Pontoons

MIL wants to buy a pontoon for the cabin. I want nothing more than to fish but we have a 2 and a 4 year old, BIL has a 3 and a 1 year old, MIL can’t get into a fishing boat without threat of a fall…it just checks the most boxes for us right now. This will be kept on the north end of Mille Lacs. I know next to nothing about pontoons. Looking for advice. Should mention the price point she wants is around 30k.

Any brands I should avoid. I have gathered Bennington is near the top. For that price point I’ve looked into Tahoe, Sylvan, so many I can’t even keep them straight any more.

Have been told a tritoon would be beneficial on Mille Lacs. However none of our neighbors have a tritoon and they seem to do fine. We’re not going to take it out if there are 3-4 foot rollers happening. Thoughts?

Any features that we should definitely be looking to add or avoid? Wouldn’t mind trolling the break line with my boys as opposed to just bobber fishing…would an electric trolling motor even move a pontoon? Do you like the tables that come on them or do they just get in the way?

We’re thinking of a 20 footer. How big of an engine upgrade is needed?

Trailer or no trailer? I’ve been told, but have not confirmed, that a lot of the resorts will rent a trailer or trailer them for you, wrap them, and store them.

Neighbor told me to get the Sea Legs instead of a lift. Any benefit to those? Will it get the pontoon out of the water for those nautical days? Recommendations on lifts?

Sorry to ask so many questions but I figure this is the place for advice. Any and all will be appreciated. Anything else that you can think of to inform me about I’ll welcome that info as well. Thanks to all.

My only boat is a tritoon, and I do a lot of fishing out of it every year. I got it mainly so aging relatives could continue to come out fishing with us but also for a dual purpose boat that we can use to do all of the pleasure activities on.

There are a lot of brands, but don’t get wrapped up into which brand is better. At the end of the day, it’s plywood on two tubes. The differences mostly come into play when you are trying to get top speed for watersports.

I found the swivel seats in the supposed higher end brands like Bennington, Premier, etc to be tight. My knees would hit the walls, the walls would be high anyway, and not much walking room in between them. And the rear livewell was way too massive and took up walking room back there while fishing. The biggest thing for me with most pontoon are the high walls near the fishing seats. I don’t want to have those in the way while fishing.

Don’t worry about tables as most people stow them anyway when not needed.

It’s too late now, but the best thing I did was to crawl around all of them at the boat show. The March Sports Show will have many as well, so that’s your second best option. When I was looking, my choices were down to a Misty Harbor model and a Crest model.

I have a Misty Harbor Biscayne Bay 2285 FS. Fishing features first. 6 pedestal seats, two livewells, low walls at each of the pedestal chairs with room at the knees to swivel on. The tritoon is almost all storage under the boat. Between that and the sundeck storage and underseat storage, just a massive amount. Turboswing over the motor for pulling tubes and skiis.

150HP on the back with a 80lb Terrova on the front. Primary used for Spot Lock, but we troll with it when it’s calm. Most of our trolling is done with the big motor.

We bobber, pull cranks, jig. You name it. When fishing is done, we pull up lines and pull the tube or skis around, anchor and swim, you name it. Then back to fishing for the evening bite. All in one boat without having to shuffle around gear.

Not sure If you’re in sales queenswake but if not you may consider a career change. I want one of those now!!

Alex Fox wrote:

This will be kept on the north end of Mille Lacs.

I’m sure your aware of this, but the waves get quite sizable up there with a southerly wind. Are you intending to keep it at a dock or on a lift there?

Sea Legs would not be my way to moor a pontoon on the north end of Mille Lacs. Not enough lift or clearance. I know of some people who had them in Wahkon and they dragged, fully retracted, at times.
I like and own a tritoon. Pull cranks all the time with inline boards. Not a good night fall trolling platform but I also run Pro V.
Stop at Tramm Welding about 6 miles south of Isle on 47 & see what he can do for you.

We have a 2017 23′ Cypress Cay Tritoon with a 150hp on it that we bought in 2019. With 2 kids and the river just under 2 miles away, it gets a ton of use. I still have my 17′ fishing boat for just fishing, but admittedly the tritoon gets used more and more as the family grows.

I’m on Pool 4 98% of the time with both rigs, but even on the North End of Mille Lacs I think you’d want to go with a tritoon. They’re just so much more stable in rough water and way less picky about how they’re loaded and where people/gear are sitting.

I’d not bother with sea legs. They are expensive, heavy, and wouldn’t give me a ton of confidence leaving them as my docking option unless I was right there and knew the forecasts. Options I would definitely get are vinyl flooring (anything besides carpet), be sure the front and back have extra deck outside of the walls/gate, if you opt for a trailer get a bunk style (although it sounds like you may not need one), and don’t go less than 90hp on the outboard. If you want to ever pull anyone around or cruise at over 15mph, I’d go 115hp+.

$30k won’t get you into any new tritoon post-Covid crap, but there are lightly used deals around that I’d look into before going with a 20′ regular pontoon. Your kids are only going to get bigger, want to do more, and probably have their friends tag along also. Anyone who tells you one brand is lightyears better than anything else is full of BS. There are 5-6 brands that are top of the line, and another 5-6 that are mid-tier options that cost a little less with fewer bells and whistles.

We would be keeping it on a lift for sure. The rollers get big up there for sure. Days like that we just don’t bother to go in the water lol. Hence I’m not sure if a tritoon is needed for stability as someone told me.

For a family, a pontoon or tritoon is hard to beat.

That being said, traditional pontoons do tend to roll quite a bit more than tritoons in waves.
You should also be aware, pontoons and tritoons have a substantial wind profile, and they float high in the water, which makes them much more difficult to control or keep in place – much more difficult to put on a trailer or dock/lift. An electric motor will struggle to maintain control even in a moderate wind. On a lake like Mille Lacs for family use, I honestly would forego a bow-mounted electric motor. Takes up too much space and offers only a small benefit.
Be sure to get way more anchor than you think you’ll need (at least two) along with plenty of anchor line – a pontoon is recommended to use a minimum of 5 times as much anchor line out as the water is deep.

My parents live on the north end of Mille Lacs also. They went through this same thing last year. They ended up going with a Harris 24 foot pontoon with a 115HP motor. They used it a ton last year and never regretted not getting a tritoon. They had Sealegs put on it and never had an issue with the big storms up there.

Not sure where on the North end you are at, but it is very shallow where my parents are and they would never get the pontoon on a lift, so Sealegs are a must if you are going to keep it in the water.

My dad has a 24V 80lb trolling motor on the front of it, and it pulls that thing around alot better than I thought it would. It has a nice quick detach plate that you barley notice when the motor in not installed.

My parents got one a few years ago, and it was the best purchase they’ve made since buying the cabin itself. A 20 footer may not have enough capacity for the whole group, so make sure you pay attention to that. We have a 20 foot and while it fits all 10 of us (me, wife, 2 kids, brother, his wife, 2 kids, and Grandma/Grandpa) it is only rated for 9. And it’d be nice to bring some company out occasionally too, so a slightly larger one would have been a better choice. If you go sea legs you will need a much larger engine, those things are heavy and weigh it down quite a bit. Also on ML I’d want a little bigger engine to get home quick if need be. My parents is a Sweetwater, which is mid-lower price range, but it’s nice and does what we need it to. If they are open to used you can probably get everything you’re looking for in a 20+ foot. They also rent a trailer when needed, which works well for them since it never leaves their lake.

I’ll agree that you will probably want to look for at least 22′. My MIL upgraded from a 20′ to 22′ a few years back, and it’s nice having the extra space/capacity.

She’s got a Montego Bay. It’s not a Bennington, but it’s a nice boat and is holding up well. It has a 90 Etec. If water sports are at all in the plan, I would go at least 115.

Our neighbors have Sea Legs. It seems like a hassle having to put the cover on and off all the time. Also, their pontoon ended up upside down in a storm last summer. The new one has Sea Legs, too. Of course, we’ve had storm damage to lifts, as well.

Total agreement, though, that they are fantastic family fun.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

I’ll agree that you will probably want to look for at least 22′. My MIL upgraded from a 20′ to 22′ a few years back, and it’s nice having the extra space/capacity.

She’s got a Montego Bay. It’s not a Bennington, but it’s a nice boat and is holding up well. It has a 90 Etec. If water sports are at all in the plan, I would go at least 115.

Our neighbors have Sea Legs. It seems like a hassle having to put the cover on and off all the time. Also, their pontoon ended up upside down in a storm last summer. The new one has Sea Legs, too. Of course, we’ve had storm damage to lifts, as well.

Total agreement, though, that they are fantastic family fun.

Bennington would not be my first choice. Our friends have had constant issues with a brand new tritoon. Leaking center tube, chairs breaking, vinyl flooring having bubbles, and a cracked console within 2 years of ownership. There are other mid-upper end pontoons that are nicer and better bargains

buckybadger wrote:

Bennington would not be my first choice.

I just threw that name out there as it’s widely recognized as one of the higher-end pontoons.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

Also, their pontoon ended up upside down in a storm last summer. The new one has Sea Legs, too. ) Of course, we’ve had storm damage to lifts, as well.

What lake was that on? You often hear of docks and lifts getting ripped apart on Mille Lacs when an inland hurricane blows through. Plus the north end of that lake gets freaking shallow in the sand too.

gimruis wrote:

What lake was that on?

Games Lake in Kandiyohi County. Only 520 acres, but it can and does happen. I woke up to an upside down dock and missing boat lift once (it ended up in front of the neighbor’s cabin). That was a fun call to the MIL.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

Only 520 acres

Yikes. Ya you wouldn’t think that sort of damage could happen on such a small lake, but clearly it can. If I had lake shore property on Mille Lacs, I don’t think I would even keep my boat out there. Unless it was on a bay with some protection from the elements.

Lots of pontoons on sea legs on the north end. With the shallow water and most of the big blows coming out of the west, the north end doesn’t get too crazy.

We are in the process of looking at pontoons right now too. Not a great time to do it so it seems. New ones are pricey and there isn’t much for a used market.

One piece of advice I have been told that made a lot of sense. Buy the pontoon that fits your lake on a Saturday. Think of the typical amount of people you would have out on the boat during the weekend and what the lake is usually like. Being we are on a large busy chain of lakes, it made me decide that I want a tritoon to make sure I can comfortably and safely take 8-12 people out when there is a ton of boat traffic.

I know the typical IDO answer is go big or go home. But in my situation, it makes sense to the wife and I

I appreciate the insight guys. Keep it coming.

I’m gathering that sea legs are great for shallow water, which we have. And not for big waves, which we can get. 2 summers ago our water was ankle deep past our dock. Typically it’s about knee deep where the current lift is. Should mention that this is not a permanent home. We’re up there on weekends mainly. Not sure leaving a pontoon on sea legs for 7 to 14 days unattended is a safe play. I do see you can buy a canopy to put over your pontoon while it’s on sea legs so we wouldn’t have to worry about fussing with the cover, but now we’re past the price of just a normal lift.

Alex Fox wrote:

I do see you can buy a canopy to put over your pontoon while it’s on sea legs so we wouldn’t have to worry about fussing with the cover, but now we’re past the price of just a normal lift.

Also, you would have to anchor the heck out of it or it would become an expensive kite.

Good point!

Another option to consider. If you are relatively close to a resort with a protected harbor, rent a slip for the season. Not as expensive as you might think and no putting in and pulling out a boat lift every year.

Sea legs would be great to use during the times you can keep an eye on the pontoon. Would not leave a boat on sea legs unattended all week.

-J.

Crest was the most robust well built pontoon when I was looking at all of them about 7 or 8 years ago as far as the tubes,cross members and plywood. They also have a fishing line called angler quest that is pretty sweet. I normally fish the rivers and would not recommend any shorter than 22′ for use on anything larger than a small puddle. It only takes a few well spaced rollers to stuff the bow. I am not sure how much it takes as I don’t have enough but get a big enough motor to be able to lift the bow to avoid the submarine effect. A 80lb trolling motor will work pretty well if it doesn’t get in the way when not using it. I trailer mine everywhere so I don’t know about lifts or legs. But I do know from experience that the trailer that a dealer would most likely offer is junk and way under built for actually towing a toon farther than a few miles at a time safely. Find a used one if you can, you will get a lot more for your $ that way these days.

Looking back when we were tritoon shopping, the brands I was in that felt the nicest were:

-Harris
-Crest
-Avalon
-Godfrey
-Barletta
-Manitou
-Cypress Cay
-Bennington (although I’ve heard horror stories on issues down the road)

Brands I felt were lacking in comparison:

-Sun Tracker
-Lowe
-Bentley
-Qwest

***Keep in mind there are different lines within each company and price points. I’m just going off of ones I crawled around in and looked at before purchasing. Some of the different brands out there are manufactured by the same companies as well.

They have a boat show in March, I would plan spending the day down there.

Gotta buddy that use to be CEO of Nautic Global Group out of Elkhart Indiana.
The pontoon capital of the world. We went down a couple 4th of July’s to his lake place. Most people had 26’ers with 300hp and the speed limit on the lake was 20 but they had some bad a$$ toons out there.

His company which made Godfrey, Sweetwater toons and the Hurricane was bought by Bennington who was then purchased by Polaris.

BTW – I love my South Bay

I have a 20 ft 1999 Bennington. I’ve had it for over 20 yrs now. It has treated me well. I hate the mercury motor on it (40 hp). But the boat has held up well for its age. The lake at the cabin is less than 400 acres. I would highly recommend a 22 or 24 ft pontoon. 90% of the summer at the cabin, I use the pontoon over my Alumacraft (2015 Trophy). I normally keep my fishing boat at home to fish the Croix.

Maybe someone has mentioned it on the thread, but the most important thing about a pontoon is the layout in my opinion. Our old pontoon had a bench seat in back, so while I was in the captains chair, the gal and dogs were sitting behind me…not ideal. Now on our 2015 Sweetwater we have bench seating right across from the captains chair..much better.

There are so many different layouts that you really need to figure out how you’re going to use the boat.

Also, fishing out of a pontoon kind of sucks to be honest. Just too high up out of the water..but that’s just me.

stout93 wrote:

Also, fishing out of a pontoon kind of sucks to be honest. Just too high up out of the water..but that’s just me.

I agree, but some guys love it. More than one way to skin a cat.

I’ve got a 2007 Premier 25 foot 251 Castaway pontoon that I have had on the St Croix for 16 years. I keep it in a marina north of Stillwater and they put it in each spring and take it out each fall and store it over the winter. When I need motor or equipment services Warner’s Dock comes and picks it up and returns it when completed.
I had a 16 foot Alumacraft fishing boat when I bought the pontoon but I ended up never using it because the pontoon was always in the water and ready to go. I sold the fishing boat during the pandemic when everybody was looking for boats.
My 2007 Premier is looking its age now and needs some cosmetic work. Last year I invested in a new electronics and trolling motor package. I got the new Helix 10 Humminbird and the MinnKota 80lb 24 volt Terrova with the ILink. If you are getting a pontoon for fishing put that at the top of your list. I do a ton of dragging and trolling and that ILink package is awesome.
This year I think I am going to strip out a lot of the furniture that has reached the end of its life expectancy. Much of the original cushioned furniture is cracked and worn out from the sun and weather over the last 16 years. I’m going to use this season to strip the boat bare and use temporary furniture to determine what I actually need. I mostly fish now so I’m trying to open the boat up. I’ll add permanent seating as I need it – for me less is better. Its primarily a fishing boat now. The grandkids are all in college and the days of pulling tubes and jumping out of the boat are pretty much gone.
After 16 seasons of pontoon use on the St Croix river here is a list of things I would recommend you consider if getting a pontoon boat.
• Get vinyl flooring. That is pretty much standard now. I’ve still got the original carpeting and have vinyl in the back of the boat for fishing. Wish I had vinyl throughout the boat.
• I had what was called Performance Sheeting installed when I bought the pontoon. A really good option during windy days with high waves. It helps the boat slide through the waves without pounding the crossbeams through the waves.
• I had lifting strakes for the pontoons which help it jump to plane faster. I don’t know if that is an option today or not.
• Looking at todays pontoons I would recommend a tritoon.
• I saw an option from one pontoon maker that had the middle pontoon accessible for storage. That would be a pretty cool option if available. Storage is always wanted.
• I had my pontoon installed with a large bimini top with the Day Enclosure. I have to tell you that the Day Enclosure was the best option I did. You will find yourself fishing early in the spring after ice out and late into the fall when most everybody else is sitting at home.
• I pretty much leave my bimini top up all the time and hang all my rods up in the bimini for rod storage. Tucked away but easy to get at when needed.
• Get the Change Room with the Porta Potti Riser installed. The female family members will appreciate that option.
• Get the trolling motor harness at the front of the boat and the quick disconnect on the trolling motor. When you are going for an evening family pontoon cruise it only takes a few minutes to pull the electric motor and get it out of the way.
• I use a MinnKota on board battery charger for the trolling motor. My marina slip has electric available and I charge everything up between trips. Last year in 2022 I did 70 fishing trips so I spend a lot of time on the water.
• Get LED docking lights for coming in to the marina at night.
• I have a large box anchor (the biggest I could find). It is heavy and sometimes a pain in the butt to deploy but it folds up and stores easily. I also have an extra large wind sock and use it quite a pit.
• I hope this gives you some ideas.