Boat rentals on Winnie
 

Hi All,

I have rented a large house for a week on the big lake this summer for a party of 15.... a mix of kids (10-17yrs) and adults.

I'm looking for a boat rental that will serve us best for the week. I'm a very experienced boater who's bringing my 19 ft bassboat (for fishing and watersports) but looking for a high person capacity boat rental for cruising, lounging and perhaps tubing. I have my NH Safe Boater certificate and I'm very comfortable navigating the big lake.

Right now, I'm leaning towards the 23 foot Tritoon from Channel Marine. I like the capacity and the three tubes.. but feel the 115 hp outboard may leave us underpowered. The other option is the 21 foot deck boat with the 190 I/O... slightly less person capacity (9 vs. 10) but perhaps a little better performance.

Any thoughts?? I've never driven a pontoon or deckboat.. but have owned various bassboats and a very nice 21 foot V8 bowrider hat carried 10 people very nicely and performed beautifully.

Any other rental suggestions would be greatly appreciated as well.

Cheers and Best Regards,

Walter

Where on the lake are you renting? Shep Browns rents pontoons and other boats for comparable rate just one piece of advice just what ever you choose make sure it fits overall wants and needs. One way to kill a good time is not having what you need.

Grab a 26' Cobalt from Goodhue
http://www.goodhueandhawkins.com/rentals.htm

Ya for $4800.00 for the week sounds like the deal of the summer.

You're right....the 115 is a little underpowered with 8-10 people.You'll love the tritoon though,they ride and track like a deep V.....ask them for a 200.

Well if you want to seat a small army and pull with plenty of horsepower.....gotta pay the piper ;-)

I understand that but that's a lot of cash....how often are they all going to be out there at once? He is also bringing his bass boat. You can get a one year membership to the Boat Club for less than that and still have $1500 left over. Sorry spending $4800.00 to rent a boat on Lake Winnie is nuts!

Also understand that when you rent, with most companies, that you assume all responsibility for the boat, there is no insurance from the renter for the rentee. Should, God forbid, you destroy a 26 foot Cobalt, you could be on the hook for $40k+, probably much more. A wrecked outdrive could set you back many thousands. Buyer beware.....

I agree with this.

If this is an annual trip, it would be cheaper to buy a nearly new boat. Annual payment would be less than $5k and you actually own something :-)

I was going to make the same comment but, factor in storage cost, insurance cost, gas and maintenance cost and it adds up, quick. :cool:
Either way it is a lot of money, but to a some of those coming to the lake it is just a drop in the hat. :eek:

I agree..I was just being sarcastic. But I'm sure G&H rents a few of these a year ;-)

Thanks for the plug! And here is my shameless plug... Not only can you take our 240 Sundancer for breakfast, but you can grab the 210 SLX wakeboard boat for wakeboarding in the afternoon and then grab a pontoon the next day for cruising to the sand bar. Why have a swiss army knife when you can have the whole tool box. (with insurance)
:)

If it's new, closer to $100k list price. Lovely boats...

Ok for the third time today I am going to try and post my response to this thread... Hopefully I will not close the browser before I submit this time....

At any rate

With a Bass boat for skiing, tubing and fishing... I think the real question here is not so much about power, as it is about capacity and wieght limits for a boat.

If the goal is to be able to bring everyone out for a cruise around the pond, I don't think a 23' pontoon is going to cut it unless it is an ideal day. with 10-15 people your are undoubtedly going to be at the max capacity of the boat if not exceeding it. Don't worry that 115 hp engine will move the boat around no problem... But because of ballast issue you may find it an unfriendly ride, as you punch through waves, or have an uncomfortable rolling action.

For that many people you probably realistically are looking for something in the 25 - 30 foot range. I don't know if anyone around the lake rents pontoons that big or not.

For that matter even that 26' cobalt isn't the people carry it pretends to be while it has a 15 person capacity it has a max weight capactiy of 2585 lbs...That 2585 includes passengers and gear... so start subtracting from that for say 2 lbs per life jacket 30lbs, a cooler with drinks 30lbs, a full load of gasoline 75 gallons at 5.5 lbs/gal. = 412 lbs, and 10 gallons of water @ 8lbs/gal = 80lbs... no all of a sudden the person wieght limit is 2033 lbs devided by 15 people that says the per person average needs to be 135 lbs...

As I mention to people every year, don't look at the # of persons on the capacity place card, look at the make weight limit for people and gear... that is your real tell tale sign...

Goodhue and Hawkins rents 24' Tahoe tri-hull pontoon boats that will handle 12 people. They used to come equipped with 115 H.P. but it looks like they now use a 90 H.P.

You could also try Glendale Marine as they use to have one 22' tri-hull Manitou pontoon with a 150 H.P. motor, they also had (but it may be sold now) a 24' Manitou (legacy) pontoon with an inboard outboard that went like heck! I am not recommending Glendale Marine, only telling you what they had last year. I can recommend Goodhue & Hawkins, they are great people to deal with.

Good Luck in your search!

Dan

Hi All,

Thank you for all the responses thus far! I appreciate everyone's opinions.

As of right now, I have reserved a 23 foot Tri-toon from Anchor Marine (I can cancel if I find a better deal/boat). It has a 10 person capacity and a 115 hp outboard. Most of the pontoon rental boats fall into about the same class. Some have slightly more capacity (12) but come with a lower hp motor or only two logs vs. three. Am I right to assume the Tri-toon will perform better than a similar boat with only two logs?

There was a 16 person capacity rental pontoon (150 hp) at Melvin Village, but it was a little pricey and a long way from the rental house in Center Harbor.... still considering that one though.

The Cobalt sure looks great, but $4800 is a little more than I wanted to spend. I also seriously considered the American Boating Club, but the ability to only book 4 hour slots is prohibitive in that I would spend most of my vacation going to and from the docks!

Thanks all.... and I'll post back if I get any additional information.

Cheers....

Gusman

Bob at Anchor IS the man for rentals.

American Boat Club
 

You can book a boat for all day. The slots are 7AM to 1PM and 2PM to 7PM. You are allowed to book up to 4 slots in advance. This worked great for us last year.

Max Weight
 

Bingo! Max weight capacity. Only other thing: consider the dry weight. More dry weight per dollar, more you won't bounce around. Been renting over 10 years. Best dry weight to rental cost is Cobalt 23' at G&H, but it won't fit 15 people. Leave 7 of 'em behind:)