I am looking to buy a 20' - 22' pontoon boat with a capacity of 10 - 15 people. I have read advertisements for Tracker but have no idea of their quality or reliability. I have noticed that a lot of members have boats and therefore could probably help steer me away from making a poor choice.

Thanks

Kenny

 

Sup Ken.

I don't have a boat, and you're right, we have a lot of members that have boats.

I wanted a pontoon boat as well....so, I'm mainly here to lurk and gather info. Plus, this will put your post back to the top.

 

My advice is don't skimp, like I did.
Get a pontoon boat with two pontoons!

Mine rocked like a *****.

 

LOL!

I bought a 1991 21' Tracker Party Barge in 2001ish. It was a freak'n blast! It had a Johnson 40 on it. Top speed was only about 20mph depending how many peeps were on. We slept on it, bbq'd on it, it even had a little toilet to use w/ a privacy canopy.
The older boats like the one I had came with plywood floors that had to be replaced every several years. I have heard that the newer ones come with a composite material that lasts much longer.....so look into that for sure.
Also look into the "deck" boats, those things are the shiznit !
Have fun....you know the old saying, The happiest day in a mans life is the day he bought his boat, the next happiest is the day he sold it!

 

You so rule, Raoul.

 

Don't believe that if it had a 150 HP motor on it it would go much faster. Top Speed is limited by hull design...

I owned a 20' with a 70 hp Johnson in the late 80's. It would do 22 mph with just me and 20 loaded with everybody and everything. (I use to Slalom ski behind it).

I took my sister's pontoon out a couple of weeks ago (28' 150hp motor) it would do 24mph when I went to the gas doc by myself. When I went out with me and three kids on it, the thing would not do much better than 22.

In other words ... I would stick with a smaller engine. If a 40 can push it at 20mph while it is loaded I would buy a 40.

 

Good advice.
I've been behind the wheel of two and the 40 was fine.
It is what it is.
Definitely a purchase to put the dollars in the boat rather than the ponies.

No matter what's pushing it they handle like a...like a...like a pontoon boat.

It would be my choice if I was lakefront.

 

That must have been you that I saw at Rudee Inlet bobbing to and fro in the water

So two pontoons is a must.

Kenny

 

Playcraft Boats makes some good Pontooners. Pricey, but they can go faaaaaaaast.

Or there is this 38' from Evolution Power Boats:





Pontoons aren't just your Grandpa's boat anymore. Many models are available with 300HP outboards, 5.7 - 8.1L I/Os, and even a few with twin motors. 20 MPH my ***...

Hotboats thread on Pontoons

 

^^^^^Damn!!!!!!^^^^^

 

Zaairman

That thing is a real beauty -

But my wife said that I can have some fun but NOT THAT MUCH FUN !

LOL

Kenny

 

If you owned that boat, you wouldn't need a wife...

 

my folks have a STARCRAFT. for a pontoon boat it pretty nice.

 

Pontoon's are great. Had a 20ft Beachcomber from '92 to '98 with a 40 hp Johnson. We used it every weekend all summer long. It would only go about 15mph top speed but it didn't matter if you had one or 15 people on it....15mph tops! The real beauty was it would go ALL day on a five gallon tank of gas. I think the best part about a pontoon is that when the water is rough they still ride like a Lincoln. Get one...you won't be sorry!

 

I have had Tracker, Suncruiser, G3, Voyager, Sundancer, Landau (no longer made, out of business) Fat Boyz and a few others as customers. I have been out on and drove almost every model of every boat they all make.

Pontoon:
I would either have a Play Craft (Undoubtedly the best)
The Play Craft, Extreme - is a very nice sporty yet mild 'toon (for playcraft anyway, waaay sportier than anyone else) that I belive is also moderatly priced. Check into that.

Next choice would be either a Tracker, Suncruiser or Voyager.
I have spent extensive time at the Suncruiser plant, probably 75% of my time for the last 2 years. I can vouch for there quality and construction. They also offer a composit deck on many models. If you can get that definatly do. Suppose to be rot and mildew resitant and shed water too so less likely to mildew your carpet.

I'm not really a pontoon fan though, if I wanted a party boat to haul alot of people, I also stil lwant to tow tubes, knee baords and skiers so I would go with a deck boat. At which time I would look at the Tahiti made by Suncruiser with Merc 4.3l I/O and alpha 1 outdrive. Unless I could find someone who offered a 5.7l with similar lay out and comparable price adding $1000 over the suncruiser price for the V8.

(Edited To Add:
You can still pull riders with a toon, but lacking the speed and agility, leaves teh ride severaly lacking for any one other than a brand new rider first time out. In other words it's not alot of fun for anyone after they have learned how to ride. Especially if they ever get towed buy any V hull.
End of edit)

Deck boats have the same lay out as a pontoon only alot more stable, safer, less likely to sink, less likely to get submarined on a rough or busy lake, and can run fast enough and manuver faster to avoid serious incidents by other carelss or ignorant boaters. (There are plenty of both of those)

Negatives, lose a little bit of ride quality on good water and cost a littel more.