Have you bought a smaller toon and been happy?
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- badmoonrising
- Site Admin
- Posts: 10066
- Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 7:04 pm
- Location: Chesapeake City, Maryland
Re: Have you bought a smaller toon and been happy?
I bought the biggest Tracker available when I bought new in '06. With the amount of people we have onboard, I never regretted it. Even the PC seems small sometimes though...unless the crew is all female of course

Ed, Cheryl, Ethan and Aspen.
2013 Sun Tracker Party Barge 22 w/90 HP Mercury, "Hellrhighwater 2"
2014 E-350 Extended XLT.
Chesapeake City ,MD
2013 Sun Tracker Party Barge 22 w/90 HP Mercury, "Hellrhighwater 2"
2014 E-350 Extended XLT.
Chesapeake City ,MD
Re: Have you bought a smaller toon and been happy?
I have a 18 footer also, easy to tow, especially behind my motorhome, easy to load and unload, only me and my wife most the time, only thing is I wished I got a bigger motor..
My opinion with larger boats is when its time to sell, with the way things are and people driving smaller trucks/suv's for better mpg a smaller lighter boat will sell better and faster than a larger one, I can tow my boat with my Nissan Frontier with a 4.0 six cly..
My opinion with larger boats is when its time to sell, with the way things are and people driving smaller trucks/suv's for better mpg a smaller lighter boat will sell better and faster than a larger one, I can tow my boat with my Nissan Frontier with a 4.0 six cly..
- badmoonrising
- Site Admin
- Posts: 10066
- Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 7:04 pm
- Location: Chesapeake City, Maryland
Re: Have you bought a smaller toon and been happy?
Used Party Cruisers are hard to find and sell fast, even in this Obamaconomy...

Ed, Cheryl, Ethan and Aspen.
2013 Sun Tracker Party Barge 22 w/90 HP Mercury, "Hellrhighwater 2"
2014 E-350 Extended XLT.
Chesapeake City ,MD
2013 Sun Tracker Party Barge 22 w/90 HP Mercury, "Hellrhighwater 2"
2014 E-350 Extended XLT.
Chesapeake City ,MD
- hinklecrew
- Posts: 202
- Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 9:33 am
- Location: arkansas
Re: Have you bought a smaller toon and been happy?
We have a 22' me, the wife and 4 kids. sometimes a few extra folks. next time we will get at least a 25' if not a 27'. we have a slip this year for the first time. our 4th summer with the boat. not a big use difference, just a little less hassel since we dont have to load and unload for the weekend and look for a peice of shoreline to tie to on the weekend.
2002 Bennington 2275 lx 22'
90 hp Yamaha 2-stroke
90 hp Yamaha 2-stroke
- STEVEBRENDA
- Posts: 906
- Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:08 am
- Location: Boat on Table Rock Lake, MO
Re: Have you bought a smaller toon and been happy?
If it was only myself and my wife, we probably would look at some kind of 16-18ft aluminum fishing boat, even though we do not fish much. If I had to choose today, I would buy a Lund. They look like they can take big waves well. The first option I would add would be a bimini top.
My 17 year old daughter lays claim to the 16ft wide jon boat. She takes it out with her friends. She can tow the boat behind her little Jimmy with no problems. She can launch and retrieve the boat by herself. She can just drive the boat right on the trailer, even in shallow water. The tall side bunks keep the boat in place. The rear tie downs are there for emergency purposes only. The boat only has a 20 HP tiller steering motor, but goes 25-30 mph. It uses a fraction of the gas that the tritoon uses.
With that said, we still like our comfy furniture.
My 17 year old daughter lays claim to the 16ft wide jon boat. She takes it out with her friends. She can tow the boat behind her little Jimmy with no problems. She can launch and retrieve the boat by herself. She can just drive the boat right on the trailer, even in shallow water. The tall side bunks keep the boat in place. The rear tie downs are there for emergency purposes only. The boat only has a 20 HP tiller steering motor, but goes 25-30 mph. It uses a fraction of the gas that the tritoon uses.
With that said, we still like our comfy furniture.
2014 Regency 254
Mercury 250L Verado
I'm not saying let's go kill all the stupid people.. I'm just saying let's remove all the warning labels and let the problem work itself out.
Mercury 250L Verado
I'm not saying let's go kill all the stupid people.. I'm just saying let's remove all the warning labels and let the problem work itself out.
Re: Have you bought a smaller toon and been happy?
If I may add to this I wonder if your trailer has the "guide rollers" or guide boards?
I had rollers on mine at first and had a terrible time loading it most of the time.
I simply took the roller guides off and replaced them with 2x8 8 ft long boards (carpeted) and it made a TON of difference loading for us.
I had rollers on mine at first and had a terrible time loading it most of the time.
I simply took the roller guides off and replaced them with 2x8 8 ft long boards (carpeted) and it made a TON of difference loading for us.
I often wonder if Jimmy really did crack corn, and why should I care?
Re: Have you bought a smaller toon and been happy?
I went small on purpose. I've towed big fiberglass before and will be towing behind a truck camper later. I got the largest tri toon that I could hag a 150hp on. From the local dealers, seems difficult to find a tri toon under 20'.
I went for a 21' and have no regrets.
I thought I'd never have more than 8 people and then added two more for the heck of it and figure a 20' was large enough for ten comfortable. I hang out with family types and some have several kids. I can accommodate everyone.
I've looked at the 24-26 and WOW, serious space, but it would never get used.
I went for a 21' and have no regrets.
I thought I'd never have more than 8 people and then added two more for the heck of it and figure a 20' was large enough for ten comfortable. I hang out with family types and some have several kids. I can accommodate everyone.
I've looked at the 24-26 and WOW, serious space, but it would never get used.