Do i really need a tritoon ? what do I need to be content?

[DOCTOR D]

We currently have a old 1988 Grumman 24' with a 70 jonnyrude ( built out of pices and parts ) we've had the boat 12 years so it owes us nothing. the boat was pretty much junk when we got it, and we revived it but now its getting structurally weak (it was a salt water boat before me) and the motor is tired so we are in the market for something decent used. I know that tritoons are great and a friend of ours has a 22 jc that is super solid feeling. The problem is budget and what I really need. Now that the kids are older we want something faster that we can tube behind, but not a gas hog cruising around. It will be used on a good size chain of freshwater lakes only. looking for something like a 22/24' with a 115 merc or yamaha I have seen quite a few in a decent range but the tritoons seem a little too much price wise. I have a 2007 JC Neptune in my sites but its NOT a tritoon. Will I be kicking myself for not buying a tritoon where we won't be in the ocean ???

[captain28570]

what kinda budget? I'm new to the Pontoons and tritoons. Everything I have seen and read is toons are slow and cheaper for sure. I would rather pay the extra 5 grand more for a tritoon that runs much faster and better riding.

Most toons seem to go around 20 mph running the engine pretty hard with a WOT of upper 20's even with a 115.

[DOCTOR D]

Looking at 10 ish year old boats in the 12 to 15 k range

[DWRAT]

You can always ad a 3/4 center toon later like I did.
It was a easy and fun job to do believe it or not.

[Bamaman]

If you put a tritoon up against an identically equipped pontoon boat with lifting strakes with a 115 hp motor, the two toon boat's going to slightly pull away from the tritoon. 2 toons with strakes will also get you better fuel mileage, as the trick to efficiency is getting the nosecones out of the water. Extra weight and more drag will slow down any tritoon slightly.

But throw that pontoon boat into a tight turn--like you'd do when slinging two kids on a tube--and you'll see a big difference. The outside toon of a pontoon will dig in heavily, and speed bleeds off dramatically. The trick is to have a 2 stroke motor so you can quickly get back up to speed. A tritoon will handle dramatically better in a tight turn than any 2 toon boat.

The trick is finding a good used boat with lifting strakes--either 2 toon or 3 toon. And don't forget the 150 motors are much, much stronger than 115 hp 4 stroke motors--and more desirable. But it all comes down to price on what's available in your retail market.

[DOCTOR D]

Our primary use will not be tubing,
but we want to be able to do it when the need arises. What does it cost to add lifting strakes? I heard they should be only installed in the inside of the tubes on a 2 tube boat if you plan to tube/ski with it.??

[DWRAT]

[quote="Bamaman"]If you put a tritoon up against an identically equipped pontoon boat with lifting strakes with a 115 hp motor, the two toon boat's going to slightly pull away from the tritoon. .[/quote]

100% wrong.
I gained 3 mph by adding a 3/4 center toon.

[DOCTOR D]

[quote="DWRAT"][quote="Bamaman"]If you put a tritoon up against an identically equipped pontoon boat with lifting strakes with a 115 hp motor, the two toon boat's going to slightly pull away from the tritoon. .[/quote]

100% wrong.
I gained 3 mph by adding a 3/4 center toon.[/quote]

So you retained your original transom or is it part of the center tube? what did the project cost? any pics?

[Bamaman]

[quote="DWRAT"][quote="Bamaman"]If you put a tritoon up against an identically equipped pontoon boat with lifting strakes with a 115 hp motor, the two toon boat's going to slightly pull away from the tritoon. .[/quote]

100% wrong.
I gained 3 mph by adding a 3/4 center toon.[/quote]

Did your 2 toon boat have strakes? Sounds as if you got your nosecones out of the water with the 3rd toon. My Express Tube boat has the strakes on the center tube only, and that's where I'm getting my 40 mph from.

I've stll got my old Starcraft pontoon boat with a 115 hp 2 stroke motor. It runs great up to 30 mph, and it just then dies--won't go a bit faster. The bear gets on my back.

[ron nh]

I think the big edge for a tri-toon is the ride, especially in rough conditions, staying dryer and a smother ride. Those JC's are awesome you rarely see them with 2 tubes. And if you can't get your 2 toon up your gas mileage wont be that much better.

[willy13]

it can be difficult to find a welder willing to weld on lifting strakes to a used boat. If you buy a 2 toon make sure it already has lifting strakes.

As far as tubing, there are tricks to get the tube out of the wake without turning sharp. I have been doing it on my 24' twin toon with my kids. Unless you are trying to throw them really bad, they will have fun with a top speed of 20 mph. So basically you can have fun tubing with a twin toon, you just can't break anyones back with it. lol. So in my opinion a 115 hp twin tube with strakes can get the job done.

[DOCTOR D]

Thanks for all the input, we keep our stuff for a long time, so I'm just trying to get the best bang for the buck but also something I can be happy with for a while.

[mrbigs3toon]

I bought our first boat 7 years ago voyager tritoon fish and ski it was 22ft tritoon with 135 merc 97-98 great shape for $9,000 we had it for 4 years never had a problem with it.If you look around you can find a nice tritoon in your price range. My 2 cents you will be glad you went with a tritoon! I have since upgraded to 26ft silverwave tritoon with 250 Suzuki wife calls it my midlife crisis, go as big as you can and have fun! Good Luck!

[BobG]

Let me tell you why the Admiral insisted on a tritoon.

Smoother ride.

When you get in heavy water, the well endowed women will not need to wear a sports bra under their swimsuit on a tritoon.

No further explanation necessary.

[Kramfam]

The title of your post uses the phrase "what do I need to be content"? Here's my 2 cents....

I am very content with a 26' two log boat with 27" logs. This coming from someone who previously owned a deep 22' foot fiberglass boat with a 270HP on it. I will take the seaworthiness of the two log pontoon over the fiberglass boat any day. I boat on a 16,000 acre lake that see's 2-3 foot waves with frequency.

We ski and tube behind this boat every weekend. Is there a difference in turning radius...yes. Is it that noticeable to spend an extra $5K for a tritoon...not for me. The skier goes down, I turn the wheel and go get them...same as before. Tubers...I get them to go across the wake just as easily with the two tubes as I did with the runabout. From my experience I would equate the handling of a two log boat similar to that of driving an extended cab pickup vs a small SUV. It frankly doesn't bother me at all.

The "content" part comes in what you are willing to pay for...that's your call. I am content with what I have....