Upgrading Pontoon, Comments Welcome

[thinkxingu]

Hi All,
Picked up a Crest 20' pontoon with 70hp Suzuki last year that we really love, but the kids have taken to water sports and where we're keeping the boat is a bit further from the main lake than we originally planned, so we're looking to upgrade.
So: needs to be 20' (200 series) for our docking situation, and at least 150hp with three toons. 2016 Harris Cruiser 200 is running around $34k before trade. We're price sensitive but don't want to skimp out either. Thoughts on other options?

PPS Melvin Village is the closest marina.

PS Our current 'toon has two angled backrests which are never enough--the '16 Cruiser has three, two in front, one in rear.

Thanks!

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[SAMIAM]

Harris is a quality boat and the 20' /150 should do the job just fine for watersports.Make sure you get 3 logs.......2 log boats have a long turning radius which isn't good if you have someone in the water and want to get back quickly.

[noreast]

Thats about the lowest price you'll find for a 150hp tri-toon, unless you look for left over 2015's. Right now Boat Trader has many left overs for 10 to 20,000 of the spring prices. I've seen A wide variety of brands under $30,000 with 150hp & tritoon not entry level. Of course you may have to travel to pick it up.

[thinkxingu]

Anyone have opinions on Harris vs. Manitou?

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[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

Anyone have opinions on Harris vs. Manitou?

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What model Manitou? SHP performance hull?? The Manitou SHP has one of if not the best performance hull in the performance pontoon industry! I had one (2008 Xplode, SHP) and loved it. I didn't care for the quality of furniture and some other minor things but from a performance standpoint it was awesome!

I can't speak about the Harris as I Have never owned one but have heard they make a quality boat. I also owned a Premier and recently just bought a Bennington....

Dan

[BlackcatBoater]

I can say that I have only had a Harris, and I love it! I went from a Sea Ray bowrider- and the difference is night and day on the rough water performance. There are plenty of great looking pontoons out there, but I tend to be a little brand loyal, which is why I went with Harris when I traded my Sea Ray. Not sure the relationship of the two within Brunswick, but it made me feel better. I have only been on this lake for a couple years, and there has not been a day that I have felt like I needed anything else. It's been great. Good luck with your search.

[chasedawg]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

Anyone have opinions on Harris vs. Manitou?

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Agree Manitou has one of the best performance hulls. But above the deck not so good. Quality is not there. Friends had a new Manitou and had many problems with small and annoying issues. Items breaking frequently. IMO Harris is a better all around tritoon.

Fay's sometimes sells Manitou's. What I mean by that they would rather sell sailboats and can't be bother with pontoon boats. They don't even take the mooring covers off to display the boats.

Melvin Village Marina does a great job promoting the Harris line. I also like the Mercury Verado. Very very quite engine. It was a toss up between the Bennington and Harris. I bought the Bennington and had the factory install a 300 HP Mercury Verado.

[thinkxingu]

Looked at the Manitou layouts last night, and they're kinda crappy--tons of front and rear deck space but seating is reduced as a result. The 21' versions look to seat 7-8 compared to the 10-11 of most other 'toons. Also, I found quite a few mentions of the seating, etc. not being great quality. Looks like Manitou is out.

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[noreast]

Another plus for the Harris is the weight. There 20' tri-toons are built 16" on center, I believe there one of the few. Most brands save that for there larger,more expensive models. Very heavy for there size which I assume would be better on Winni, You wouldn't bounce around like a cork as much as some smaller boats.

[thinkxingu]

The motor I would be looking at is the Mercury 150XL. I really like our Suzuki DF70 right now--can anyone give me comments on the Mercury in general or as compared to the Suzuki (other than power)?

It appears that my top speed would be just over 40 and that at roughly the second best MPG efficiency, 4000 RPM/4.7MPG, would cruise at 27--a nice increase from my 20.5 max and 16 cruising.

PS The numbers above are from a test here: https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/...units=imperial

[DesertDweller]

I am a Yamaha fan but the reality is most of the modern era outboards are really pretty good. The Mercury 150 four stroke your are thinking about came out a few years ago and the reviews have been very favorable. If you go over to a boating site like www.thehulltruth.com you can get a lot more insights.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

The motor I would be looking at is the Mercury 150XL. I really like our Suzuki DF70 right now--can anyone give me comments on the Mercury in general or as compared to the Suzuki (other than power)?

It appears that my top speed would be just over 40 and that at roughly the second best MPG efficiency, 4000 RPM/4.7MPG, would cruise at 27--a nice increase from my 20.5 max and 16 cruising.

PS The numbers above are from a test here: https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/...units=imperial

From a service availability standpoint, I would go with the Merc...

Dan

[chasedawg]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

The motor I would be looking at is the Mercury 150XL. I really like our Suzuki DF70 right now--can anyone give me comments on the Mercury in general or as compared to the Suzuki (other than power)?

It appears that my top speed would be just over 40 and that at roughly the second best MPG efficiency, 4000 RPM/4.7MPG, would cruise at 27--a nice increase from my 20.5 max and 16 cruising.

PS The numbers above are from a test here: https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/...units=imperial

I can not comment on the Suzuki. I never had one nor anyone that did. I do believe, however, they are probably a great engine. But to me it comes down to when I want to upgrade or sell my boat with Suzuki would I get the same value and number of people interested in the boat if it were a Yamaha or Merc. Hard to tell. But being the more popular brands Yamaha and Merc would probably bring more revalue just on popularity.
Yamaha is a great engine. Very durable and one of the best on the market. However, there are other great engines. I prefer the Mercury Verado because it is economical and very quiet of all the engines. I love the new Evenrude. But I can only buy one of the three. So stay with the engine the dealer is supporting. You will be happy for service, warranty and other dealer supported issues.

[Dad sold the C * C]

It has only been 2 months but we are very happy with our Merc 150 4 stroke on the Tri-toon. It is very quiet which is nice when you go for a "pontoon stroll"; everyone can hear each other.

From what I have read, heard and watched on you-Tube they are very easy for self maintenance, oil changes and such. I guess I'll find out soon

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by Dad sold the C * C

It has only been 2 months but we are very happy with our Merc 150 4 stroke on the Tri-toon. It is very quiet which is nice when you go for a "pontoon stroll"; everyone can hear each other.

From what I have read, heard and watched on you-Tube they are very easy for self maintenance, oil changes and such. I guess I'll find out soon

Can you tell me what boat you have and performance info?

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[Dad sold the C * C]

Ok, we have a premier Sunsation 23' tri-toon. By the gauges I can touch 35 mph at 5500 RPM. I did notice a little improvement last weekend as I should be ending the break in period. so far I have only pulled small children on skis and they loved it, both Solomon and 2 skis. Oh, my buddy got up on our old yellow Northland saucer ( you have to be of a certain age to know what this is).

She seems very happy around 3000 RMP, that's a bit under 20 MPH, the dogs like this as it's fast enough to lift their ears.

The "base" tri-toon is good for our needs at this point. This is not a performance PTX model so it's a bit slower. I like that it does not bank in turns, but is still tight enough that you can get back to someone quickly. It handles chop nicely.

I'm still learning what trim the boat likes but overall we are happy with it. One thing, from renting toons with different layouts, sacrificing some seating for more room on the rear deck is worth it. If you are doing water sports with kids it's real nice to be able to step around the motor well safely.

[thinkxingu]

Sounds great, thanks for the info! I agree on the out-of-gate walking room, but the main reason we're avoiding Manitou is because there's so much of it that seating is very reduced--actually strange to us.

We're thinking we'll hit 40 with my wife and me and two little kids and be able to cruise at 20-25, which will be very nice.

Going to Melvin Village Marina in an hour to double-check the layout of the '16 Cruiser 200, which looks to have added a second front recliner, which is exactly what we're looking for. Though we like the center walkthrough in the rear, I think the table in the middle, which we need and don't want to take out and put in all the time, would negate the open floor design. We also like the storage of, and laying on, the rear sundeck.

Hopefully, it'll be as nice as we think and we'll order today!

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[Dad sold the C * C]

Good luck and happy hunting!

I hope to pick mine up at the marina and bring it to the cabin and find a place to park it without getting hung up on trees.

[Greene's Basin Girl]

I love my Harris FloteBoat. It is a 23.0 tritoon with a 150hp on it. We bought from Matt ( the owner) at Melvin Marina. We could not be happier. We can travel anywhere on the lake no matter how rough it is. We call it the floating living room. It's name is " Loony Pontoony". If you want a really fast boat you might want to go with more hp.

[noreast]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

Sounds great, thanks for the info! I agree on the out-of-gate walking room, but the main reason we're avoiding Manitou is because there's so much of it that seating is very reduced--actually strange to us.

We're thinking we'll hit 40 with my wife and me and two little kids and be able to cruise at 20-25, which will be very nice.

Going to Melvin Village Marina in an hour to double-check the layout of the '16 Cruiser 200, which looks to have added a second front recliner, which is exactly what we're looking for. Though we like the center walkthrough in the rear, I think the table in the middle, which we need and don't want to take out and put in all the time, would negate the open floor design. We also like the storage of, and laying on, the rear sundeck.

Hopefully, it'll be as nice as we think and we'll order today!

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It seems Manitou is more about performance than anything else. I'm sure there set up is for ultimate speed. They probably played around with the layout before they ended up with what they did. I love having and open Bow as well as aft, great for fishing but if thats not a concern there's no reason for it, you lose a lot of space. I think you'll like the Harris. Good luck.

[thinkxingu]

Visited the Osippee MVM today and worked with Erin, who was fabulous--very patient with my two toddlers (read: tornadoes) and answered all my questions, maybe the greatest benefit to shopping now.

Anyhow, we agreed on a deal on a Cruiser 200 with tritoon performance package plus and Mercury 150 in blue with silver graphics. Color was real hard to choose--tons of blue boats, but we wanted color and the red seemed to have less punch.

I'm not convinced we would have gotten a better deal at the boat show--we got a great trade-in and 2015 pricing with a nice bonus--but now we can drive our old boat in in a couple weeks and in spring drive away with the new one, which will make the boat shows that much more relaxing!

The rest of the MVM crew was great as well, so we're looking forward to working with them in the future.

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[noreast]

Congratulations, So hard to pick a color. Sounds great.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

Visited the Osippee MVM today and worked with Erin, who was fabulous--very patient with my two toddlers (read: tornadoes) and answered all my questions, maybe the greatest benefit to shopping now.

Anyhow, we agreed on a deal on a Cruiser 200 with tritoon performance package plus and Mercury 150 in blue with silver graphics. Color was real hard to choose--tons of blue boats, but we wanted color and the red seemed to have less punch.

I'm not convinced we would have gotten a better deal at the boat show--we got a great trade-in and 2015 pricing with a nice bonus--but now we can drive our old boat in in a couple weeks and in spring drive away with the new one, which will make the boat shows that much more relaxing!

The rest of the MVM crew was great as well, so we're looking forward to working with them in the future.

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Congrats! Smart move getting the performance package!! That 20' boat is going to go pretty good with a 150 on it. I'm guessing in excess of 40 mph...

Now we want pics or it didn't happen!! 😃😃😃

Congrats!!

Dan

[thinkxingu]

I'll post pics as soon as it's built! Also, question: there are two options for docking lights, under deck and fence mount. I think the fence mount looks nicer and more...factory vs. the under deck, which are just mounted to the bottom of the deck, but am open to others' thoughts. We use them mostly to light the shore when we come in to beach where we keep the boat.

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[Dad sold the C * C]

Congrats also! Yes there are lots of blue boats, but this is YOUR BLUE BOAT And of course you know yours is the BEST shade of blue. ( other than ours )

You will not regret the performance package at all, it really is a different boat.

Now when's Ice out

[chasedawg]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

Visited the Osippee MVM today and worked with Erin, who was fabulous--very patient with my two toddlers (read: tornadoes) and answered all my questions, maybe the greatest benefit to shopping now.

Anyhow, we agreed on a deal on a Cruiser 200 with tritoon performance package plus and Mercury 150 in blue with silver graphics. Color was real hard to choose--tons of blue boats, but we wanted color and the red seemed to have less punch.

I'm not convinced we would have gotten a better deal at the boat show--we got a great trade-in and 2015 pricing with a nice bonus--but now we can drive our old boat in in a couple weeks and in spring drive away with the new one, which will make the boat shows that much more relaxing!

The rest of the MVM crew was great as well, so we're looking forward to working with them in the future.

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Congratulations! The folks at MVM are great.

[FWP]

The entire crew at MVM are the very best people that I have ever met In a bussiness situation, Tom, Matt, Chuck and all the rest of the crew are outstanding People.

[tis]

Originally Posted by chasedawg

Congratulations! The folks at MVM are great.

I must also agree with this!!!

[mfitz]

How are Palm Beach Pontoons?

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by mfitz

How are Palm Beach Pontoons?

Don't know anything about Palm Beach, but my experience owning and shopping for pontoons has led me to a few beliefs: 1. Every brand has their own focus and philosophies for doing what they do, 2. Most brands (all?) have upper and lower level lines, 3. Dealer support, location, and pricing can create a Venn diagram that may be more important than brand.

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[Happy Gourmand]

There are lots of great pontoon boat dealers right on the lake, so you will have many options as far as which brand you will choose.
My recommendation is that you buy a boat from a dealer who is on the lake where you intend to do your boating. That makes it logistically so much easier all around when you require service. Otherwise, you may put up with some little annoyances that could be much more easily dealt with if you could just drop it off for repair at a local, on the water dealer.

[Dad sold the C * C]

I rented several Palm Beach pontoons last year (2014) from Winnisquam Marine. From 18' 25HP to 22' TRI TOON with 200HP and in between. They seemed to hold up as rentals and I think they are a good value.

They are owned by the parent company of Premier pontoons, which I have also rented and bought one this year. Yes you can notice some differences in Fit and Finish, I think the best analogy is the difference between Ford and Mercury in the old days.

I'm reluctant to say much more because I really have not looked at other mid-level pontoons.

From their web site it looks like Irwins has taken over Palm Beach as well as Premier.

[RUGMAN]

I don't see any comments on starcraft, has anybody had any experience.

[noreast]

Like most brands, Starcraft sell's mostly value line, built very well. There higher end, 40 to 60'000 are very nice. they don't offer those 100,000 plus boats but they are a very good brand. They are built by Smokercraft, along with Sylvan and Sun Chaser. They know how to build a boat.

[Kerk]

Been there for 30++ years and can'"t say enough GOOD THINGS about the entire crew. You will be happy with them. JM2cw

[noreast]

Originally Posted by Kerk

Been there for 30++ years and can'"t say enough GOOD THINGS about the entire crew. You will be happy with them. JM2cw

Surprisingly few dealers around for such a large name. I know Ossipee carries Sylvan but I don't believe keep any on the lot,and Greens and Monandnock carry some. Are there any big dealers in Maine for Sylvan or Starcraft? I'm considering a S5 or MX. Sorry to highjack thread.