Looking for new Tritoon
 

I'm starting to consider moving from my beloved bow rider to a tritoon pontoon boat. I will only be able to make this transition if its a high performance pontoon. I've checked out some Manitou SHP's and they were very nice. Thinking about checking some Premier PTX's. Any other brands/models I should be looking at? Any input would be great. Thanks

A recent thread
 

There is some performance stuff in the recent thread:

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...ad.php?t=15915

I'm sure that searching the site will ind more info or you. I certainly learned a lot about 'toons' here recently... Who knew?

Check out Avalon pontoon boats at Lakeport Landing. We just bought a 16', and I am very impressed with the quality of this boat. In addition, the service we received from Lakeport Landing was outstanding.

http://www.avalonpontoons.com/

Premier Solaris 235 with Merc 200. Got 44mph out of it earlier today with the Bimini up. Previous boat was a Four Winns 240 bow rider. We love the PTX.

Hopefully you have the 11' Bimini, if you have the 13' watch out at speed. I broke mine heading into the wind at about 35 on my 225rf with a 250 pro.

Yup, 11 footer. Was that your Sky Dek in Meredith yesterday?

Performance Tritoon
 

I didn't make out what kind it was but a tritoon pass me as if I was standing still on The Broads yesterday. I got the weather alert yesterday and spare no time in getting from Tuftonboro to Lakeport before the storm burst.

Many of us were at speed hoping to reach our port of call before the storm and a tritoon pass me. I do remember seeing passengers on the floor hanging on to the furniture. The Bimini top was flapping like crazy! I can't imagine why he is in such a big rush when he has a top! I don't have a bimini or storm curtains.

I was pulling into the boat house when the storm burst! If it was a minute later, I would not have seen where to go.

That was one heck of a 'toon! :eek:

Not me, it was my twin. Another one just like mine was launched a few weeks ago. Mine has been tied to the dock, getting rained on. Some vacation...

Anyone have first hand experience in performance of premier ptx against Bennington ESP? After seeing the benningtons the layout and quality is unrivaled, they definitely have a wow factor premiers and manitous didn't. Although after riding in the premier ptx I can only hope the Bennington could be as good.

I have seen all three up close and driven two of the three pontoons mentioned, Premier and Manitou. I currently own a 2008 Manitou SHP with a 250 H.O. Etec. In my opinion, for fit and finish, hands down the Premier and Bennington win out over the Manitou, no question about it. From strictly a performance and handling standpoint the Manitou wins hands down. Sorry, but I have no first hand knowledge on the performance difference between the Premier and the Bennington only what I have heard and read which leans toward the premier.

The newer Manitou's have come a long way from just a few years ago but are still no match for Premier's constant upgrading and ingenuity from a fit and finish standpoint of their performance pontoon boats and their options.

My wife has been on me about getting a performance Premier pontoon but I just don't want to lose the performance I have in my Manny. I really like Manitou's larger center pontoon and think that makes a big difference in handling as well as their idea of lifting strakes inside and out on all three toons . I am hoping Manitou makes some bigger strides in fit finish and options by next year and maybe I will trade up.




Dan

I would contact Ryan Crawford of Winnisquam Marine for Premier & Jason Wylie at Channel Marine for a test drive of the Bennington (because you tried Manitou already). I think all of the Toons described above have their positives & negatives (mostly preference). It will come down to which toon sways you as well as your feeling about the dealership (Service after sale).

To answer question on performance (PTX vs ESP) between the two boats you asked about, I found handling on both comparable. My personal preference was the Benne 25Q's lines compared to the others but again just personal preference. That was a hard decision because Premeir is on my Lake (Wsquam) and service could be easier. Good luck and tell us what you decide.

Sorry for not being clear, I've given a ptx a drive, but not a Bennington or manitou. Out of curiosity why is your preference the Bennington. The Bennington was better seating and quality hands down, and also i thought premier seemed less comfortable than manitou

Bennington
 

Again just personal preference after review of all 3 -

Bennington has sloped rear deck rail and swim platform that takes away the "boxy" look and seems a little more stylish to us. The Q also had the sloped front end as well. I also liked the seating set up with center walkway and ultimatley the overall layout. In addition, I liked the I/O package 350 mag with duo prop offered by Benne.

A few questions about your Bennington if you dont mind me asking, what engine did you get? What model? How fast have you gotten it? How many people,have you had on it comfortably? How does it handle on really rough days, compared to a v hull bow rider if possible?

That's what sold me also. I have the 2275 RCW with a Yamaha 250. Most of the major brands are built pretty well but the style of the Bennington with twin stern facing lounge seats and sloping deck take away the ugly boxy look that most pontoons have. I get an honest 46 MPH.
Check it out on Youtube "If Pontoon Boats Could Fly . . . This one does! "

Alright, now another question for people who have gone from
Bow rider to tritoon. Do you ever miss your bowrider? If yes for what reason? I'm really liking the tritoons, but I don't want to regret giving up the bowrider.

Looking for a new Tritoon
 

Borntoboat
You are asking great questions. There has been much posted about Tritoon starting back in March this year during the boat shows. You might want to go back and check out some of the information.

Just recently I asked those who have Tritoons what did they get for WOT (wide open throttle). That thread had some great responses.

To answer your question about deep v fiberglass vs. Tritoons I sold my 32' Scarab with twin 454 engines and bought a Tritoon. I used to be, in my younger years, an Offshore Power Boat racer. Simple fact, I and especially my wife and family love the Tritoon. And so do I.

Just today, I was over at Channel Marine and a young guy who had a new 32 Baja cruised over to me and said "that is beautiful boat". "That is going to be my next one". "So much room and I can get all my friends on the boat". Then he asked "what kind of performance do you get". I said just short of 50 GPS MPH. Wow is all I hear when he cruised off shaking his head

I tested and sea trialed 5 tritoons. All were great. I took one out in 25 knot winds out of the NW with 4 foot waves and all white water. Ran that tritoon WOT from Wiers Channel to Rattlesnake and back. Not a single drop of water came on the boat. It was amazing.

I would never go back to a bowrider!!! No comparison period! If you want to go for a ride and learn about my experience with testing 5 tritoon manufactures let me know. All have different hull designs. Some are better than others. Each has a different lifting strake design and "M" channels. That makes a huge different in performance. I actually went on a manufacture factory tour before I made my decision. Just give me a PM anytime.

Good luck in your search. I would be happy to help.

I was looking for you...
 

Chasedawg- I saw this thread and remembered seeing many, many informal posts from you regarding performance pontoons. I was trying to throw out the "bat signal" to get you to chime in- but I could not for the life of me thing of your tag! I'm glad you are able to help out.

What I miss most about my bowrider is the sound of a V8. I did not have a thru hull exhaust on my Sea Ray, but you knew you had quite a bit of torque behind you. My Honda does not come close to bringing me the thrill of firing up my 5.7L Mercruiser, but it sure makes up for it at the gas pump! :D

Oh, the quietness is one thing I love about the tritoons I've looked at, I can't imagine missing the engine sound, though that's just me. Is it really drastic difference in fuel efficiency? That would definetly be a big factor.

I agree. When I was into the loud macho sound of straight pipes off V8's I loved it. Today it does not impress me. It must be a age thing. This evening I took out my tritoon out testing a new prop and the rush I got from out of the hole exceleration to top end was better than any high performance V8 experience i had in off shore racing.

You talk about fuel efficiency, I cruise at 4K Rpm and burn less 6 GPH. My offshore performance Scarrab would consume 30 GPH WOT 50 GPH. Ok you do the math at today's prices. Quite engines performing better than any V8, using only a minimum of fuel. I am very pleased with performance, fuel economy and looks of my tritoon.

I appreciate the help, one question, is one of the boats you sea tested a Bennington? If so how does it do it really rough conditions? Thanks

My Honda is very good on fuel; as long as I'm not hard on the throttle, I've noticed that I burn about 3GPH. Cruising speed on my pontoon at 3000 RPM is right around 30MPH, which is perfect for most of my boating. I never trust my gauges in my car, so I do the math when I fill up at the pump v. my hour meter. My last fill up took 27 gallons and I had put just over 9 hours on the clock. That was after 3 great days on the boat, so I think that's great to have a day on the water for under $40 bucks a day. Combine that with a cooler filled up from the grocery store and it's better than a day at the water park!

Yes I sea trialed the Bennington. It was the best rough water boat I tested by a wide margin. I bought the Bennington 2550 GSR walk through stern lounges with a 300 HP Mercury Verado. It is an awesome performance boat.

I took a friend out yesterday who has been selling boats for the past 15 years and he could not believe how well it performed. His mouth dropped when I did a hole shot! He said this boat is amazing.

Bennington
 

Sorry for late response on Vacation.

We have the 350 mag (Merc 300 HP) Duo prop. Model is 2575 QRCW I/O. The boat does 41 to 43 mph. I'm sure if we changed props we would be much faster. Truth be told don't care to much bout that. "Out of the hole" more important to me - Duo prop takes care of that - slalom skiing no problem come to think of it barefoot no problem. The wake for that :eek:

We bought the boat and really liked the lines and layout with rear facing lounges. The I/O eliminates the view of the outboard. Much respect here for outboards as I have one on my fishing boat. Someone in this thread talked about missing the V-8 sound well, we talked about this last night at the fireworks. If you have ever been on the aft deck of a cabin cruiser or yacht with single or twin screws while at cruising speed, you know what our boat sounds like. That sometimes out of sinc sound of twins is the best way to describe. Very satisfying for us.

Last night we had 12 people on board very comfortable.

Have been out in rough weather (3 to 4 footers) with no water over bow. I'm coming out of a Deep V 26 foot Wellcraft Scarab. Doesn't handle like the Scarab, but I wouldn't worry any more about bad weather in the 25 Benne in the broads. Although someone with a smaller boat (if your interested) should speak to that.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me. If your interested in a demo feel free to ask.

Good Luck