Pontoon for lifelong powerboater?

[cig1]

Wife is pushing hard to add a pontoon, we boat in TN and some at the coast. Have always had Cobalt and on occasion other saltwater boats and a Cigarette. I'm completely clueless when it comes to pontoons but they do seem to have come a long long ways from what they used to be.

We are not planning to get rid of powerboat but adding an additional boat with more shade for kids and more seating/space. Dealer we have a good relationship with sells Berkshire which like the name is actually Berkshire Hathaway. They are promoting no wood construction and have a 25' with a 400 Merc. Anyone here have real world experience with this class of pontoon and how it compares to large bowrider?

link to pontoon
https://www.midsouthmarine.com/--invent ... toons&pg=1

[AsLan7]

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So glad you found us cig1.

Pontoons have come a long way over the past ten years. Low maintenance, tons of room, ease of use, and outboard engines that offer fuel efficiency plus excellent horsepower/torque are hard to beat. That being said they are different to drive especially while turning and you will be rocking a lot more on the lake from waves. Best to test drive one first to see if you are “ pontoon people”.

Others will chime in shortly.

And welcome aboard mate.

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[CobaltDeadHead]

Depends on the lake whether I'd ever be interested in a Pontoon.

I've had a couple of dock neighbors switch from pontoons to bow riders in recent years because of how rough Winnipesaukee can get.

[kas232ca]

The good news is that I am seeing a lot more pontoons at dealer lots. That should help with pricing. I do see some Berkshires' but the most common upper-end toon we see at our lake is the Trifecta brand.

[Lifelongbtr]

Is it a tritoon? I haven't been on a lot of different ones but I'd think the tritoon models will ride much better. There is also Montara, their tritoon reminds me of the ones Cobalt made, they also have a full aluminum bottom surf model.

[cig1]

Yes this boat is a tri-toon I wouldn't consider a 2 toon boat. Do they seem to like the trifecta? I'm told it is the same boat pretty much as a Berkshire

[bruceb58]

We have a pontoon in addition to our Cobalt but it is on a much smaller lake that the Cobalt. If the lake is a rough lake, the tritoons work pretty well.

[Krob1114]

Is it a tritoon? I haven't been on a lot of different ones but I'd think the tritoon models will ride much better. There is also Montara, their tritoon reminds me of the ones Cobalt made, they also have a full aluminum bottom surf model.

It's my understanding that me max engine you can have is around 125 horsepower. You have to have tritoon to go over that.

[bruceb58]

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[bruceb58]

It's my understanding that me max engine you can have is around 125 horsepower. You have to have tritoon to go over that.

I have pontoons docked close by that have 150HP engines on them.

Here are the specs of my pontoon in the latest model. Max HP is 200HP.
https://www.suntrackerboats.com/recreat ... build.html

[Sumgai]

It is sobering to discover your new boat is the dino version of current boating trends. The bowrider of the 2020's is like the '60's runabouts. In the sixties the closed front runabout was Sooo dated compared to the brand new confangled open bow fiberglass bow rider then taking american boating by storm. In the 2000's you see pontoons en masse on every lake, but never think much about them. Until you review the stats.

Sorry for the rez of the picture, it is a screen shot showing production changes yoy, but the stats are notable:
For fY2022
26,031 Pontoons were sold.
2,907 Fiberglass bowriders (inboard/outboard and stern drives) were sold
Now, 23,037 all other Fiberglass outboard motor boats were sold, but since o/b's are frowned down on bowriders, assume most of those are center console fisher boats, just like the 18,157 aluminium fish boats sold
Lastly, wakeboats outsold bowriders by about 2 to 1: 5,693 wakeboats to the aforementioned 2,907 bowriders.

And the 'toons are not your father's Oldsmobile. Twin Mecury racing 450R (900 horsepower) prime movers are available on regular production pontoon boats. Is 80 miles an hour fast enuff for your 'toon? An 80 mph living room on water. How about a 85" tv screen or 2 story 'toon with slicky slide option?

I went to one of those classic boat shows on Sept 16th, more mahogany showing than a tropical rainforest. Who woulda guessed in 20 years time the "classic" boat shows may be all about the all but extinct fiberglass bowrider gasser's from their heyday years; as everybody motors up in their 'toons (with a 2nd story top deck full of solar panels for their electric propulsion.)

[MnLakeBum]

We have an R5 Surf and a 2016 Marker One(made by Cobalt from 2014-2018) 27.5’ Tritoon on a fairly large lake in Minnesota. We love both boats but my wife loves the pontoon for it’s roominess, comfort, and smooth ride. It handles the chop on windy days better than our R5 and with it’s 9’5” beam it’s much more stable on busy days with lots of boat chop when cruising at low speeds like we often do. It doesn’t handle nearly as well as the R5 but if we’re taking it our for lunch, dinner, or a long afternoon ride it’s our boat of choice. The fit and finish is typical Cobalt quality and we will be keeping it for a very long time which is how I’m justifying putting a new Mercury V10 350 Verado on it this spring. The old I6 Verado has had some intermittent electrical problems that the dealer can’t seem to fix even after a new alternator and batteries. The extra torque should be perfect for it’s 5,800 lb. Dry weight especially since my adult kids often have a dozen passengers on board. I think their record is 22 people onboard.

[AsLan7]

Great pics MnLB. Very blessed to make such great memories with friends and family!
Let us know how the new Merc works out.