Florida Gulf coast transplant?

[ahicks]

Hi Everyone,
I'm from S.E. Mi, and have had 24' pontoon boats (among others) tied up in front of my house on an inland lake since 1980. Now, looking at used boats for use in/around Ocala, Dunnellon and Crystal River areas of Florida, possibly venturing into the Gulf (salt water) on occasion. We will be trailering every time we use the boat and our primary purpose will be day trips (in fair weather only), exploring mostly, especially at first? No skiing or tubing (got that out of my system a long time ago!)

So, 2 questions really. Hopefully for those with a lot of time/expereince in this general area of Fl.?
First, do I want to stay with a pontoon boat, or possibly go with a (smaller) outboard powered deck boat? Why?

Second, assuming I stay with a pontoon, will probably go with something around 20' (it will just be the 2 of us most of the time), how much power do I need? Current boat here in Mi. is a 24' with 25" tubes and a 40hp Evinrude that will plane the boat out at just over half throttle. That seems like plenty of motor to me, but I read where some suggest maxing out the transom rating (3 x the power I have now?)? For those that might agree with that suggestion, I'm wondering why? If this were a ski boat, I'd get it. A pontoon boat leaves me wondering?

TIA for any thoughts on these subjects! -Al

 

[MinUph]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

Hello Al,
We are in Spring Hill. Just south of Crystal river in Hernando County. We boat from a river call the mud river it is off route 50. Our pontoon is left at a dock there. I have always hated the trailering thing. I have owned many boats up north (Syracuse NY) and this is our first pontoon. We love it. It is an 18' with a 40 hp Honda 4 stroke. It is not a speed demon but we are fine with that. We go out in the gulf whenever we go out. Usually just go to an island and swim and hang out. It is a great place for a pontoon as long as your not in a hurry. It takes us about 20 minutes to get to bayport that is the inlet by us to the gulf. There is also a very nice set of launch ramps there. Crystal river are is also very nice we have been up there but not with the boat.
If you have any more local type questions give me a hollar.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

+1. I'm in Tallahassee and while pontoons aren't necessarily ideal in the Gulf, as long as you check the weather, you'll be fine. Best of all when you ride back up the river to go home, everything gets rinsed clean!

 

[ahicks]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

Hi Steve,
If I may pick your brain a little more? I have no exprerience with 4 stroke outboards. Have never even ridden on one! Does your Honda have any trouble getting your boat on plane/up on top? How does it compare to a similarly rated (horsepower wise) 2 stroke?

Thanks, -Al

 

[MinUph]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

Hi Al,
Don't know who Steve is but maybe you meant me. The honda does get me on plane if thats what you want to call it. I can feel it level out. I don't consider a pontoon a planning hull boat but I guess it does some. As for rating I couldn't say. I'm sure others here might be more spec minded. I like the 4 stroke because its clean (no smoke) much quieter than any OB I've owned before all being 2 strokes. The fastest I have clocked my boat is 15 mph and that was with a tail wind on a calm day (gps).

 

[ahicks]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

Sorry Paul, not sure where I got Steve? OFD....
Yes, I was after your thoughts on the Honda. Not sure I've ever considered a pontoon in terms of displacement vs. planing type hulls, but there's sure a big difference in speed and ride when it's doing whatever it's doing! ;^)

Thanks Much! -Al

 

[brooksville_rebel]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

Hey Al
We are out of Spring Hill. We bought a 24ft pontoon back in June I believe it was. A used 1998 with a 50 hp on it. Max speed for us on GPS has been around 11mph. We go out with me, wifey, buddy or two and 1-5 kids, loaded cooler with food and beer and drinks.
I did a lot of looking and researching and asking about deck/hurricane vs "fishing" boat. We ended up with the pontoon. We decide on it for kid reasons. We had adopted a 4yr old boy and have a 5yr old granddaughter, a 18 month old grand son and now a new born grandson and 3 others in their 20's. My wife loves to fish and scallop. Me I prefer to scuba and take pics not spear. And we figured we spend a lot of time out at the flats with the kids. We knew that going out deep to fish was not gonna be a reality with the pontoon but for our purposes the pontoon figured to serve them better than the other ones. The deck/hurricane were faster but they didn't offer us enough room for kids/coolers and such. Speed wasn't our main concern, room and movement was. Even our 24ft there doesn't seem to be enough room with kids, their stuff, coolers etc. But if we were on the others we definitely would not have had enough room.
We have gone out 3-5 miles from the Hernando Beach channel. We have fished and caught some stuff. Have see a lot of cook water life. Dolphins, sharks, sting rays (in large groups). Been caught in a few storms and the pontoon was fine.
There are some pontoons that fly out there. They are the newer ones. See them hauling *** on their way in and out of the channel.
Kids love it when we are headed in and the big shrimper boats are headed out and make big waves and the pontoon rides them like a roller coaster.
Good luck and hope there was some useful info in all that.
Mark

 

[ahicks]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

Hi Mark!
We're still early on the learning curve, so your info most helpful. Don't underestimate yourself! Thanks for taking the time to write! -Al

 

[ahicks]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

I have another 'transplant' (snowbird) question regarding boat registration (and trailer too I suppose)? As a MI. resident, let's say I buy a boat in FL. that I plan on using there exclusively. No plans on bringing it back to MI. Is the boat to be registered as a Florida boat, or a Michigan boat? Anyone know?

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

Hi ahicks. If you're going to use and store the boat exclusively down here in FL, it should be registered as a FL vessel. The good news is that it's relatively cheap and easy to register your boat and trailer compared to a lot of other states. I just renewed both of mine the other day and it only took 10mins at the DMV and cost about $25-$30 for each. Of course, you can renew them online too, but they then have to mail you the stickers.

 

[ahicks]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

Another 'newbie' question? As a transplant into Florida waters, which will undoubtedly take me onto rivers going out into the Gulf, thinking about GPS navigation? It's become something I use without a second thought in the car (Garmin). Is it/can it be that easy on the water as well?

Do you use one? Coastal or inland charts? Both?

I was on the Garmin site, but saw nothing in the way of info that might give me a better idea of what I need, or what it would look like. Looking for a hand regarding either. Thanks much! -Al

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

Hello again ahicks. Sure you can use GPS out on the water. In fact, lots of folks just use their iPhones. You can download all sorts of apps with all the maps/charts/tide tables, everything you'll need. Someone mention an app for $10 that was amazing. I'll see if I can find the link and post it later. If you want to go all out, you can even mount an iPad in the helm, which is all the rage these days. You may even be able to download a charts package for the Garmin you use in the car and take it on the boat with you. Who knows, they may already be in there, though I doubt. Of course, people lived just fine without gizmos for years and you'll get to know your local water soon enough and asking the locals is always handy too. Otherwise, most rivers/channels, etc.... are very well marked and pretty easy to use.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

I highly recommend a GPS with regular updates to keep track of the ever changing channels in the ICW. some of the smart phone apps would work.

Pontoons can be fun, you just have to watch the weather. I myself would change to a bow rider to handle the rougher water when the weather changes.

 

[kahuna123]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

54 years old born and raised here.

Do NOT buy a hurricane deck boat for the gulf. They are not made for any type of wave (here it comes) If you want a pontoon that's up to you. What you give up in performance and being able to take waves offshore you get back in space. But the main thing you need to decide is what you are going to use the boat for. If its offshore 10 miles a pontoon boat won't work. If its site seeing and close to shore and rivers its fine. You will love a 4 stroke. Just do your self a favor up front and get enough hp so when not if the summer storm catches you the boat can get out of the way. This is the lighting capital of the world for a reason.
You do not want a wood floor pontoon boat here. Also most if not all are not made for salt water. Look for a local manufacturer. Better grade aluminum and wiring and switches made for salt. Much less maintenance.

 

[ahicks]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

To update, we did go with a pontoon (after a lot of research!). We bought a 20' Sweetwater w/25" pontoons and a 50hp Honda for power. I doubt it will ever see anything more than very mild swells. Open water not in our plans! Would have gone with a bigger V hull for sure there (previous Donzi owner).

Back to the GPS, I decided not to go high tech with my phone a long time ago, so IPhones and their apps won't work for me? We have an IPad and a laptop but the thought of using those while aboard doesn't appeal to me?

I like the idea of a dedicated GPS on the water. I'm familiar with Garmin so unless I'm given a good reason to change, prefer to stay with them. What I need to know is, do I need a new one designed for boats, or can I get away with an automotive GPS? If automotive, what do I use for software? The "View Maps" where I just monitor my position, or?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

only a few of the garmin's work for both water and land. most (almost all) of them only have the road maps loaded. the marine units have the channel markers, etc. which is why you should have one. worse case, pick up a Garmin hand-held.

 

[ahicks]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

I do happen to have one of the 'dual purpose' units. A nuvi 550.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

then make sure your maps are up to date and enjoy the water. on a calm day, head a bit south and enjoy the anchorage near Jew Fish key. usually about 200 boats. Currently most of us are avoiding beer can island because of the whole legal battle going on with Longboat key, etc.

 

[ahicks]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

Scott, it's the 'maps' I'm wondering about? Which maps?

 

[OK Toon]

Re: Florida Gulf coast transplant?

Look for any sort of Navionic maps for the Garmin. An earlier post mentioned the $10 app for the smart phones. We have an Android platform phone and the $10 Navionics app is great for our lakes in Oklahoma. And it's updated for free whenever any updates are available for it. Congrats on your "new to you" Sweetwater. Our neighbor has a very nice 24' Sweetwater Tritoon with a 150hp Yamaha 4-stroke. I'm a little jealous because of our 90hp, but it was our first and "learning" boat.