I'm buying a new pontoon Saturday. Help?

[Stephen]

I've lined up exactly what I want. I found the boat, looked at pictures, read what I could about it, and lined up all the financing and insurance. Saturday I go look at it, and if it runs well (from a dealer) and looks as good as the pictures represent, I'll be coming home with it this weekend.

The boat is a 2007 Sweetwater Tuscany, and I added some pictures below for you guys to look at. I'm pretty dead set on getting this pontoon, but until I get there I won't know what all accessories (if any) it comes with that are needed to make it lake ready.

My question to you guys is, what bare necessities do I need to have before I take my boat out on the lake the first time? I know I need a life jacket for every passenger, I know I need bumpers, and I guess I'll need an anchor if it doesn't come with one. Anything else I'm missing? Fire extinguisher? Paddle?

How important is it to have things like spare batteries or battery chargers? I guess I need tools to keep on board at all times in case I need to fix something as well. What tools would that be if so?


Thanks for any help you guys can offer. I'm totally new to all of this, so it's much appreciated. Pics below.

[Stephen]

FYI: I meant to put this in the general forum. Can a mod move it for me?

[Stephen]

Oh, and one more thing: I did name it. Since I've wanted a boat my whole life, and I'm finally getting one, I came up with this:

"It's Aboat Time". Haha!

[curtiscapk]

damn thats nice what size motor and price?

You pretty much covered acc. except boat hook and beer!!!!

[BassFrequency]

how come I only see 2 speakers?

looks like shes in really good shape. I love the seating upholstry design

[pelicantooner]

The one thing I would add to your pontoon, is a first aid kit. We didn't have one when we first got our toon, and of course one day it sure would have come in handy.

[captain kurt]

"What are must haves on a boat ?" Catdaddy had a post just recently and Lakerunner and many others had many suggestions. look in search, i think it was on march 25. Great stuff in there.Really fantastic looking boat thanks for all the pic's. Moter ? 24' long ? where will u float it?

[JohnO]

I'd skip the paddle and get a good trolling motor instead.

I realize that the law requires a paddle in some places but paddling a pontoon is an exercise in futility. The wind will move you faster than you could ever hope to paddle.

I bought a 24V 74lb thrust trolling motor and it will move me about 4mph (3mph against the wind). It's my take home capability.

Dad bought me a paddle and all it does is get in the way. Of course the Girl uses it as a toy if she's splashing around on one of the towables when we are at anchor.

[Stephen]

Thanks guys for all the responses.

A first aid kit is a great idea, and I'll definitely do a search for that post full of ideas. Thanks Captain Kurt and PelicanTooner.

BassFrequency, that's hilarious!! Man, two of my top priorities include getting a nice grill, and adding two speakers and a subwoofer. No worries there, man. I love the upholstry design as well. Thanks for the compliment.

Curtis, the boat motor may be the one thing I'm a little concerned about. It's a Yamaha 50TLR. 50 horsepower. Is that good? My goal isn't to pull any skiers or anything now, so I think I'll be ok. I do like to get where I'm going quickly, though, so that might be one downside. How fast do you think I can go with a motor that size? Pic below.

[BassFrequency]

if its a 24' a 50hp is rather small if you want to get anywhere fast. i wont go guessing, but to give you a rough idea of speed, the 3cylinder 60hp evinrude on my 2.5 log tri toon get me, under cool water and slight chop, almost 23mph but in the summer under load it cruises around 18-19mph at 4900 rpm , 22 top end with low gas at 5400 rpm

hope this gives you a bit of an idea

[curtiscapk]

Second what Brandon said. 50 a little small maybe 18 - 20 mph. Would help in keeping price down. Have you priced other 24- 50hp to make sure dealer is in ballpark?

[Stephen]

It's a 21 footer and I'll be taking it most likely exclusively in lakes (I don't want to mess with saltwater). Well that stinks, but I can always upgrade somewhere down the road if it becomes important to me. I imagine it's incredibly expensive, though.

$13,500 is the price, Curtis. Hope I'm not getting mauled on this deal. After everything I've looked at, it's one of the better deals I've seen for something this new and in this good of condition. We are forced to get something newer, but not brand new to fit our budget perfectly. Too old and the term length is only like 3 years. Brand new and I have to forgo certain amenities and finance it out over 15 years to get the payment where I want it. Plus, I haven't seen even a new boat that captivated me like this one has.


Here's the listing, guys. Check it out and tell me what you really think. I haven't bought it yet, so I can be swayed if it's not a good deal. Fact is, though, that it would take the jaws of life to pull me from this boat right now. I'm EXTREMELY excited.
http://www.sandycreekmarina.com/pre_own ... eh=1361968

[BassFrequency]

you can probably hagle a bit on that boat. a motor upgrade down the road....... be there thought about it.... a bit smarter now but oh well

I was able to get mine (while it was still a 2 log) for $2800 just 3 years ago

[Stephen]

That's a much better price than I would have expected. I would have thought that to get a bigger and badder motor, I'd be looking at spending upwards of 7-8k.

Here's something else I just thought of: I have a Blue Heeler and taking my dog out on the lake with me is something I'm really looking forward to. Do you guys do that? Is there any real concern about their nails puncturing the upholstry? Did you find some sort of dog bed to keep on the boat for them to stay on, or what?

[curtiscapk]

hey its only 3 years old and if you and the misses are that pumped and price is good ( sounds like you have looked long and hard)

go for it. Granted you always want more motor, my 115 is not right and I really not that worried about it, it gets us where we want to go just not as fast as it should. One day when the campers are all squared away I will take a closer look at it.

It is one pretty toon