quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
I've spent an inordinate amount of time the last 50+ years on the water, in every sort of lake-sized boat. The development of the tri-toon is one of the biggest game-changers since the invention of water.

If the lake you'll be on has any sort of chop to it on weekends or when you'll be using it I'd seriously consider a tri for the improved ride height and smoothness if you can possibly swing it. They also seem to be much more efficient and handle more like an actual boat than I would ever have expected. Our next boat will be one, and we'll be out of the runabout business!

eta - see you've put down a deposit. You can still take a test drive, in the sort of conditions you will be operating.

Yes, I have indeed placed a deposit. However, that deposit is 100% refundable. I am about to go to the boat show the day before I go to test drive the boat. It may very well be possible to swing a terrific deal on a tritoon at the boat show. I doubt we can get the seating And features we want in the price range we want to be, unfortunately. And there is also the massive depreciation that brand new boats take. Right or wrong, (please correct me, as I am posting this for insight from those wiser than me...) I think I might be better served getting a gently used high end boat a few years old rather than brand new. Am I off based with this assumption?

New tri-toons with the features above (from what I have gathered, from top tier manufacturers) are about $50k-$60k. Some go way higher. I would love one, but to get the size, quality and features, I think it may not be in the cards.

Would anyone recommend going way down in quality and size and features to get the tri-toon?

Dusty and Oz gave you good input, as did several others. I bought a 25' Sun Tracker"Party Barge" made by Tracker, which has a Mercruiser I/O in it. To this day I regret not buying an outboard.

Make sure the upholstery is in good shape. Inspect it several times and sit on it all around; if you end up putting a new set of seat covers in it, you'll drop 4-6K.

its not in his drive way anymore or I'd send you a picture.

Kenny purchased a 20 y.o. ,18 foot pontoon boat for $750.00 , last may .

he and his wife worked on it for 3 1/2 months last summer and fixed everything from the pontoon's up. floors, seat's ,console and ceiling canvas. the only thing he did not touch were the original railings.

He's had offers for over $13,000.00 , with the 7 y.o. 50 h.p. motor

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
its not in his drive way anymore or I'd send you a picture.

Kenny purchased a 20 y.o. ,18 foot pontoon boat for $750.00 , last may .

he and his wife worked on it for 3 1/2 months last summer and fixed everything from the pontoon's up. floors, seat's ,console and ceiling canvas. the only thing he did not touch were the original railings.

He's had offers for over $13,000.00 , with the 7 y.o. 50 h.p. motor

I thought they killed Kenny?

Post deleted. Link didn't work.

quote:

To this day I regret not buying an outboard.

I live in a fishing town. Ocean not lake so worse wear on everything. I can't imagine why you would say this. Every year around here numerous people wear out motors from actual use. And the guys with the Mercruiser I/O's pony up 12K and get a completely new motor installed (normally a 350hp but it really doesn't matter). The guys with an outboard are out at least 50% more and often for engines with less hp. Makes no sense to me. OK if you want a 70-150hp engine as a marine V8 is silly for that, but above that get the IO.

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:

quote:

To this day I regret not buying an outboard.

I live in a fishing town. Ocean not lake so worse wear on everything. I can't imagine why you would say this. Every year around here numerous people wear out motors from actual use. And the guys with the Mercruiser I/O's pony up 12K and get a completely new motor installed (normally a 350hp but it really doesn't matter). The guys with an outboard are out at least 50% more and often for engines with less hp. Makes no sense to me. OK if you want a 70-150hp engine as a marine V8 is silly for that, but above that get the IO.

I/o's are nothing but headaches. The motors are buried in a hole that you have to work on them upside down, most of the time. There are a ton of components on them to fail, most of which (including the motor itself) was never designed for the marine industry. The maintenance is heavy and expensive.

The 4 stroke outboards are far better designed these days, go twice as many hours as an inboard, are easy to access to work on, and they're more fuel efficient and less problematic. They also can be rebuilt if need be.

If the vessel is kept in saltwater, forget it, a stern drive doesn't last more than a few years and the saltwater has destroyed it.

I wouldn't buy any used boat without first having a professional surveyor examine the boat first. A surveyor will examine the boat thoroughly and give you a written report on their findings that will identify flaws both in the hull and engine if any exist. I've read numerous stories of people who purchased used boats only to find out there were serious issues that resulted in costly repairs that would have been discovered if a survey had been completed prior to purchasing the boat. Of course a survey will cost you a few hundred dollars but that money buys you peace of mind.

Did ya buy one ?

Not as of yet. I wife and I are going to a boat show tomorrow. We want to look around and see if we can get a deal on what we really want. I doubt we can get one with all of our must-have's, in our budget, but you never know. I'm also not sure I want to buy a brand new boat and take such a huge depreciation hit if it turns out we don't use the boat very much, etc.

I put a deposit down on a used boat, that I'm going to check out in person on Friday. We'll see how everything goes....

quote:

Originally posted by Unishot:
Not as of yet. I wife and I are going to a boat show tomorrow. We want to look around and see if we can get a deal on what we really want. I doubt we can get one with all of our must-have's, in our budget, but you never know. I'm also not sure I want to buy a brand new boat and take such a huge depreciation hit if it turns out we don't use the boat very much, etc.

I put a deposit down on a used boat, that I'm going to check out in person on Friday. We'll see how everything goes....

See if there are any boat rental clubs in your area. Generally they charge a modest fee for the year, you can use any of the boats they have that you want to use, you just pay for the fuel and hand them the keys back without worrying about storage, maintenance, ownership. It's a great way to try boating for a year, without going both feet in.