Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Maybe someone can help. Decided to buy a used pontoon about 2 months ago. Problem is I went down a rabbit hole on research. I want a boat that can do at least 35mph, can pull a wakeboarder, tube etc. Id like to be able to slalom ski too but not necessary. Discovered tritoon is the way to go for several reasons. My concern is turning radius, performance, stability. Discovered PTX, SHP, VP and a few other sport handling set ups. Cant locate tritoons in the $30K range in California. I can find them mid west, east coast etc but transport ads $2500-$3000 Question is this: Should I settle for a 2 pontoon setup that is newer, nicer or buy a 10-12 year old tritoon?

I was in your position recently, being that I'm also from California. Our used pontoon market 'aint that great. I did test run a used tritoon with a 135HP Mercury on the back. It looked great on land, but made me feel very uneasy when we went for the lake test. Due to prior owner treatment - half the gauges not seeming to work, engine didn't feel smooth, etc.

I ended up buying a brand new (older model) fully loaded, two tube pontoon and am super happy with it. With the 115, so far I've hit 29.9 mph and that was on the first test run. I imagine if you go for a new Pontoon with less features, but a third toon and a larger engine you can still probably pull off purchasing a new one for around $35k. I decided having a warranty was worth the investment and piece of mind in purchasing new.

Good luck!

If what you described is important to you, You will want a Tri-toon for sure. Those performance hulls are nice, but don't get hung up on that. Regular Tri-toon is great for water sports. I took my cousin skiing last year who had zero interest in a pontoon, he had no issues. Personally, I would get one long distance if I had too. They are out there, used for under 35k between 1 & 5 yrs old. You can buy a new one for that price as well with 150hp, just not top o' the line. Still nice boats.

If you're looking for the absolute bargain dealer for tritoons, see http://jacosmarine.com/lowe-pontoons/

Jacos is one of those dealers that other dealers dread competing with, and he's a huge internet Mercury engine dealer. And at Jacos' prices, you could afford to ship one of the boats and still be in it for a fair price. The Merc. 150 FourStroke is a fine power plant for pontoons and it'd do a great job for you.

Unfortunately, competitive dealers are not in every retail market in the U.S. Some states and dealers have lower costs of doing business than others.

Do they sell Sylvan pontoons anywhere by you?

I used to own a 22' runabout with a 270hp in it that I used for tubing, wakeboarding and slalom skiing. I too was concerned about turning radius of a 2 log pontoon and had the same budget as you. Ending up going with a new Sylvan with 27" RPT tubes. The "v-hull like tubes allow for a great turning radius that is very acceptable without losing speed. Is it the same as my v-hull, no...but it functions acceptably well. We use it every weekend for tubing, wakeboarding and slalom skiing. Best thing about a pontoon is that you can just set the throttle and leave it. With my v-hull I was constantly adjusting the throttle and trim to maintain consistent boat speed for slalom skiing.

I know tri-toon owners think I'm nuts, but I don't have any of the "2-toon" issues that everyone talks about on this forum.

With a 115HP Merc, I paid $30k. Upgrade to a 150HP and you should be able to do any water sports you want with ease and within your budget.

Jut my $0.02

tede wrote:Maybe someone can help. Decided to buy a used pontoon about 2 months ago. Problem is I went down a rabbit hole on research. I want a boat that can do at least 35mph, can pull a wakeboarder, tube etc. Id like to be able to slalom ski too but not necessary. Discovered tritoon is the way to go for several reasons. My concern is turning radius, performance, stability. Discovered PTX, SHP, VP and a few other sport handling set ups. Cant locate tritoons in the $30K range in California. I can find them mid west, east coast etc but transport ads $2500-$3000 Question is this: Should I settle for a 2 pontoon setup that is newer, nicer or buy a 10-12 year old tritoon?

Talk to http://lastchanceperformancemarine.com/ they are in Hemet SoCal
I bought a new Lowe SS210 RFl try-toon with performance package & 150 HP Mercury for a bit over 30K OTD. Including dual axle galvanized trailer.
Great dealer to work with. My boat does 39/40 and we absolutely love it.
Tell them Reiner send you!

Reiner wrote:

tede wrote:Maybe someone can help. Decided to buy a used pontoon about 2 months ago. Problem is I went down a rabbit hole on research. I want a boat that can do at least 35mph, can pull a wakeboarder, tube etc. Id like to be able to slalom ski too but not necessary. Discovered tritoon is the way to go for several reasons. My concern is turning radius, performance, stability. Discovered PTX, SHP, VP and a few other sport handling set ups. Cant locate tritoons in the $30K range in California. I can find them mid west, east coast etc but transport ads $2500-$3000 Question is this: Should I settle for a 2 pontoon setup that is newer, nicer or buy a 10-12 year old tritoon?

Talk to http://lastchanceperformancemarine.com/ they are in Hemet SoCal
I bought a new Lowe SS210 RFl try-toon with performance package & 150 HP Mercury for a bit over 30K OTD. Including dual axle galvanized trailer.
Great dealer to work with. My boat does 39/40 and we absolutely love it.
Tell them Reiner send you!

I tried to contact them via email for more information and they never got back to me. Lowe's even contacted me over email and asked if I had been assisted and I said no, I already bought a boat by then. Maybe they're more responsive to in person/phone, but I was shopping at the time.

solidhadriel wrote:

Reiner wrote:

tede wrote:Maybe someone can help. Decided to buy a used pontoon about 2 months ago. Problem is I went down a rabbit hole on research. I want a boat that can do at least 35mph, can pull a wakeboarder, tube etc. Id like to be able to slalom ski too but not necessary. Discovered tritoon is the way to go for several reasons. My concern is turning radius, performance, stability. Discovered PTX, SHP, VP and a few other sport handling set ups. Cant locate tritoons in the $30K range in California. I can find them mid west, east coast etc but transport ads $2500-$3000 Question is this: Should I settle for a 2 pontoon setup that is newer, nicer or buy a 10-12 year old tritoon?

Talk to http://lastchanceperformancemarine.com/ they are in Hemet SoCal
I bought a new Lowe SS210 RFl try-toon with performance package & 150 HP Mercury for a bit over 30K OTD. Including dual axle galvanized trailer.
Great dealer to work with. My boat does 39/40 and we absolutely love it.
Tell them Reiner send you!

I tried to contact them via email for more information and they never got back to me. Lowe's even contacted me over email and asked if I had been assisted and I said no, I already bought a boat by then. Maybe they're more responsive to in person/phone, but I was shopping at the time.

I had a different experience which made me buy from them. I had a detailed quote emailed couple hours after I spoke with them on the phone.

i'd say wait for what you want. it sounds like you already have a pretty good idea what you want, so if you end up with something else are you always going to wonder "what if" i had gotten the boat i wanted.

Reiner wrote: I had a different experience which made me buy from them. I had a detailed quote emailed couple hours after I spoke with them on the phone.

From the looks of it, sounds like you got a pretty good deal too. 150hp Tritoon and Galvanized trailer for just over $30k sounds like a sweet deal. Glad you had a good experience. I ended up going with Inland Auto & Boat in Perris.