Bow Rider VS. Pontoon Boat

[JG1222]

I think the best advice so far has been to look for a used, larger bowrider. But of course it depends on your type of usage. I'd say that if you spend most of your time up at Lee's Mills area, a pontoon boat may be just the thing for you. However, I'd still take the 19' bowrider (and the tylenol required to ride in it on a weekend) over a 24' pontoon.

Get a few people on a pontoon boat, and if they're not sitting in exactly the right place, you get the tidal wave rushing down the length of the boat from bow to stern, and I don't find them nearly as controllable/maneuverable in rougher conditions. My parents have a place on Lake Ossipee - now that's the perfect lake for a pontoon. However, on the big lake I'd opt for a boat with a hull over a floating swim raft with a steering wheel any day.

[jceria]

Hi

I have a 18 foot pontoon boat w/25hp that I use on occasionally on the lake.
You have to balanced the load when a rather large wake/wave approaches and find the right angle of a attack. Worse case.... you get a deck wash, pontoon boats (atleast mine) will not sink.

I love my pontoon boat! It's very comfortable and roomy.I have had several other boats on the lake up to a 33 footer.

General rule.... stay away from the Weirs on the weekends!

Jeff

[Dickie B from HB]

Hi all,
I've been reading all your posts regarding pontoon boats. If slow speed cruising is what you would like to do, you might want to consider an electric boat.
I live in southern California, and one of the fastest selling boats here is a Duffy Electric Boat. People use them here for cruising the inside waterways. They are comfortable, seaworthy, and luxurious.
Check them out at www.duffyboats.com.

Dick B.

[Old Hubbard Rd]

I was faced with the decision back in 2002 as to what to purchase. I ended up buying a 29' Harris/Kayot Tritoon with a 200 HP Outboard. This thing is sooooooooo stable. It has seating for 18. Has a refrig, sink, vacumn, pump for toys, head/changing rm, microwave, blender, kitchen counter, cooler, and more. Very very rarely do you ever have water splashing in or the front nose diving. It's designed to not do that. Mine came with a tritoon trailer with dual axel and built in brakes. We never use the trailer and just store the boat at a local marina. I am even thinking of selling the trailer as I will never remove from this lake and would most likely sell the boat some day to someone on this lake. As for now this boat will be with us for some time. It works perfect for us. You should see the looks you get when you pull up to the sandbars with 18 people on board and get the blender going. We have had lot's of laughs. Do not listen to anyone discouraging you about a pontoon boat. Just make sure it's at least 24' and has tritoons and a 115HP or more.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by JG1222

I think the best advice so far has been to look for a used, larger bowrider. But of course it depends on your type of usage. I'd say that if you spend most of your time up at Lee's Mills area, a pontoon boat may be just the thing for you. However, I'd still take the 19' bowrider (and the tylenol required to ride in it on a weekend) over a 24' pontoon.

Get a few people on a pontoon boat, and if they're not sitting in exactly the right place, you get the tidal wave rushing down the length of the boat from bow to stern, and I don't find them nearly as controllable/maneuverable in rougher conditions. My parents have a place on Lake Ossipee - now that's the perfect lake for a pontoon. However, on the big lake I'd opt for a boat with a hull over a floating swim raft with a steering wheel any day.

You've about said it there, but left out the part about dock spiders loving pontoons!

My Florida neighbor's smaller pontoon boat launched a lady guest (a non-swimmer) into the lake due to a shift of passenger weight. Fortunately, the lake was only five feet deep there, and had a firm bottom. (The lake did). Pontoons are a great lake boat in Florida, but you don't see any on the immense (and the very changeable) Lake Okeechobee!

I appreciate pontoons in my neighborhood because they produce a self-canceling, negligible, wake. The action of the water between the hulls may not be pretty, though. Raves of "smooth ride" might be different if pontoon boats had a window in the deck.

You see very few boats (mainly pontoons) on Lake Winnipesaukee with correct trim on their outboards. Too many pontoons are over-trimmed—perhaps for ride/ignorance—and likely to take a "stuff", like WD describes here.

With a bow-rider, you'll remember to replace the drainplug at the dock. It wasn't so fortunate for the pontoon boat pictured below, who managed to get into the middle of the lake before sinking!

I've always had small boats. If a mechanical problem and weather drive me against the shore, I can always hold the boat in waist-deep water and wait out the storm. (And have).

Buy the boat you can afford and know the weather. Yes, bigger is usually better, but when visibility gets down to 12-feet, it doesn't really matter.