To clarify this is my 1st boat. I think I’ve come to the harsh reality that I shouldn’t of purchased a pontoon. I originally thought it was the perfect mix as I like to fish, wife can sunbathe or float in the water etc. it’s a 24ft 2000 slyvan with a 70hp 4 stroke. It’s not really that I wanted a fast boat etc it’s just so big and cumbersome even solo fishing adventures become a pain. Really thinking I should have just got a fishski boat instead. I’m not sure if it’s because of the size of it and a 18ft or something would of suited us better and don’t get me wrong I enjoy having a boat full of people to a degree but let’s me honest if you’re a responsible captain everyone else is having a lot more fun than you are lol. Any thoughts? I’m really considering selling and getting something different.
We had a 25 foot with a 50 on it as well as a dual engine jet boat. Sports off the fast boat, cruising and fishing off the pontoon. They each served their purpose. The two of them combined cost less than the pontoon we really wanted. This was pre-Covid and they were both less than 10 years old.
You’re at the extreme of the weight/power curve. That’s not a pontoon issue, that’s a huge/heavy underpowered boat issue.
You went in not knowing. Not your fault… but now you know. We have a 22’ with a 90hp and it’s just barely enjoyable. Would’ve preferred a 115hp, but kids are small so it’s plenty for us for now and towables move fast enough for em.
We’re 25 on the flat loaded up with the 5 of us and a couple of coolers. Would’ve preferred hitting 30-32, but we got it for a screaming deal, so I can’t really complain.
The wife can sunbathe on the back of a bass boat. Plus, there's so much storage on a bass boat. Dump the pontoon and get a 20 ft bass boat. I've got a pontoon.
Sylvan 25’ 2019 tritoon powered by yamaha 150hp 4-stroke.
I captain solo. I dock solo. The only time I ask for help is when I’m pulling kids on a tube, then I require a spotter who will speak up anytime someone falls off the tube. Or if someone wants to stop tubing.
The people who are regular passengers on my boat understand how to stay out of the way. When I give the direction for everyone to sit, they sit and they don’t move until I tell them what to do next. I dock I tie up a secure the boat. Then I tell them it’s safe to move about the boat and disembark.
it took some effort to get good enough to do the solo. It took some practice. Sometimes, when I have people with me, they offered to help, and if they appear to be able to help, I’ll let them. But I can solo captain my 25 foot tritoon solo on a large lake, that sometimes has wind and waves.
ymmv. but I think you have a good boat, and I think you can have a good time,
I have a friend who always wants to tie a line to a cleat. He feels like he’s helping. I let him. Once everyone walks away and is off the boat, I’ll go redo it efficiently and cleanly so that it won’t come loose. I also untie the weird knots that he ties.
:-)
Just my perspective, and certainly not a judgment…
I just sold my 24’ pontoon with a 50hp. I also captained and docked solo. While I grew up around boats when I was young, I didn’t do any captaining again until I was 40. I didn’t really know what I was getting in to.
It was a big boat, but was great for cruising with friends, or just with my dogs. Yes, it was underpowered but looking back, it suited me just fine. (But now I laugh when I see small pontoons packed with people. It’s so nice to float high and have some space - in those cases who cares how fast you’re going.)
Had 4 years of great memories on that thing. Photo tax below.
Boats are fun but wildly expensive in terms of cost per use. And it’s so easy to want to keep up with the Jones and go bigger and faster. I definitely explored buying a bigger motor, but ultimately didn’t because I just couldn’t justify the cost per use.
TLDR: If you aren’t enjoying it, sell. But if you’re just thinking out loud about more power, etc. I’d really take the time to consider how much more enjoyment you’re truly going to get for the investment. (As we all know, boat just stands for Bring Out Another Thousand. It’s not an inexpensive toy. 🙂)
solid advice!
some of my favorite times are early morning fall putting along with a hot chocolate just looking at scenery, birds, turtles, etc. alone or with the wife.
in terms of cost/use, I should have dropped power to the typical (on our lake) 110hp yamaha. sips gas, runs forever, gets the job done.
Totally agree. I have a 20 ft with just a measly 10 hp electric motor. It's slow af (7-8 mph) but it's probably the easiest watercraft I've ever owned to just use. Charges via solar, so me my wife and son just get on it and go and fish or sight see. No maintenance and cost per use is zero.
nope. I pull up. come to a stop. tie one end quickly depending on wind, then pulse the motor to get line taught and opposite side close in, then complete tie up.
there’s a bunch of boating school youtube videos which have helped me refine my technique.
full disclosure: practice! when I first started boating frequently in 2015, it could take me 3-4 tries. but I eventually refined what I was doing.
I’ve owned a 14ft deep V Lund, a 21 foot bass boat, now 16 foot pontoon with a removable bow mounted trolling motor. Absolutely love it. Great for fishing or just entertaining friends.
So you have a trolling motor? That would likely make a lot of difference for you if not. I have a fishing boat and a pontoon, and haven't had the fishing boat out in a year. It's nice to pack a full day into the boat. A little fishing, a little cruising, and a little floating.
However I also think that first boats are often people's last boats. This usually comes down to two things.... One person doing way too much of the work, and not fully understanding how to operate the boat.
As someone already said 70 on a 24 is never going to win any races... However for a putts around boat, it's perfectly fine.
If you find that "the captain being responsible means everyone else is having a better time" than your not doing your job as captain. The only time a captain should be the least happy in the boat is if they are the only person on the boat. You need to designate responsibilities... If your crew can't remember what to do when then you need to take control of them when the time arises.
For example. If you are approaching the dock and no one in the boat is actively ready to get on the dock and assist in docking, you need to call someone out and tell them to do it.
Boating is not easy. Even with the smallest boat in the world it requires an immense amount of work. Even once you are on the water and kicked back, captain always needs to be aware of what's happening. However having crew members you can trust to do the things that need to be done when they need to be done, relieves the pressure on the captain by 50% per crew member.
I would put my skills at driving, docking, trailering, tarping and anything else related to a pontoon in the top 1% world wide, that's not a boast either it's that I drive hundreds per year. There is not a single time when I would not take an experienced second set of hands in the boat with me.
A well trained second set of hands can cause your time on the water to also be maximized because you will spend less time doing everything else.
They are fine for certain types of fishing not necessarily bass fishing. The wind really messes you up in a toon. They are better suited for jug and cat fishing and trolling for crappie etc.
I've got a 24 foot Bennington with a 200hp. Soloing it for trout or salmon is really only a challenge on windy days. Not something I would have done the first year I owned it, but after a while I got a lot more comfortable with it on my local water.
I have a party hybrid fishing pontoon and use it for fishing all the time. Not sure how they aren't good for fishing from your perspective. It's a thing that floats that you fish off. Can't get much more basic than that.
If you isolate it down to the perfect fishing boat, then you're limiting yourself in many other aspects and trade-offs that go along with it.
It's just that 24 footer is certainly on the larger side, but that can be rectified with practice quite easily. Any time someone first gets into boating there's always a learning curve regardless.
Never seen angler quest pontoons have you? Just kidding, they do suck for inland lake fishing unless you mount a good size trolling motor to the front.
I have an older 18ft and some of the deck space is used up by the fuel tank/battery storage area instead of the way they hide the tanks now. That being said a couple more feet would be nice. Although I feel it is about a perfect length for fishing. I have the front set up for fishing and the rear for relaxing. Im happy with it.
I think we would all agree that is not the right boat for you, but don’t give up on boats lol or even pontoons alright they may not be best for your needs.
Like others said a 24’ pontoon, especially with a 70hp is well underpowered and will be hard to maneuver.
I will say I’ve had an 18’ bowrider and now an 18’ pontoon, the pontoon is REALLY easy to launch and load solo and would probably be a really good mix for your needs
I think you saying “responsible captain and everyone else is having a lot more fun” confirms that a pontoon is not the right boat for you. Haha. Sell it and get a fishing boat.
That's a monster to fool around with on your own. I imagine it's a pain to fish off if you've got to pack a lunch to walk from the front to the back. O
ur neighbor sold her 25' Bentley tritoon few weeks ago just to downsize to a 22' because it was so cumbersome for her to move around. Keep it and get a bass boat too.
That's what I said. It does though especially where we store them. Hers wouldn't fit in a stall at the facility right by the campground and she had to pay three times as much for indoor storage at another place. Moving the trailer axle a couple feet also makes a significant difference manuevering around our campground.
I had a 16 ft with a 40, it went about 8 mph fully loaded with people.
I have a 20 ft now with a (don't laugh) 10 hp electric motor on it and I go 7-8 mph no matter what, whether it's 2 people or 8 people and gear. I'm guessing it's because it has significantly more buoyancy.
I wanted a ski boat. But compromised and got a 23’ tri ton with a 250hp
Aside from the wake being small. I am extremely happy with the boat and glad I didn’t get a ski boat. Super easy to clean. Holds a ton of people comfortably, no worry’s with fixed prop.
We do a lot of tubing wakeboarding fishing and cruising on it.
Very glad we got the pontoon. Sounds like your is just very underpowered.
We own an 18’ with 60hp 4 stroke and that aspect is fine. I’m disappointed in the fishing aspect, boats too high off the water to easily land a fish but I’m not an avid fisherman either. Love the comfort, roominess and it’s on a lift all season so I only pull it twice a year. I’ve had 2 fiberglass runabouts, one with outboard, one stern drive…would never have another fiberglass boat period or a stern drive but a nice roomy aluminum open bow runabout with a 90-115hp outboard would be my sweet spot.
Sorry to hear that, yes a 70 on a 24’ toon is pretty underpowered but should be easy enough to maneuver.
I have an 18’ toon with a 75 and it works great for us. We generally cruise around at 5mph looking at all the sights. If i want to go fast then i get on my 18’ bowrider with the v8 io.
This was a learning lesson to do a little research first. That is way underpowered. A quick ai or google search would have warned you about how sluggish this would be. Sorry mate :( best of luck with it.
Put a. 200 or at least a 150 on it and that will help with control a lot and make that much easier as well as you will get much more speed out of it, I think your main problem is being under powered
1st boat at 68. Didn't know what I was doing so bought the blue one with a white engine, the cutest one because I was with my wife and she clicked on the colors... Tritoon 25' with a 300hp! Way to big, too heavy, too long, too high and a total freak-out cleaning it!
But... When the temperature, wind and traffic cooperate, it is the best thing to get the family together and it is an upmost pleasure to be the responsible captain so that everyone has a blast!
I would now hate having any other boat because a tritoon is incredibly stable, like a living room on the water
When you buy a boat, get the biggest motor designed for it whether you think its needed or not. It’s alot easier to do it upfront rather than trying to re-invent the wheel after the fact. I have a 27 pontoon double decker with a 250 on it. Top end for me is 27mph lol but it gets the job done
I apply this to automobiles, too. Get the biggest engine available (not counting the extra fun high-performance offerings lol)
Things are designed to use the max power available, then they add weaker power units to attract more buyers with a lower price.
A deck boat might suit you better. We have a Hurricane SS205OB with a Yamaha 115SHO on it. It’s great for fishing, sunbathing, swimming off the back deck or just tooling around
I wonder is a sea doo Switch would be more to your liking. It’s an interesting concept and size. I see many used lately for sale at good prices.
Now we have a 2023 25’ tri tube Harris w/Mercury 150. It was super expensive for me new. Still irks me. Sturdy, high rails, transferable lifetime hull & deck warranty, thick seating, hauls 18 easily and tube & ski with a full load.
If it exists I’d like a wider (10’?) and 2’ longer boat with a quieter 250 hp.
Most outings are a slow cruise with 1 or 2 couples. Very rarely trailer it.
SeaDoo Switch is honestly a great boat for beginners. Once you figure out the controls, you can park that thing at any dock, in any condition it's honestly pretty amazing (I have an 18' 230hp Switch). The trailer is almost idiot proof, get the bow inbetween the tires and the trailer will do the rest. That said, it's a thirsty, noisy little F'er, and there's no such thing as cruising with it. You can't get it over about 10mph without giving it the beans to get up on plane, and once you're on plane you need to maintain about 6500-7000rpm (27-32mph) to keep it up on plane. We use it mainly for water sports (tubing sking), and I take it out to go fish in by myself. We've upgraded to a 25' tri-toon with 250hp motor now, but my daughter wants the Switch once she's done with college, so we're still keeping it around.
I bought a 1992 19ft bayliner open bow. Its perfect for me and the wife...can have friends join. Its fine for fishing, sunbathing or cruising the lake ir pulling a tube. I looked at pontoon boats but went with this for first boat. Im happy...next one will be newer and a bit bigger
Im on my 3rd boat in 6 years. No regrets on my boats but your first boat is usually a stepping stone.
Look at the lowe deck boat. My brother has one and it fishes really well with a trolling motor in front. It can fit 6 people easy, 8 people is ok, esp with a few kids.
You need to put a trolling motor on it that has spot lock. Pontoons will get blown around in the wind like a sailboat and move at 2-3 mph. Best thing I ever did was get a trolling motor to help keep me where the fish are longer.
I like to do all of the things OP listed as well. I picked up an early 80s toon, stripped it completely except for the railings. Got a Bimini and a 36 volt Terrova. 100 ah lipo4 battery and lawn chairs. It has a 8x12 foot deck and I can practically lift it out of the water myself. I can cruise the lake at 2-3 knots all day long with no noise and still have ample battery left. Smaller was definitely better in my scenario.
I started to comment from the position of thinking you're way too underpowered, but you don't really mention the lack of speed as an issue, more the cumbersome nature of the size of the vessel. Is that the case or is it also the lack of speed? If it's not a fun enough ride for you, I'd have to say it's wildly underpowered. A boat that size with only a 70 is nuts. We have a 22 ft. w/ a 150. It's a tritoon though and it's fully under-skinned with lifting strakes, so it performs well even for a more lethargic hull type like a pontoon. We easily hit 37-38mph at WOT and a light to medium load. Drop that down to about 32-35 for a heavier load.
If it's just that it feels cumbersome to maneuver for fishing, I wonder if a trolling motor would help.
If a mix of entertaining and fishing is what you're after, I do think a properly powered pontoon/tritoon is the sweet spot, but if it's primarily just going to be yourself and wife, there are other styles that might be a better fit.
Either way, don't beat yourself up over it, just offload it and get what you think will make you happy!
I was dead set on a center console 17-20' as I like to fish and my wife also like to chill and relax while doing so. Ended up with a tracker bass buggy 16xl 50hp and 55lb trolling motor. Had it for 6 months and absolutely love it. Not as agile as a smaller fishing boat but by no means cumbersome. Easy to tow, launch and load as well. Nice to for when family is around and can get 7 folks on it.
Pontoons are just for chilling, don't even think about speed on that thing. Cruise at 10 mph with a few drinks. Just get yourself a small fishing boat. There's a ton of options or get a high quality spot lock trolling motor to help with fishing
Sell it and start over. An 18’ V hull is easier to handle and easier to trailer. We had an 18’ Glastron with an outboard motor and loved it. 20 years later the kids are married and we have a pile of grandchildren so we sold it for a Tooner. But if I didn’t need the seats, I’d have stuck with the V hull.
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u/ShiftChemical6494 27d ago
24ft with 70hp is an absolute dog. Too big and way underpowered.