Looking for purchasing advice...

[homey]

This review of the Harris may help in choosing options:

http://www.boattest.com/boats/boat_video.aspx?id=2561

[BobG]

One thing to take note of is that there is an additional cost in having to add hydraulic steering to the 115. It is not needed on the 90HP.

I would debate that it's not necessary with a 115 either.

[Doctordeere]

I would debate that it's not necessary with a 115 either.

Agreed.

I had mechanical steering on my ProV-150. Power assist would have been a nice addition, but I hardly found it necessary.

[BobG]

I had mechanical steering on my ProV-150. Power assist would have been a nice addition, but I hardly found it necessary.

Yeah, there are some times, at WOT, where I find the steering hmm...STIFF, but not unmanageable. Of course I grew up in an era where power steering was something you had in a luxury car, and we sure didn't own any luxury cars! Even the 3/4 ton dodge pickup had "armstrong power steering". Mrs. BobG also knows the joys of manual steering on a 6,000 pound vehicle. No wimps in my household!

[Bamaman]

Ron B: My last pontoon boat got a small toon dent after hanging in a sling for many years. I'm building a 11' x 18' steel frame out of 4" channel iron to hang in my boathouse. My new tritoon will be stored on top of the steel frame--and kept 3' out of the water.

Forest River boats (Berkshire, Xcursion and South Bay) are perfectly nice boats, but a dozen other mid line brands are very good boat lines. I expect to see more Forest River units in the future. All we have is SunTracker, Lowe and Cypress Cay in town. I try to buy local, but even I had to go 100 miles to find a boat that suited my needs.

As far as hydraulic steering: You're okay with mechanical steering on a 115 hp motor. SeaStar is a $1K expense, but it's not absolutely needed until 150 hp. Full power steering would be nice, but it's $2K above SeaStar including labor--too much. My SeaStar steers okay.

[russelljackson]

Just an update on my initial post. Test drove the Harris 220 CX in two flavors, a tritoon with a 150hp and a pontoon with a 90hp. Liked them both, wife liked the tritoon better (of course). I asked about a 115hp on the two toon, but the sales guy said I wouldn't see any real difference between that and the 90hp (which means he didn't have any with a 115hp...) Funniest part was right before we took out the tritoon, sales guy said, "These Mercury engines are maintenance free." Then as soon as he started it he said, "Man that sounds rough, may have a bad spark plug." Anyway, impressed with the boat, not so much the dealer. Also, the $ amounts they're quoting are 30% higher than the MSRPs that the Harris site shows for the same options. They told me prep and freight were around $5K... huh? Kidding me right? So, needless to say, still looking. Going up to look at some Bentleys and a Sun Chaser this week also. Still struggling with the most basic question, that being, spend around 20 and get out butts on the water quick with a regular pontoon with a 115hp or go for the cadillac out of the gate and get the tri with a 150hp. Just going back and forth...

[gramps]

Just an update on my initial post. Test drove the Harris 220 CX in two flavors, a tritoon with a 150hp and a pontoon with a 90hp. Liked them both, wife liked the tritoon better (of course). I asked about a 115hp on the two toon, but the sales guy said I wouldn't see any real difference between that and the 90hp (which means he didn't have any with a 115hp...) Funniest part was right before we took out the tritoon, sales guy said, "These Mercury engines are maintenance free." Then as soon as he started it he said, "Man that sounds rough, may have a bad spark plug." Anyway, impressed with the boat, not so much the dealer. Also, the $ amounts they're quoting are 30% higher than the MSRPs that the Harris site shows for the same options. They told me prep and freight were around $5K... huh? Kidding me right? So, needless to say, still looking. Going up to look at some Bentleys and a Sun Chaser this week also. Still struggling with the most basic question, that being, spend around 20 and get out butts on the water quick with a regular pontoon with a 115hp or go for the cadillac out of the gate and get the tri with a 150hp. Just going back and forth...

If you go with the 150 buy the Yamaha, I have had 2 150 Marc 4 strokes and nothing but trouble. It's at the dealer as we speak waiting for merc rep on Tuesday.

[homey]

That is terrible pricing from the dealer. You should be getting 30 off MSRP - not above it! The delaer in Syracuse Indiana doesnt even charge freight and prep. Last I knew they had a 22' with a 90HP for 21K plus tax out the door. Use it as a bargaining chip or you could see what they would charge to ship it? Or if you plan on getting a trailer could pick it up and make a road trip. The sales guy I apoke with was Troy.

http://www.mainchannel.com/Page.aspx/di ... 20-CX.aspx

Just giving you some ideas. I would try the Bentleys also as they are close to you.

[Bamaman]

Russell:

Another option is to checkout the Avalon dealership over in Douglasville called A Boathouse (aboathouse.net). They show having something like 15 pontoons in stock, and they appear to really want to get rid of them.

Tahoe/Avalon are top quality boats, and we hear nice things about the company and their customer service on this website.

I even cringe when I hear SunTracker quoting $1000 dealer prep and $1000 delivery charges. (You don't want to know what they charge to mount a Verado Mercury engine.)

I want to hear the whole truth out of any salesman. When I was pontoon shopping, my local salesman told me the boat dealership also sold 200 4 wheelers (ATV'S) a month. Good bye, salesman!

[rbiederwolf]

30% over MSRP is crazy. Shop elsewhere.

Do not be afraid to ship if you have to - not overly expensive. Biggest thing is to have a dealer that servicees the engine, not necessarily the boat. My boat dealer is 250 miles away and I have only had to drive to him once and that was for an add on, not a problem.

Also it is true that there is not much difference between a 115 and a 90. When you go to the 115hp you add a significant amount of weight that offsets what you gain in hp. And on a toon that doesnt plane well to begin with,well....

However if you can swing a tritoon with a 150hp you will never want another boat again. Perfect for everything - speed, waves, water sports etc. IMO it is thbest of all worlds

[ronb]

Also it is true that there is not much difference between a 115 and a 90. When you go to the 115hp you add a significant amount of weight that offsets what you gain in hp. And on a toon that doesnt plane well to begin with,well....

This depends on which motor you are talking about.. My Optimax for example uses the exact same 1.5L power head, they change the factory tune in the ECM, remove an airflow restrictor, and change the gear reduction in the lower unit (2.33:1 for the 90, 2.07:1 for the 115). No additional weight for 25 more HP, both are stated to be 375lbs. Got to check the motor specs before making this sort of blanket statement.

-ron

[GregF]

The 90 and 115 Merc are the same basic motor. In a Yamaha it is a bigger block.

[bpsNC]

Just an update on my initial post. Test drove the Harris 220 CX in two flavors, a tritoon with a 150hp and a pontoon with a 90hp. Liked them both, wife liked the tritoon better (of course). I asked about a 115hp on the two toon, but the sales guy said I wouldn't see any real difference between that and the 90hp (which means he didn't have any with a 115hp...) Funniest part was right before we took out the tritoon, sales guy said, "These Mercury engines are maintenance free." Then as soon as he started it he said, "Man that sounds rough, may have a bad spark plug." Anyway, impressed with the boat, not so much the dealer. Also, the $ amounts they're quoting are 30% higher than the MSRPs that the Harris site shows for the same options. They told me prep and freight were around $5K... huh? Kidding me right? So, needless to say, still looking. Going up to look at some Bentleys and a Sun Chaser this week also. Still struggling with the most basic question, that being, spend around 20 and get out butts on the water quick with a regular pontoon with a 115hp or go for the cadillac out of the gate and get the tri with a 150hp. Just going back and forth...

In February I bought a CX220 tritoon with the Merc 150 at a boat show. I will say that Harris MSRP pricing can be hard to pin down. On my boat, I saw close to $40,000 retail, and if I price it on the website, I come up in the very low 30's. However, the selling prices seemed to be pretty set. The boat show price was $29,995, and I got the dealer to through in 6 mos. free for a covered slip. I tried to find a better deal and couldn't. I do think Harris had a promotion on my boat as it had quite a few options on it, and I did run across other dealers having a CX220 with the same options. I originally was going to buy a CX200 with a 90HP for 19,995. CX220's with a 90 were going for $21,995. I asked about 115's at the time, and the dealer (and some others I spoke with) to stick with the 90 as they didn't see much difference in the performance. I've talked with many other Harris owners (guy in the slip next to me has a CX200 with a 50, and he's looking to upgrade power) and everyone has been very happy. With the issues he's had, I understand why Gramps would recommend something other than the Merc 150. However, mine has been great, and I did check with several people in the dealership (including one or two that I know will tell me straight) and they have not had issues with it. Good luck and have fun whatever way you go.

Bernard