We used to have a cabin on a lake that was about 10 miles long-Our neighbor had a pontoon with a 5hp motor, if he had a guest over he would get a case of beer and give his guest a tour of the WHOLE lake, putting along.It took hours.
Last week I saw a pontoon with TWO 300hp engines. A pontoon needs 600 hp? you need to be able to have 10 people on board while you pull 2 skiers?
Slow down, chill, that is what the lake is about!
Wow that’s a lot of HP! Probably has more to do with showing off you’re money than any practicality. My 60hp Honda 4 stroke pushes my 20 foot pontoon just fine around our 5000 acre reservoir even with max people on it.
Status. I saw one with twin 350s on a lake up north – sink and champagne chiller on the deck. I think I saw one similar on Pokegama at the Zorbas. I’d guess they are a fraction of a percent of MN toons.
Wakeboats are commonly 150k and you can pay over 200k if you want.
Those things are a nightmare on a trailer. Luckily most people just dock them on the lake and leave them there all season but moving one on the road is extremely cumbersome.
Fish whitefish chain and you realize its just another pontoon, lol.
Fish whitefish chain and you realize its just another pontoon, lol.
True statement
Gull chain has three uniforms people put on. Pontoons with 250hp and 300hp the most common. There’s 2 with twins I know about and one with a single 400. Wakeboats are booming here. Then some really nice fishing boats and a few more modest. The modest pontoon or family runabout is now the exception
Of course nobody needs twins on a pontoon. Do we really boats like a 20ft skeeter/ranger with a 300hp vmax motor to catch a fish? What happened to the old bench seat aluminum with a 25 on the back? Point is, this desire for bigger, better, faster, fancier is cultural and true across more than just pontoons.
Not a pontoon but came across this on whitefish chain. Never saw it being used but sure looked nice tied up to the dock.
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On big water you will see some big pontoons. My lake is 5 miles long and I sure wish mine was faster. I I have a 40 but I’ve seen up to 150 on my Lake.
I know that house lol, yeah we just stupid here. I love the sound the 400r in the morning ripping across the lake.
Not a pontoon but came across this on whitefish chain. Never saw it being used but sure looked nice tied up to the dock.
That does look awesome! Wonder what that goes for? I don’t begrudge anyone who has money and I enjoy seeing what those who have the means spend it on it’s always interesting! As the saying goes if ya got it flaunt it!
I see some very large tri-toons on Mille Lacs. They actually do pretty well in big rollers.
-J.
Tritoons on Pool 4 with 150-400hp outboards are not uncommon. Looking at prices for them nearly makes me gag. It’s shocking how stable and fast they are in rough water with the third pontoon and the lifting strakes.
The twin motor setup allows you to have joystick controls, which, once you try it, especially with a large boat or pontoon that can be difficult to control in windy or tight conditions, you will never want to maneuver a boat without it. I can’t explain to you how convenient and accurate it is. Amazing. You pull up to a dock on the downwind side with a 20 mph wind, and a 28 foot long pontoon full of people will essentially push itself perfectly sideways into the wind and draw up tight to the dock just by pushing a joystick.
A 32′ Tri-toon with twin 450R Mercury’s on back and joystick controls would be perfect for me. Who doesn’t love horsepower? The rumor is that twin 450R’s will push a 28′ tri-toon to 75 mph plus! Twin 300 Evinrude’s will do steady 66 mph downstream on the St. Croix with 8 people on board – GPS measured, and is absolutely stable.
I can putt putt around the lake just fine, and when that Centurion with the rap “music” too loud needs their ego checked, it will do that too. You can tell by the look on a 20 year old kid’s face when he and his friends get passed by the old guy in a pontoon boat that they know to take their explicit lyrics elsewhere. I can tell you that twin 300’s when trimmed correctly will throw a MONSTER rooster tail, twin 450’s would be spectacular.
I was a kid once too, but I was mostly respectful, and I don’t think everyone on a lake needs to hear the F word and N word all day long just so the kid can try to impress his friends while running wide open next to families in their fishing boats – even if it’s legal, 200 feet is too close to go by at 50 mph. I have a strong instinctive desire to fix problems in a creative way.
I may be mature, but I have a strong immature streak in me as well. Apparently I have a tendency to go off on a tangent as well. Sorry for that, now back to pontoons with lots of horsepower.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Charles wrote:</div>
Fish whitefish chain and you realize its just another pontoon, lol.True statement
Gull chain has three uniforms people put on. Pontoons with 250hp and 300hp the most common. There’s 2 with twins I know about and one with a single 400. Wakeboats are booming here. Then some really nice fishing boats and a few more modest. The modest pontoon or family runabout is now the exception
Of course nobody needs twins on a pontoon. Do we really boats like a 20ft skeeter/ranger with a 300hp vmax motor to catch a fish? What happened to the old bench seat aluminum with a 25 on the back? Point is, this desire for bigger, better, faster, fancier is cultural and true across more than just pontoons.
I definitely agree with this. Tons of $60K+ Pontoons, wakeboats, and fishing boats roaming around the White fish chain and Gull. We do have to remember those are 2 of the wealthiest cabin lakes in the state. I am sure many times its about showing off to friends and neighbors, but people have a right to spend their money how the please and where they get enjoyment (I am no one to judge).
I had a great time in buddies older Lund tiller the other weekend and the fish definitely didn’t care. Helps keep things in perspective for me I guess, because I sometimes fall into that trap of wanting more, bigger, better etc.
I think someone was fishing on Big Sandy!
Not a pontoon but came across this on whitefish chain. Never saw it being used but sure looked nice tied up to the dock.
Why didn’t you stop in and say hi? I’d have taken you out for a ride.
As a side note, I probably didn’t need quads on this boat. Triples would have been adequate.
Grouse
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Stanley wrote:</div>
Not a pontoon but came across this on whitefish chain. Never saw it being used but sure looked nice tied up to the dock.Why didn’t you stop in and say hi? I’d have taken you out for a ride.
As a side note, I probably didn’t need quads on this boat. Triples would have been adequate.
Grouse
Well I had the family with and didn’t think there would be room for everyone 
Fished with a guy, we would sometimes take my boat sometimes his-Then he buys this big bass boat and had to buy a big truck to pull it, so he starts hitting me up for gas money-I said “I have to give you money because you need to compensate?!”
Was a nice boat though. I don’t really begrudge people and their spendy toys, just wish more lakes had speed or horsepower restrictions, that boat was a tri, interesting about the joystick thing, would like to see that in action, maybe I should ask the guy if I could try it!
I like some of the features on some of the new pontoons. A pontoon is a part of the water. No need for horsepower, you aren’t trying to get anywhere. I’d throw a 50hp on one of those tricked out pontoons and would be good.
You aren’t trying to get anywhere-well said
My boat broke down on the first day of a year long awaited trip to Nipigon with my daughter and nephew.
I was fortunate enough to have a friend who spent most of his summer at the camp and he had a 24′ pontoon with 90 Merc 4 stroke. He offered us the boat for the week and I gratefully accepted.
I traveled into the lake on 70 mile round trips and found the platform as a fishing vessel to be slightly difficult with the bimini top and higher platform for handling large pike but in other ways very cushy and easy to take much gear. Just used the net more and we all had our own section of boat.
As far as traveling around the lake it was wonderful. I easily handled 6′ easy rollers as there is such a thing up there, without little fear of sinking. Had 1 wave go right over the top in heavy seas.
Needless to say it was one of the most memorable trips up there and the pontoon made me think I could use one of these for a trip into a wilderness lake no problem.
I stopped to look at a couple Lund v’s last year at a dealer in Dubuque. They had 10 new pontoons sitting on the lot. Not one of them had a motor less that a 150 hp. 
I like some of the features on some of the new pontoons. A pontoon is a part of the water. No need for horsepower, you aren’t trying to get anywhere. I’d throw a 50hp on one of those tricked out pontoons and would be good.
You live in Florida now. A nice pontoon is a half dozen 55 gallon drums and some old plywood down there. Add a boom box and some plastic lawn chairs and you’re riding in Florida style.
What most people do not think about is the higher the hp the deeper the disturbance to the water column and if disturance reaches the bottom nutrient in the sediments are put back into suspension for plants, etc and therefore green lakes. Think about that next time when you see a large hp motor on the lake, especially shallow lakes.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mplspug wrote:</div>
I like some of the features on some of the new pontoons. A pontoon is a part of the water. No need for horsepower, you aren’t trying to get anywhere. I’d throw a 50hp on one of those tricked out pontoons and would be good.You live in Florida now. A nice pontoon is a half dozen 55 gallon drums and some old plywood down there. Add a boom box and some plastic lawn chairs and you’re riding in Florida style.
You Yankees! That attitude is why you lost the war.
If ya ain’t got the $$ to buy those fancy ones ya gots to build your own.
Lotsa small peckers out there…
Ive seen that one, too. I asked them how big the gas tank was? I know it sounds crazy, but I think he said 500 gallons. I had a couple bumps that night so maybe I’m not 100% sure.
Not a pontoon but came across this on whitefish chain. Never saw it being used but sure looked nice tied up to the dock.
Don’t know how accurate it is but somebody once told me that outboards are about 100 dollars per horsepower so the engines alone would be worth 160k. Jeez
This was the owner of Premier Pontoons on Lake Vermilion. Wow.
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