Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I'm in the process of doing my research before my tritoon purchase(next season) I'm mainly interested in Playcrafts and south bays unless some screaming can't turn it down deal shows up on something else that runs 50+. I'll be shopping the used market since altho my goal is to be independently wealthy. I am only slightly above average at this point and intend to keep it up on the upswing.
To get to the point. How do you like your v8 i/o or your 300 o/b I wanna know pro's and cons of both and what is really the best bang for the buck... the fuel mileage argument is invalid... fuel is the absolute cheapest part of boating... (learned that with my twin small block boat)
I wanna hear your maitnence and repair horror stories, your regretable purchases ect ect... and post up some sweet tritoon rooster tail pics! Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge and experience with me.

Look at the new Evinrudes .,.. 7 year warranty, 500 hours before the first service, choice of matching color covers, etc. Having owned multiple OBs and I/O, I have an affinity for the OB, but then again, I'm a saltwater guy. Manifolds and risers don't have to be replace as often for a Pa freshwater guy. Other opinions may vary.

Onegun wrote:Look at the new Evinrudes .,.. 7 year warranty, 500 hours before the first service, choice of matching color covers, etc. Having owned multiple OBs and I/O, I have an affinity for the OB, but then again, I'm a saltwater guy. Manifolds and risers don't have to be replace as often for a Pa freshwater guy. Other opinions may vary.

probably won't be affording anything all that new. I've heard good things about those new evinrudes... bad things about older ones I know my 50hp yamaha ticks like a clock no matter what and i'm sure it hasn't had the easiest life

http://www.pdbmagazine.com/2015/06/hampton-2585-hsp

63mph with a 250 verado???

I can email you pics and videos that are to big to post here. I have a big block pontoon for sale. Its also posted on facebook. JT

Send a message to; fast toons hes a member here and a Playcraft dealer.

If all you need is 50mph, there are a few 22-23' tri-toons that will scratch that mark with only 200hp on the back with proper setup. 250hp seems to be the sweet spot and the most widely available on the used market for BIG hp engines. The Suzuki 250ss and Yamaha 250sho are both ever so slightly de-tuned 300hp engines and they both have a solid reputation and you could go the Etec route but Earlier 250ho and 300's had quite a few issues. A great forum to check out engines on is Thehulltruth.com, them Saltwater boys really abuse these engines and rack up hours.

rancherlee wrote:If all you need is 50mph, there are a few 22-23' tri-toons that will scratch that mark with only 200hp on the back with proper setup. 250hp seems to be the sweet spot and the most widely available on the used market for BIG hp engines. The Suzuki 250ss and Yamaha 250sho are both ever so slightly de-tuned 300hp engines and they both have a solid reputation and you could go the Etec route but Earlier 250ho and 300's had quite a few issues. A great forum to check out engines on is Thehulltruth.com, them Saltwater boys really abuse these engines and rack up hours.

Yeah I know the new Playcraft daytona's run 50's out of the box and a couple others, but I like the idea of a 25-28ft boat we have a 22ft now and I seem to always be running out of room, it's fine for me my wife and the dogs but bring my siblings nieces and nephews aboard and I've automatically turned my boat into a slug and spend the majority of my time telling people where to sit so the boat doesn't lean one way or another... And we love inviting all of our friends and family out to boat with us. I like the idea of a inboard but my past experience left crickets in my wallet... Mainly because I bought someone else's problem. I'm honestly looking for opinions from the guys who have had the bigger hp toons and have had either issues or no issues?

pond tuuunes wrote:I can email you pics and videos that are to big to post here. I have a big block pontoon for sale. Its also posted on facebook. JT

Thanks jt, you may be able to answer this question, have playcrafts really changed their toon design since say 2000-2012 or so? Or are they all pretty much the same boat?

Ya cant exactly quote me here, but Playcraft will build you whatever you want. I am pretty sure they do something simular to Manitoo, like the larger diamiter center toon. I also think you can get the Extreme series of powertoon which should be the same as my 2002.

Toonnut86 wrote:

pond tuuunes wrote:I can email you pics and videos that are to big to post here. I have a big block pontoon for sale. Its also posted on facebook. JT

Thanks jt, you may be able to answer this question, have playcrafts really changed their toon design since say 2000-2012 or so? Or are they all pretty much the same boat?

The base toons and their patented fins are pretty much the same. I saw the boat someone posted on here a while back that had twin 400r motors on it and larger toons so they added what was basically a stepped hull to the back of the toons to make up for the speed lost by going to the bigger, heavier toons. Keep in mind that some of these boats are heavy boats. For example, a JC in the size you want with a 350 magnum won't even think about touching 50 but it will have a great rider. The playcrafts are heavy boats too and I think you might need to get into at least a 350 magnum or 454 inboard to do what you want to do. An outboard is typically a little bit faster when you compare hp to hp but both have their advantages/disadvantages. I prefer an inboard but sometimes on toons they can be even harder to work on than in a v hull.

I just came out of a South Bay I/o with a 350. We had good luck with it for the most part. The only problem I had was the starter going out, and most starters are buried in an I/o, so it was almost $1,200 to have a new one put on. It was a 28ft boat, so all I was getting out of it was about 40 mph. I have a 300 merc outboard on our current boat, and it is running mid 40's without being fully broke in yet. The only thing I really miss is the big swim platform we had off the back of the south Bay.

Yeah weight is a huge factor, just seems like the playcraft extreme series has seats, not seats a bar a sink a freshwater tank and built in coolers everywhere so it seems like they save the weight for the motor and the fat guy driving It... I don't really fish (in pa) nobody is going "potty" on my boat, so it kinda seems like a good fit for me... I'm just concerned that if I get a inboard boat I'll regret it anytime anything goes wrong and if I get a outboard I'll regret it everytime I hear a nice sounding sport boat ride by... Just not sure which side of the fence I am on

pond tuuunes wrote:Ya cant exactly quote me here, but Playcraft will build you whatever you want. I am pretty sure they do something simular to Manitoo, like the larger diamiter center toon. I also think you can get the Extreme series of powertoon which should be the same as my 2002.

Btw JT's boat is absolutely beautiful and flat out mean looking/sounding wish I was ready to pull the trigger now, trying to stay patient so the wife doesn't murder me when I pull in the driveway with a new boat a year ahead of schedule

http://loz.craigslist.org/bod/5531068984.html <