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YABT: Stay with the bowrider, or get a pontoon

slag

slag

Lifer
I'm married with 3 boys, 4, 9, and 11. So far, we havent really wanted to waterski, but do like tubing a bit behind the bowrider (1989 Regal 18.5 ft)

My boys and I would like to fish as well, and a normal day at the lake for us is puttering around, dropping anchor and swimming, diving, going to shore to hunt for treasures, etc. It can be a bit cramped on our boat sometimes, especially when we invite one of the boys friends to come along.

So I was thinking about getting a pontoon. Found one locally that will need some decking work, a 18-20 footer with 48 hp evinrude. Motor is in excellent condition, but the boat itself will need a new deck after this season and I would want to totally redo the deck and furniture up top. I have the means to do this myself so material cost would be the only cost for this.

I can pick up the pontoon for 1600-1800.

3 years ago on our bowrider, I replaced the water pump impeller, bellows, shift cable, etc. This year the front motor mount was rotted out, but it was isolated from the rest of the supports and everything else is tight and dry. It is a 20+ year old boat though, so its just a matter of time until the rest of it starts to go.

I think I can probably get 3k for our bowrider since it looks nice and runs well.
 
It sounds like the pontoon is a better match for what your family actually does. If you'll actually make money by switching boats it's a no-brainer.

When the kids grow older, they might be more interested in more "active" sports like waterskiing, but you can cross that bridge when you come to it.
 
Why don't you ask the family? If tubing is perceived as important, they may miss the boat. Personally, I'd get a white water canoe, and do fun water. That'll save you a bunch of cash also :^D
 
I've seen people tubing behind pontoons, but it didn't look too... "exciting" (at least, not to me.) Since you like to anchor & swim, the pontoon is actually nicer for that. Not sure if your old boat has a live well, but it's a lot easier to retrofit a pontoon with one, if one is wanted. At that price range, I think the pontoon is a much better deal. Use the price difference to outfit the pontoon nicely. Personally, for an under $2000 boat, my new seating, etc., would be more or less do-it-yourself (but nicely done). I don't think I'd be ordering new equipment from Overton's or some place like that. Which reminds me - I need to order all new gauges for my boat this week - poorly supported from underneath & they've all cracked out. BOAT: bust out another thousand. (though the gauges will only run a couple hundred total... then there's the intermittently working livewell pump, and the finicky front lights, and...
 
Yeh, pontoons are not setup for tubing at all. You need more get up and go to really enjoy tubing. They are awesome for general lounging, parking, partybarging though. I practically lived on a pontoon in my summers as a kid. We had a seperate ski boat for tubing/jet skiing though.
 
My dad has an 18 Ft. pontoon boat with 50 HP mercury. We mostly cruise on a river where his home is located. I find that the boat is under powered and lacks much speed. It's OK for cruising or fishing. If I want get up river quick I jump on a jet ski. I sold my ski boat because nobody wanted to ski or tube much. I would suggest finding a deck boat. Seating like a pontoon and speed/handling for tubing or skiing.
 
Been in the same situation as you....pontoon vs. "regular" boat. Always end up with a "normal" boat.....speed, ease of launching and recovery, etc.

But a pontoon is a great idea for a family if you do not mind being one of the slowest things on the water, unless you plan on spending big $$$ and buying a new tri-toon. Those can be rather quick and handle much more like a "regular" boat.

Just make sure when you're looking at the 'toon that it comes with a trailer (trailers for 'toons are not cheap, even used) and that the logs are intact. I wouldn't worry too much about the floor because, while not the cheapest thing to replace, it's certainly not like replacing the deck/floor of a regular boat. On a 'toon, floor replacement is almost unscrew the old one and screw on a new one.....of course, thsi doesn't cover removal of the seating, controls, etc. But vastly simpler than a reg. boat.

Good luck!
 
After talking it over with my wife, we are thinking of selling my truck (just sits in the driveway anyway), and buy a pontoon and keep both this year and then decide. We always pull the boat with the explorer anyway.
 
Websters boat: a hole in the water that you toss $$ into.

2 happiest days for a boat owner. The day they buy and the day they sell.


I need more friends with boats. Pay them $100 for the day and forget the rest.
 
highland145 said:
Websters boat: a hole in the water that you toss $$ into.

2 happiest days for a boat owner. The day they buy and the day they sell.


I need more friends with boats. Pay them $100 for the day and forget the rest.
Click to expand...
Break
Out
Another
Thousand
 
Well, we stuck with the bowrider all summer. Couldn't find a good enough deal on a used pontoon. We took it out again yesterday and it ran great. I brought it home afterwards instead of putting it in storage so I could grease the outdrive and gimbal bearing and do an inspection. Looks like I need to replace both bellows again. It's been 3 years and I am seeing joint cracks in the exhaust and drive bellows. Fun fun.. Its about a day job for me to pull the outdrive, remove the bellows, clean it all up, put new ones on, replace the water pump impeller, and button it all back up again.
 
slag said:
I'm married with 3 boys, 4, 9, and 11. So far, we havent really wanted to waterski, but do like tubing a bit behind the bowrider (1989 Regal 18.5 ft)

My boys and I would like to fish as well, and a normal day at the lake for us is puttering around, dropping anchor and swimming, diving, going to shore to hunt for treasures, etc. It can be a bit cramped on our boat sometimes, especially when we invite one of the boys friends to come along.

So I was thinking about getting a pontoon. Found one locally that will need some decking work, a 18-20 footer with 48 hp evinrude. Motor is in excellent condition, but the boat itself will need a new deck after this season and I would want to totally redo the deck and furniture up top. I have the means to do this myself so material cost would be the only cost for this.

I can pick up the pontoon for 1600-1800.

3 years ago on our bowrider, I replaced the water pump impeller, bellows, shift cable, etc. This year the front motor mount was rotted out, but it was isolated from the rest of the supports and everything else is tight and dry. It is a 20+ year old boat though, so its just a matter of time until the rest of it starts to go.

I think I can probably get 3k for our bowrider since it looks nice and runs well.
Click to expand...

Get the pontoon and a jet-ski. Use the jet-ski for tubing.
 
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