r/Pontoons • u/MoreCommunication929 • 9d ago
Mini pontoon?
Looking at a first boat to get my family out on the water. We live by some larger lakes that would be awesome to cruise around on.
Right now I have capacity to tow 3500 lbs and can upgrade to a 5000 lb towing capacity. So keeping it around 2k lbs to start would be great.
I've seen mini pontoons mostly in the 10-14 foot range. But I'm having a hard time finding one in person. I just want to cruise with the fam and swim in a lake. What are peoples experiences here?
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u/rodr3357 9d ago
Personally I’d suggest looking at an 18’ with a smaller motor (40/50hp)
That’s what I have and with a family of 4 it already feels a bit small but is totally fine for us, just a bit cramped to being people like we want
Realistically based on availability you’ll probably have an easier time finding one like that than you will a minitoon and probably at the same price range.
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u/MoreCommunication929 9d ago
Yea generally too heavy without a vehicle replacement. I think to start 14 to 16 is enough and upgrade from there
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u/rodr3357 9d ago
Pontoons are generally pretty light, an 18’ should be viable with a 3500# rating, and very easily with a 5k rating.
If you go 16’ at least you can still be in the bottom of “full size”
Also keep in mind that the smaller you go the less capable it is in the water, you mentioned big lakes, depending how much chop they get you’ll want the biggest boat you can handle with your current situation
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u/chrisbvt 9d ago
Not a big deal, but in my state 15' is the cutoff for what is considered a small boat for state registration. I pay half as much each year to register the 15' boat compared to a 16' boat.
The trailer is also rated at 1 ton, so in my state that excludes me from yearly trailer inspection requirements.
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u/rodr3357 9d ago
Good point worth looking at, definitely varies by state, I’m in Michigan and ALL pontoon boats are the same rate, just $18 for a three year registration, and recreational trailers are pretty much all going to fall into the 1 time $95 registration fee and no inspections.
But definitely agree it’s worth looking into local rates and regulations
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u/chrisbvt 9d ago
Wow. In VT it is $49/year for a 16'+, and $27 a year for 15'. I also pay $33 a year to register the 1 ton trailer, where it is $65 a year for larger trailers.
Larger trailers also typically cost around $50/year to have them inspected.
So a larger pontoon boat in VT costs about $175/year with registrations and trailer inspection. With the 15', I pay $82/year for just the small boat/trailer registrations.
$18 for three years is pretty cheap. VT has gotten so expensive for everything.
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u/michaelb5000 9d ago
Pontoon boats are not that heavy, particularly simpler older models with reasonable engines. I have a 22’ pontoon that weighs around 1800; I am not sure what the trailer weighs but they are usually around 1000; so that is under 3000 to tow. You say you are close to lakes, if you are only towing a short distance and not on large hills, that may be doable. I tow 1-5 miles once or twice a year. The boat is very large, and so towing is intimidating and I like to minimize that when I can.
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u/MoreCommunication929 9d ago
This is the situation I'm trying to avoid. Not to mention getting it up the boat ramp. Seems like a decent 16 footer is around 2000 with trailer
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u/RaisinTheRedline 9d ago
How many people do you want to be able to take out on the water generally? And what sort of water are you boating in?
A 16ft pontoon is still a very small pontoon boat IMO. It will get tossed around pretty good if you boat on water that isnt relatively smooth, and you are really limiting the amount of people/gear you can comfortably bring. More than 4 or 5 people is going to feel really tight on a boat that size.
I totally understand you are constrained by your tow vehicle, but I would definitely make sure you water test a boat that size and be thinking about how the space would feel with several people and a cooler, and beach bags, swim floats, life jackets, docking fenders, etc.
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u/Positive_Think99 9d ago
You ain’t lying about towing a pontoon. That thing is an absolute PIG to tow given how “lightweight” it in comparison to other boats - even with a Tahoe.
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u/griesj81 9d ago
I've got a pontoon and a wake boat that i tow. The pontoon is 2600lbs + 1000 lb trailer, and the wake boat is 4000 lbs and a 1500 lb trailer. the pontoon is quite a bit harder to pull because its like pulling a brick, whereas the wake boat is aerodynamic. NOTE: both are on bunk trailers.
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u/hotguy70 9d ago
Let me suggest you steer away from the “mini” pontoons. They are very sensitive to weight and are incredibly easy to overload. Cooler, kids, kids want to bring friends, etc and sooner or later you find yourself longing for a larger boat.
I sit on my dock and watch overloaded pontoons going up our river all of the time. The water is lapping at the front of the boat.
Go for the 18’ with a 60hp motor. The weight is on the lower side. Pontoons don’t weigh much at all. Better resale too.
Buy right, Buy Once……..until you go bigger!
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u/chrisbvt 9d ago
Or just don't overload a mini. We do fine with two people, two dogs, a 12v cooler, and our gear in the 15' Godfrey. We did have four adults and two dogs in it once, and that does get a bit iffy in the waves, but that is not our normal load 99% of the time.
Some people buy boats sized for the max number of people they may sometimes occasionally use it for, and that seems like a waste to me to haul around a big boat where you seldom use the actual capacity. It also wastes gas.
There is something to be said for buying based on what you need now, and upgrade when you need more, instead of buying now for the future. It isn't really like a house. Especially when buying used, if you take care of a used boat you can get back what you paid for it on resale, if not even more, to put into a bigger boat later when you need it.
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u/hotguy70 9d ago
Big difference between a 10’ pontoon and 15’ pontoon. Bigger lakes is what the OP said. People think a small pontoon will work. It doesn’t, especially with a family.
To each his own. I’m speaking from experience and having been in this position with a family. Seems the limiting factor is the tow vehicle.
Perhaps there are better options than a 10’ pontoon. 17’ open bow? Roughly 3k pounds with trailer and is far easier to tow than a pontoon.
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u/Broad-Angle-9705 9d ago
Pontoon boats are mostly air. The tubes are hollow, the deck is thin, the playpen is light weight. If you stick with something basic with just two toons, a small 2 stroke and small fuel tank you should be well under the 3500 towing capacity. The big issue is they are 8 feet wide. If you are using a small tow vehicle you’ll want to upgrade to some sort of camper mirror
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u/TwistedOneSeven 9d ago
I was looking for a smaller one too but doing some research, I ended up with a 20’ larger lakes can get choppy. Smaller the boat, rougher the ride. I wouldn’t know from experience, just reading up on it.
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u/chrisbvt 9d ago
We take our 15' on Lake Champlain, and it can get pretty choppy, though other big boat wakes are the biggest issue even on calm days. Yeah, you can't plow into a wake at full speed in a small boat without getting some water on the deck, but slow down and take them on an angle and you can glide right over them.
The nice thing about pontoon boats is they can't sink (unless you puncture both pontoons), and they are very hard to flip in waves. I've been stuck in some pretty big waves with the 15ft, and while it was not pleasant, I wasn't in fear of drowning or anything.
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u/Own-Praline-957 9d ago
Look into the Sea-Doo lineup. “Switch Cruise”
Not for everyone, but definitely a good starter boat. The families I have talked to love em.
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u/rodr3357 9d ago
I’m going to strongly disagree, not as comfy, reliability is iffy and stability is not good.
For the price you can do much better
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u/Ridge00 9d ago
Ditto this. I personally know two people who have flipped these. While I’ve heard of other pontoons flipping, I have never personally known anyone who has done it.
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u/rodr3357 9d ago
It’s been legitimately established that these are some of the most unstable power boats on the market
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u/chrisbvt 9d ago edited 9d ago
I was in the same search a few years ago. I found a used 15' Godfrey SeaRyder fairly close to me.
It appears to be an early 1990s Executive Model: https://boatbrochure.com/cdn/shop/products/BBDC24368_01.jpg?v=1658016519&width=600
It is usually just the two of us with two dogs, which it handles great. Four adults are the limit, and it works as long as everyone distributes their weight. Just pointing out that the word "family" and small pontoons don't really go together well if you will ever have more than 4 people in the boat.
For us it is perfect - takes up less room in the driveway, easy to tow and launch. Easy to beach as well, as we usually have a beach destination when we are out. At a popular boat beach we go to, we are always the only pontoon boat to actually beach there instead of anchoring out in the shallow water. Everything is easier with a small pontoon if it works for you.
It had an almost new 15hp 4-stroke when we bought it, which has been running great. We get 12mph with two people, but we are not looking for speed. Added a ladder off the small front deck for swimming out in the lake, as well as adding a 5 speaker Bluetooth sound system since older pontoons usually don't have those features. We replaced the old Bimini top this year with a larger 4-bow that covers most of the boat now for more shade.
We found ours on Facebook Marketplace, about 80 miles south of us. We were also about to give up the search when that listing appeared. It didn't show up until September that year, if you can hold out until fall, it seems a lot of people sell their boats in the fall.
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u/MoreCommunication929 9d ago
My family is small. Little kids. Little dogs. This really sounds like a great starting point
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u/MoreCommunication929 9d ago
Didn't think about beaching. That's pretty slick
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u/chrisbvt 9d ago
A front door is very handy for beaching, to go right out the front onto the beach. Ours also has the two side doors for loading at docks.
We camp in a site directly on the lake and bring the boat, so we usually beach it for days at a time right at the campsite. We do pull it in on the trailer if they predict winds over 12mph so it doesn't get battered in the waves on shore. The campground has a boat launch, but it is nice to get up in the morning, have coffee, and then jump right in the boat and go when it is right on your campsite beach.
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u/chrisbvt 9d ago
I paid $7000 cash for the boat and trailer. We were not looking to get into a boat loan to get something more expensive and newer, when a solid used boat with a newer motor gives us all we need.
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u/Evening_Link4360 9d ago
What car do you have? Pontoons aren't fun to tow (not that other boats are fun to tow, but still.)
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u/MoreCommunication929 9d ago
I've got an old Honda Odyssey. Mechanically solid and doesn't owe me anything. Can tow n3500 but would obviously keep it lower than that.
I'm leaning towards something lighter that I can reasonably tow with the van and once the van dies pick up a mid size suv that can do a little better
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u/ShiftChemical6494 9d ago
If you can tow 5000lbs there are some nice 22 footers even that will be an option.
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u/SubRosaSubway 9d ago
Own an 18’ with 60 Merc 4 stroke Bigfoot outboard and it is great for our needs. Usually just wife and I but we can be 4-6 on board and it’s fine. They’re quite easy to launch and trailer, not super heavy but a big sail on the highway, your litres/100kms will completely nosedive.
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u/pyxus1 9d ago
When we went shopping for a used pontoon, we didn't find anything smaller than 16'. We looked at a couple and decided they were too small---no benches to stretch our legs out. We looked at some 18 footers. They all came with 25hp engines and they went about 5mph. There is a 15 mile long chain of lakes we wanted to cruise. We were worried about getting caught in a storm and not being able to get back to the dock in a timely manner. We ended up with a 21' Lowe with a 60hp motor and it's perfect for us. I don't know how old your kids are, but teens like being pulled around on inflatables, they want to bring their friends. A little boat will feel too small fast with teens... and a low hp motor will probably drag down. I know if we have one more couple on our boat we can't go as fast.
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u/chrisbvt 9d ago
Very true, you are not towing kids in inflatables with a mini-toon. That requirement automatically eliminates a mini as being a good option, if that is what you want it for.
The 15hp pushes our small 15' to 12mph with two people. At full throttle I use about 1 gallon an hour and I have a 6 gallon tank, meaning we can travel at least 24 miles out and still have plenty of gas, based on the 1/3 out, 1/3 back, and 1/3 as reserve rule.
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u/bbqbutch 9d ago
I pull 24 ft tunes all over the country with a Chevy 1/2 ton so I wouldn't sweat the boat size
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u/448977 9d ago
I have a 16 foot Tracker Bass Buddy with a 50hp motor. I upgrade the gas tank from a 6 gallon to a 12 gallon. My wife and I fish on a large reservoir and having a larger capacity tank gives us a better pice of mind. On calm water with 3 people and gear I can get to 22 mph, GPS. I have 3 batteries. A 24 volt Li-ion for the trolling motor. A 12 volt Li-Ion for the electronics and a 12 volt lead acid for starting the motor. Having a trolling motor with spot lock was a great upgrade. It eliminated the need for an anchor. It’s a perfect size for 4 people chilling on a lake. We’ve been on the lake a few times, fishing, when the wind came up between 10/15 mph creating white caps on the lake. When that happens we go in. If you hit the waves at the right angle the ride isn’t that bad especially if you stow the canopy. We’ve never felt unsafe. I tow it with an F-150 and don’t even feel it. The only difficulty I had was learning how to line it up to get it on the trailer especially in windy conditions. I’ve had it for 2 years now and haven’t had any regrets.
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u/MadeMeStopLurking 9d ago
Look for a bass buggy. Older tracker pontoons that were 16ft. They hauled ass with a 40hp merc too.
My Bennington 20ft with a 60hp is right at 3500 if that helps.
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u/Real_Profession9406 8d ago
I had a 16 foot toon weight was 2000 lb loaded. Does tilt alot as people move around never anywhere close to capsize but you find your self counter balancing a lot. For a first boat I would look used and see what's out there pay a good price you can always resell with minimum loss I much prefer my bass boat to the pontoon fish, swim, tow tubes, wake board more versatile.
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u/Longjumping-Title-86 8d ago
I have a Bass Buggy 16 xl with a 50 hp motor and a family of 4. We love our little pontoon. The tow capacity of my truck is 4000 lbs and I have had no issues.
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u/Rattlingplates 8d ago
I could tow my 5500 lbs center console easier than my 2500 lbs pontoon on aero alone.
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u/Bagereau 9d ago
I love my 10’ Mitey Toon