys for the info. Where we go theres always a moderate chop and lots of boat traffic so I guess maybe the next time I take my pontoon to the island I'll keep an eye on the deck boats and see how they handle the chop compared to my toon. I'd really like a tri-toon but just don't have the money for that and since I'm retiring the end of this year, I'm sure a nicer boat is not in my future unless I win the lottery! I was thinking about the fundeck mainly for the extra speed and less maintenance in the saltwater.

wijames wrote:Thanks guys for the info. Where we go theres always a moderate chop and lots of boat traffic so I guess maybe the next time I take my pontoon to the island I'll keep an eye on the deck boats and see how they handle the chop compared to my toon. I'd really like a tri-toon but just don't have the money for that and since I'm retiring the end of this year, I'm sure a nicer boat is not in my future unless I win the lottery! I was thinking about the fundeck mainly for the extra speed and less maintenance in the saltwater.

For boating in saltwater, I think the Fundeck is a great compromise for someone wanting a toon like layout. It is unlike the Sundeck series and many other deck boats in that the fundeck would provide a pontoon floor plan with no (or much less) maintenance than a toon in saltwater. It has higher walls, it looks like actually pontoon railing.

It's this one

Liberty MO wrote:

wijames wrote: For boating in saltwater, I think the Fundeck is a great compromise for someone wanting a toon like layout. It is unlike the Sundeck series and many other deck boats in that the fundeck would provide a pontoon floor plan with no (or much less) maintenance than a toon in saltwater. It has higher walls, it looks like actually pontoon railing.

It's this one

Thats what I was thinking. I know where there is one for sale at a marina near me so maybe I'll see if I can get a test ride.

I'm on my second Hurricane. Had an FD196 with a Honda 115 for a while, it's basically a pontoon style boat with a fiberglass bottom. Great boat with lots of room but when the water got rough, my passengers stopped enjoying the ride since it got kind of jarring ( I didn't mind it). But overall I loved the boat, great for fishing and sitting around. Lots of room for such a small boat.



I stumbled on a deal for a Sundeck sport 201 with a Honda 130 at the end of last season and bought that. This model is more of a bowrider type set up, though much roomier then equivalent sized bowriders. I've been out on it once this year and although I heard the ride wouldn't be much different then the 196, I found it to be much more comfortable. It doesn't slam you down when you hit the chop.

Overall Hurricanes seem very well built and thought out for the intended purpose.

I had the Sundeck 24 and tested the Fundeck before buying my Bennington.
I did most of my testing in Maryland in the bays, which could sometimes look like the
mid ocean.
After talking to dealers in the area and hrs on the deck, it wasn't for me.
In fact the dealers also tried to guide me in other directions.
The one big benefit of the Hurricane was that it was more maneuverable in wind, but really only noticed when docking...