To pontoon or not to pontoon?

Hey all I am thinking about selling my lowe roughneck 40hp tiller and getting a pontoon. I have some questions about pontoons as I have never operated one. I am thinking 18 to 20 feet long with around a 50hp motor. How would it handle on the Mississippi river in fast water with a few people on it? What size kicker would I need to move up stream in fast water? I need 7.5hp on my boat now to go 2mph up stream in fast water. Is it safe to put the helm all the way up front? I have more questions but can’t really remember them right now. But any other input is appreciated. Thinking of switching boats because I have a baby now and the fishing boat is too small and I am usually just putting along any way and it would be nice to camp on and catfish from. Thanks again for the input folks.

I should also add that im thinking about a used pontoon and stripping the deck clear of furniture and using lawn chairs and also changing the solid side railing panels to somthing like chain link or something so the wind wont effect it as much. And I would like to keep the budget around 5-6 grand.

Pontoons are very family friendly and easy to fish from. Be sure to get some sort of top to create shade for the baby and remember that floor will get hot in the sun. Also make sure your tow vehicle can handle it. Get at least a 40hp motor in my opinion.

I have a 20 ft pontoon with a 40 hp Merc on it. IMO spending 5 – 6 grand on it and stripping it down will bring the value down to about 2 – 3 grand. You would be better off spending 1 – 2 grand on a crappy pontoon, stripping it down and fixing it up. If you want a stripped down pontoon, put the money in the motor.

Yes I plan on a top for sure! And I also plan on getting a pontoon that is somewhat run down and stripping it and making it to my liking. 5-6k is the done project budget.

I’ve owned a couple pontoons and really enjoy them. Acouple things to look for…
Large diameter pontoons
Crawl underneath and look at the construction, there are some poorly made toons out there.
I was going to get a 75hp but ended up with a high thrust 50hp. It moves my 22′ full of people just fine.
I understand the thought behind the lawn chair thinking but remember you’re giving up the stability of mounted chairs, a big wave on the river could cause someone to tip over.

I think you’ll enjoy the space, especially for a growing family.

I like pontoons, but I really don’t like fishing from your ordinary, recreational pontoon. It’s hard to land and release fish being so far off the water, and boat control is tough. Steve DeMars has a heckuva fishing pontoon, though!

Old school walleye fishing pro Bob Probst said that a pontoon was the best fishing boat made. I think he may have even fished tourneys with one. Keep in mind that he was from Nebraska though.

I didn’t think about the lawn chairs tipping over. Good thinking! I will work around that and come up with something thanks. And definitely a beefy bunk trailer.

An open bow platform is very useful. 40 HP min. Bigger is a bonus especially when you have distance to cover. Bow mount electric motors are almost necessary when fishing cover. Especially on lakes. Nobody I know that fishes from theirs is without one.

I’ve had a pontoon for 6 seasons now and fish tournaments in it on pool 4 and Mille Lacs. DO NOT move your helm to the front. Pontoons don’t plane out they just push water, with the weight of the helm up front you won’t be able to go any faster than 5mph with out taking on water. Also you won’t be able to mount a trolling motor up front with the helm in the way. If I had to choose a custom spot for the helm on a 20′ pontoon it would be dead center, or centered on the back 1/3 of the boat. This would allow for easy access to the water on all sides to make netting fish easier.

As for the handling, they handle great on the river, especially when going up stream. I usually run my minnkota up front and use my big motor to act as a rudder and steer. On a good day I could run an obstacle course but it can get tricky in the wind when trying to present baits at slow speeds.

You shouldn’t need a kicker motor(I’ve never seen one on a pontoon). My electric can pull me .1-4mph and my 50hp 2 stroke goes about 3mph without wind or current, and about 1.8mph backtrolling without wind or current. If you want to troll 2mph upstream like you said your big motor will be all you need.

Thanks for the advice on the helm position. the reason for puting the helm in the front was to fit a tent on deck.but i will come up with another plan for that. And The reason I am asking about the kicker is as a backup motor only. And I can’t afford a electric trolling motor that can pull a boat up stream. I dont troll I am either catfishing or cruising around. And for some reason I really like high and fast water lol!i really appreciate all the good information so far.

I was thinking about some sort of a trolling motor up front just to help steering at slow speeds in the wind if $ allows it.

Sorry for going slightly off your post but can a pontoon pull kids on tubes or skis? My kids are small but I have been looking at deck boats for that reason, would a pontoon do it?

With a big enough motor, sure. I see it a lot, especially with kids.

markmoran wrote:

Sorry for going slightly off your post but can a pontoon pull kids on tubes or skis? My kids are small but I have been looking at deck boats for that reason, would a pontoon do it?

We have tri-hull pontoons with twin 300hp motors up on Mille Lacs. Pushing 60mph. Heck ya!

-J.

Jon haha 300 is a little overboard for us, how small could pull kids? 50? I see most pontoons have a 40 hp I would want a bigger motor than that but what can do it? I know 90 hp will but does something smaller do it too?

How big is the pontoon? How many kids? How fat are they? How fast you wanna drag ’em? A 10 year old kid on a tube doesn’t need to go any faster then a 25hp motor will pull it. This isn’t the X Games and you don’t want to scare the kids for life on water sports.

They are 7 5 and 3. Nice to know 25 pulls them but looking in the long run hoping to have the boat for years to come.
Thanks

Be sure to wear your Crocs on that pontoon. They have holes in them so your dignity can leak out.

I may not have much dignity but I sure as hell don’t own crocks.

I see used ones all the time and pawn shops and marine shops(I found mine for $200 and this is its 5th season). I have a 24 volt 80# thrust. I always have 4 batteries with so I can troll upstream all day long. on fresh batteries 40% will pull me upstream .8mph in normal conditions.

Thats some good info thanks. What kind of boat??