Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Bought new in 2013 but a 2012 model. Sunsation 20' pontoon. Has Yamaha 90 hp motor.
I am the second owner. The original owner was an older gent who claims less then 20 hours on the boat. It shows as such so I will go with that.
The oil has not been changed and looks new.
The pontoons have drain plugs on them, should I be taking these off after every use?
It is slow, only did about 22-27 mph with the wife and I in calm water. I am ok with that but to go to higher speeds I am hitting about 7k on the motor. ( to do 27) It has more to give but what is a decent rpm for this outboard? I am not the type to push things. I like safe reliability.
Should I consider switching the prop out? I have no intention of pulling people with it and don't plan to shotgun the throttle from a dead stop.
Plaining. It has hydro lift for motor but should I be trimming the outboard? Seems like when I did it truly didn't do much to the front. I looked out and those recycled beer cans were pushing water from the front. It is nothing like a fiberglass boat.
The only issue I saw was the gas gauge bouncing from full to empty like there was a short or loose wire. Tank was full btw. Anyone know of an issue with a sending unit or gauge on these models? I haven't bothered to even look at it yet.
Underbelly skin. Mine does not have it and yes I can feel water hit the rafters and give that surge feeling. For those with skin, do you simply fab up some aluminum and attach it or does it get sealed and welded to keep water out? I truly question how plywood gets wet, dry, wet, etc and survive the long haul.
I am probably over thinking things but I truly want to learn and seek advice from the experienced folks out there.
Thank you in advance for any and all replies.

The oil has not been changed and looks new. You'll want to change the oil, filter and lower unit grease now.
The pontoons have drain plugs on them, should I be taking these off after every use? No reason to ever pull the plugs unless you have a leak and need to drain'em.
It is slow, only did about 22-27 mph with the wife and I in calm water. I am ok with that but to go to higher speeds I am hitting about 7k on the motor. ( to do 27) It has more to give but what is a decent rpm for this outboard? Sounds as if your tachometer is inaccurate as the engine's rev limiter should kick in before it ever would rev that fast. Most 4 strokes redline around 6k. A 2 toon boat with your engine is not very fast
Should I consider switching the prop out? With an accurate rpm reading with 2 people and 1/2 tank of fuel, you should be getting max. rpm's--no more, no less.
Plaining. It has hydro lift for motor but should I be trimming the outboard? Unless the boat has lifting strakes, trimming does little for speed. 2 toon boats do best with the anticavitation plate parallel to the bottom of the toons.
The only issue I saw was the gas gauge bouncing from full to empty like there was a short or loose wire. Anyone know of an issue with a sending unit or gauge on these models? Check the ground wire for a short.
Underbelly skin. For those with skin, do you simply fab up some aluminum and attach it or does it get sealed and welded to keep water out? Marine plywood getting wet still lasts many, many years. Underskinning is best attached with rivets, and it's okay if water drains out of it.

I agree with bamaman it sounds like you are underpropped, if your tack is correct.

A two log boat is not a racer but with a ninety and two people it should scoot. If you get it propped correctly it will do well.

Under skinning may help some but it will definitely improve your ride, keeping water from splashing up into the cross members. That feels kind of like a braking sensation in rough water, in MHO. Cant hurt anything to keep it off the wood as much as possible.

If the plugs in the logs are synthetic or plastic I wouldn't touch them.(unless you hear water sloshing) If they are metal I suggest Teflon tape or anti seize.

Did he say he hit 7k on the tach with that motor? That seems like a lot of revs. What would the red line be on that setup? 6k seems more likely, although I am not familiar with Yamahas.

Glenn

I have pulled my plastic plugs a few times, never have gotten water out. I replaced them with brass plugs and Teflon tape a few years ago. Come right out. I get a little water out of my strakes when I pull the little plugs from them. Your tach may be on the wrong setting. Look at the back to see if there is a 4/6/8 switch on it. A lot Teleflex and Faria tachs have the switch.

Yeah. It was showing above 6k on the rev and I was kinda concerned but also shrugging it off as normal. It had more to give. I think I need to take a more detailed look at it. I was not full throttle either. Perhaps the tach is wrong or was acting funny like the gas gauge was.
On another note, what cleaners are good for the toons to make them nice and shiny. Mine seem dull. And who makes a good cover that will cover the toon all the way to the floor.
The factory cover does not cover the carpet outside the rear door nor the wires and hoses that go to the motor, or the sides of the toon.
The California sun is brutal and I want to cover as much of it as possible.
I have been thinking of an rv cover to drape the trailer as well.
Your thoughts.

Your motor should have a 6K redline and a rev limiter that kicks in at 6,300 rpm's. If the tach reads much higher, pull it and see there's a switch on the back that sets it to 4 cylinders.
If your toons are green and grundgy from being in the water, an acid based cleaner would be needed. There are special pontoon cleaners and NAPA has a metal cleaner that's acid based. If you do this, you'd need to polish the toons with a high quality aluminum/metal polish with a dual action polisher and wool bonnet.
You could go to an awning shop or marine upholsterer to get a cover made. Checkout Overton's to see if they have a toon cover that would help you. Most just use their mooring covers and don't cover the rear/front decks or lower part of the fencing. Another option is having an inexpensive portable aluminum carport installed--if your yard's large enough to handle it.

Big had wrote:Yeah. It was showing above 6k on the rev and I was kinda concerned but also shrugging it off as normal. It had more to give. I think I need to take a more detailed look at it. I was not full throttle either. Perhaps the tach is wrong or was acting funny like the gas gauge was.
On another note, what cleaners are good for the toons to make them nice and shiny. Mine seem dull. And who makes a good cover that will cover the toon all the way to the floor.
The factory cover does not cover the carpet outside the rear door nor the wires and hoses that go to the motor, or the sides of the toon.
The California sun is brutal and I want to cover as much of it as possible.
I have been thinking of an rv cover to drape the trailer as well.
Your thoughts.

I have this cover it is awesome! It will only work on a trailer though.

http://www.pontoonstuff.com/collections ... oon-covers

That is a nice cover. Yes it is on a trailer and lives on the side of my yard except when I am towing it somewhere to use.
Where did you get that?

Big had wrote: On another note, what cleaners are good for the toons to make them nice and shiny. Mine seem dull.

Premier pontoons prior to 2014 have a coating on the pontoons which will have to be removed prior to polishing. They stopped applying the coating because of complaints. You can either strip the coating completely which is difficult and polish or brighten it and apply new coating. I'm planning to strip and polish mine eventually, but I will bribe several others to come over and help me out with an armory of rotary polishers.

RobZ71LM7 wrote:

Big had wrote: On another note, what cleaners are good for the toons to make them nice and shiny. Mine seem dull.

Premier pontoons prior to 2014 have a coating on the pontoons which will have to be removed prior to polishing. They stopped applying the coating because of complaints. You can either strip the coating completely which is difficult and polish or brighten it and apply new coating. I'm planning to strip and polish mine eventually, but I will bribe several others to come over and help me out with an armory of rotary polishers.

Lacquer thinner pulls that coating right off. I used a D/A with 150 then 400 grit to knock down the welds. A chisel to pop off the excesses slag. Makes for a nice polish job when the welds are smooth as a babies butt. I need to do some touch up. Too bad we aren't closer we could do them side by side and get sloshed afterwards!

Bryden24shp wrote:

RobZ71LM7 wrote:

Big had wrote: On another note, what cleaners are good for the toons to make them nice and shiny. Mine seem dull.

Premier pontoons prior to 2014 have a coating on the pontoons which will have to be removed prior to polishing. They stopped applying the coating because of complaints. You can either strip the coating completely which is difficult and polish or brighten it and apply new coating. I'm planning to strip and polish mine eventually, but I will bribe several others to come over and help me out with an armory of rotary polishers.

Lacquer thinner pulls that coating right off. I used a D/A with 150 then 400 grit to knock down the welds. A chisel to pop off the excesses slag. Makes for a nice polish job when the welds are smooth as a babies butt. I need to do some touch up. Too bad we aren't closer we could do them side by side and get sloshed afterwards!

Cool deal thanks for the info... my dealer made the coating removal sound a lot harder. It shouldn't be too bad then-auto detailing is one of my hobbies (I own 3 DA's).