tri hull ve toon
 

Have a runabout now. Was interested in getting a tri-hull or toon boat. Any advantage one over the other. Nephew had a toon and water kept coming over the front. Does it depend on size. Does it happen with tri-hull.

Dave M

I made the transition from a bowrider to a tritoon this year, and have not experienced any water over the bow. Mine is a 26 foot tritoon (all three pontoons 26" diameter), and I suspect the length and the middle pontoon are both helpful for buoyancy and avoiding any water over the bow.

Dave -- did you mean Tri-Toon ? Tri-Hull usually refers to all fiberglass boats and there are a few manufacturers of Tri-Hull (fiberglass) deck boats aka Party barge


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We have a 22 ft tritoon and love it. The only time water “comes over the front” is when guests load toward the bow (I let them sit where they want unless it compromises safety) and you are facing considerable wind, waves, wakes, etc., which is not very often.
As always, I try to use trim and angle to minimize any splash over but there will usually one instance where people will get splashed a bit. Speed and trim are your friend in heavy conditions. With just the two of us and the dog, rarely is there a splash over as I can bring the bow up accordingly and cruise at a modest speed. A longer toon would be better in rough conditions but we manage well with the 22’

A buddy of mine rented a 24ft triton with a 150hp motor from Meredith Marine a few weeks ago. There was only 8 of us on it but I was surprised how stable and dry it was and it was a little rough out in the broads. I imagine if we had loaded it to capacity it might have been a little different experience. If I'm on Winni I'd want a triton.

We have a 20' tritoon and have only had water over the bow once, on the 4th of July a couple years ago while heading to Wolfeboro for the fireworks show (anyone remember that day?!). We turned back. That being said, we're in the north and aren't in the Broads, Weirs, etc. on a regular basis.

If looking at a 'toon:
* Pontoon size matters --entry-level brands use 24", better brands use 25", and I think I saw recently that newer boats may have 26 and 27 inch ones.

* Length matters: 20' is great in the north, 22' isn't much different (typically the same deck size with longer pontoons), 24' seems to be common rental/Broads-side size.

* Engine size matters. If you want to do anything other than float, get the biggest motor you can.

* Layout: obvious.

* Pontoon design: I've researched this a lot. Some use a larger center 'toon, others use various shapes, etc. I'm not convinced any one philosophy is right, though I do hear a lot of good things about Manitou in terms of sport-boating (bad things about materials, though).

Finally, we tested a few deck boats, which seemed a good compromise between runabout sportiness and pontoon space, but we found them to be slappy in even the lightest chop.

Godspeed, friend!

Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Tapatalk

Just got the Cest 250 tri-toon with 250 hp Merc!....love it!

Which line? IE; Crest 2, Classic.

We have the crest 250 classic II, has the 250 hp Merc...smooth, quiet and power! Very nice handling... we sold our SeaRay 320 and happy we did it!

I have a Premier 220 Tritoon with a 150HP. I've had water come over the front twice and both times were driver error. Once when we first got it while I was driving and once when my 12-year-old was driving. Both were before we learned how to drive the boat, being our first pontoon.

Both times we were going at a low speed and took a large wave straight on. Since then we've learned to not take waves head-on at a low speed. Idle is ok and at speed is okay but there is this magical zone, about 4 to 7 MPH for my boat, where the crest of a wave that is >14 inches (or the hight from waterline to the deck) makes it to the deck before the pontoons can lift the boat. We tube in the boat too so we're often in choppy conditions at idle and don't have problems at that speed unless the wave is huge, like Sophie C wake size right off it's stern.

Since we've learned how to take waves at that speed, even with a heavy front load, we don't seem to have a problem. At 20+ MPH it's the smoothest ride you'll get aside from a very deep V hull, even though the broads in rough water.

I've had people tell me that the tri-hulls "slap" the water in heavy waves but I have no personal experience with that.

We've encountered some 3 and 4 footers on the Intercoastal with our 24" Bennington and I always cross at a 45 degree angle .I've seen others bury the bow while crossing straight into a large swell.

Many people forget to use motor trim to adjust the ride and lift the bow. This can make a big difference in the ride and the ability to lift over waves.