anyone have experience with a 18-22 foot pontoon boat

[rena0040]

I'm looking at upgrading the old boat and getting a new one. The wife really likes the idea of pontoons. They seem somewhat practical for families, we have 2 kids, but also seem to suck at everything else.

Most 18-22 footers max out at 115hp rating which I cant see breaking any speed records but any bigger would seem like a huge pain to tow and launch, especially alone.

We want a boat that can be fished out of, easy to transport, good for tubing but have room for the kids. I'm not sold that pontoons can meet all those criteria and am trying to sway her to a bowrider type.

Any insight or experiences with these pontoons would be appreciated.

would like to spend under$25k

[bobalong]

We have a 20' Pontoon with a 60HP Etec on it and the top speed with two of us on board and a bit of gear is 20MPH.

Even with a 22ft and a 115 you are probably only going to gain another 7-8mph. Pontoons are not fast boats for sure, unless you get into some longer ones with the 150-200+ HP, but then the price could be almost double your projected budget.

Most of our time on the pontoon is spent fishing and relaxing with friends and family, and I like our boat, but getting used to the slower speed took a bit of time. Due to the fact that we do a lot of fishing with ours I wanted the fishing model with pedestal seats and livewell. I added rod holders, rod storage, sonar, an onboard charger, and a 24v bowmount trolling motor.

The 20' foot is easier to control and the pedestal seats are much nicer to fish out of. The pontoon boats that have all lounge type seats are nice for seating and relaxing, but due to the fact that they all face "inward" make them a bit of pain to fish out of IMO. We do also have another boat, an 18 Sylvan fishing boat with a 115 on it, and although it is not really a fast boat either, it tops out at about 37mph, we have the option of using that, if there only a couple of us going out. We have four sons, and now with wives, girlfriends, and grandchildren, I find us using the Pontoon most of the time now, so will probably be selling the Sylvan this year or next.

Having lots of room on the boat, will be great for the kids, we take our grandchildren and they enjoy the opportunity to have room to walk around, and I must say, so do I. We have had 6 adults and 2 kids on our pontoon and there was still room for everyone to fish, and have comfortable seating.

Even though you may use your boat for different activities they say to buy the boat most suitable for what you are going to be doing with it 80% of the time. We have had ours for three years now and have had many good times on it, so as far as a family/fishing boat goes, I think they are great.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v45/bobalong/Pontoon%20Boat/IMG_0651.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bobalong/media/Pontoon%20Boat/IMG_0651.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v45/bobalong/Pontoon%20Boat/IMG_2531_zps3404c901.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bobalong/media/Pontoon%20Boat/IMG_2531_zps3404c901.jpg.html)

[Bushmaster]

Bottom pic looks like Dilberry Lake ?

[FreshAirGetter]

My brother has a pontoon boat, but it was more like $60k unfortunately (he went for the best motor option). So over your budget, but it's awesome. He used to not be able to get out much, but with that his family goes out near every weekend in the summer. You're way up high, super safe for kids, super calm and sturdy, canopy in case u need shade or shelter from rain, a bbq, even a toilet (which for his 3 little ones is a godsend!). With his beast motor it can really move, they tube and waterski pumping their music and get across the big lakes quick. Definitely not something i'll ever afford, and although i'm more of a humble guy that feels more comfortable being closer to the water and a little more natural, the odd time i go with my bro is always worth it, it's a taste of luxury that pleases everyone. I'm going out in it today for the 1st time this year to Battle Lake. Won't be a tubing day, which suits me just fine...guess i'll have to fish :)

[rena0040]

Thanks for the input guys. Unfortunately I cant afford a 300hp tritoon but they do look awesome.

Bobalong, how is yours for towing and how does it handle rough water in the wind.

Thanks

[bobalong]

Bottom pic looks like Dilberry Lake ?

It is, our farm was about 10 miles from Dilberry, basically grew up at the lake.

[bobalong]

Thanks for the input guys. Unfortunately I cant afford a 300hp tritoon but they do look awesome.

Bobalong, how is yours for towing and how does it handle rough water in the wind.

Thanks

I found that our Pontoon tracks very well, we don't have the underside skinned so it is a bit noisy if it gets quite rough, but handles fine. About a 3 ft chop is the roughest I have been out in with our boat, but handling was fine, and the 70lb. electric can still pull the boat round when fishing. As you know, pontoons sit a bit high on the water so if you have a strong side wind, loading takes a bit of boat handling, but good guide on's help a lot.

I have towed it with the motorhome and my truck (F250) and it pulls pretty easy. I notice the weight a bit with the truck, but our Pontoon with motor only weighs about 2000 lbs. so it pulls pretty easy.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v45/bobalong/Pontoon%20Boat/IMG_2541_zpsac8a0673.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bobalong/media/Pontoon%20Boat/IMG_2541_zpsac8a0673.jpg.html)

[Gunnar 17]

Bought a 20' Sylvan Mirage Fish last spring with a 90 HP Merc. Get about 25 Mph with 4 people in it. Can push closer to 30 Mph with just myself in it. I upgraded to a dual axel trailer and it pulls with my half ton no problem. Made 2 trips to Dore lake from central AB with it last year. Added a ski bar as well. Can pull little kids around on a tube no problem. Doesn't turn very well though so your not going to dump any big kids off the tube with it. Excellent in rough water. Blew through white caps that my buddy in his 17' smokercraft had to slow down for. Paid a bit over 30k. We love the room you have to move around. Was bought mainly for fishing. BIL has a wake board boat for the other stuff.
Cheers.

[Stally77]

Bought a 20' Sylvan Mirage Fish last spring with a 90 HP Merc. Get about 25 Mph with 4 people in it. Can push closer to 30 Mph with just myself in it. I upgraded to a dual axel trailer and it pulls with my half ton no problem. Made 2 trips to Dore lake from central AB with it last year. Added a ski bar as well. Can pull little kids around on a tube no problem. Doesn't turn very well though so your not going to dump any big kids off the tube with it. Excellent in rough water. Blew through white caps that my buddy in his 17' smokercraft had to slow down for. Paid a bit over 30k. We love the room you have to move around. Was bought mainly for fishing. BIL has a wake board boat for the other stuff.
Cheers.

Yeah but when we got to calmer water I blew your doors off! Lol:fighting0074:
Gunnar17 did 20 mph no prob through 4 footers while I was bouncing all over the place.
We spent an evening fishing for perch at Dore from the pontoon. 4 adults and 4 kids. Was plenty of room and very comfortable to fish from.

I've often pondered getting one but I like to get to the hotspots a little faster. Non the less pontoons are descent!

[rena0040]

You guys are selling me on this idea. Any suggestions on dealers in calgary area.

[deerhunter]

See Robin Ingram at Bass Pro

:sHa_shakeshout:

[woody1948]

Princecraft makes a very good pontoon boat.

[TrophyPikeHunter]

I don't own one but have a friend who has a 22' with a 90HP Merc. He has let me use it on occasion on his "home" lake. Really like it...a great way to fish...room to move around with several people on board...talk about a good time...and cuts through chop like a hot knife through butter. The only drawback I see, and owners can correct me as they see fit, is that I don't see it as a vessel to tow around from lake to lake. Just seems cumbersome in that way to me. But if I had a cabin or lot on my favorite lake, it would be my first choice. As far as brand, I would suggest you look at Premier Pontoon. Their fishing pontoons are quite nice.

[Legend Boats]

Hey Rena0040,

The Pontoon Boat market has really exploded in the last 5 years. A lot of families have converted over from the conventional fibreglass bow rider style to a aluminum boat/pontoon brand. One thing about pontooning now a days is you can get the performance needed to ski/tube and wakeboard off a pontoon with a 90-115hp. Speed wise you’ll be around the 32-33mph mark for a 20-22ft pontoon. You’ll find many different layouts with every manufacture. Choosing a pontoon is like choosing a new layout for a house. You just gotta find one that works with your family and touches all the needs on the water. With the introduction of tri-tubes, manufactures are gaining about 4-5mph more than the standard dual pontoon setup but also will be over our 25k budget. Hope this helps in finding the right fit for your family.

Cheers Henry

[Garry B]

I saw this thread a bit late but figured I'd comment in case you haven't decided yet. I bought a used 20' pontoon with a 40HP Mercury a few years ago. It's a 1997 model from down in the States. Aside from being very grimy it was hardly used. We cleaned it up and it runs beautifully.

It handles the waves very well. The deck is 8' wide so even if we are sitting and a wake from a passing boat hits we don't rock and roll badly (last summer on Wabamun). The one trip we took this year was to Wizard on a nasty day. The lake was full of whitecaps but we didn't feel the least bit unsafe. Cold, wet ... yes. But not unsafe.

With eight people onboard it is no speed machine but still you can move about decently. When the rain hit the smarter people got off (women and children) leaving three dumb males onboard to further soak themselves. I was really impressed with the speed we got out of it then! Much better when we could plane it out nicely. IMO pontoons MUST be equipped with a hydrofoil (I have a Sting Ray). Cavitation off the start is almost entirely gone. It make planing out much easier. And steering.

Something maybe most won't appreciate is that pontoons are perfect for disabled people (like me who use a wheelchair). My brother and a friend widened the side door and now if we can find a lake with a suitable dock it's a very simple matter to roll in. Finding such a dock isn’t easy though so we keep looking. With an 8' foot wide deck there is so much room to move around and get positioned.

Trailering seems fine according to the people who have towed it. The person I bought it from even pulled it behind an older model mini-van. I don't think that would be recommended for hi way though.

So you won't get anywhere super fast but pontoons are a very fun way to fish or just get out on the water.