Looking at a tritoon with a Merc I/O

[lmholmes11]

Hey guys, me and the wife have our 92 rinker up for sale and found a tritoon with an I/O Mercruiser. It is a 2004 Weeres 220 Tri-Toon Pontoon.

I have never heard of Weeres before, but at 10k it seems like a good deal. I am however wondering why it is so cheap. I would think an I/O would be more expensive than an Outboard, or isnt this true? From the looks of it the Merc is fuel injected MPI. The guy said its a little weathered and has some scratches and nicks on the outside but we plan on getting it wrapped anyways so not too worried about that for now. Also looking at the picture of the outdrive it looks pretty dirty or "scaley". Is this a major concern or problem?

Let me know what you guys think.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Looking at a tritoon with a Merc I/O

No idea but a IO on a pontoon is a rarity.

 

[lmholmes11]

Re: Looking at a tritoon with a Merc I/O

No idea but a IO on a pontoon is a rarity.

Rarity as in I should just keep looking for one with an outboard?

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Looking at a tritoon with a Merc I/O

I honestly dont know. I have only seen one IO pontoon and have no idea about how good or bad one may be. As a pure guess I think its around 99 % are outboards. I was hoping that others with more knowledge would kick in.

 

[lakegeorge]

Re: Looking at a tritoon with a Merc I/O

Hey guys, me and the wife have our 92 rinker up for sale and found a tritoon with an I/O Mercruiser. It is a 2004 Weeres 220 Tri-Toon Pontoon.

I have never heard of Weeres before, but at 10k it seems like a good deal. I am however wondering why it is so cheap. I would think an I/O would be more expensive than an Outboard, or isnt this true? From the looks of it the Merc is fuel injected MPI. The guy said its a little weathered and has some scratches and nicks on the outside but we plan on getting it wrapped anyways so not too worried about that for now. Also looking at the picture of the outdrive it looks pretty dirty or "scaley". Is this a major concern or problem?

Let me know what you guys think.

Actually they are not that rare, several mfg's make them. I have not heard anything bad about Weeres. I would check it out and go for a ride, then make a decision. Most pontoons are bullet proof.

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Looking at a tritoon with a Merc I/O

Weeres is actually one of the oldest well respected makers of pontoons. Being 22', i'd assume it has the 4.3 mercruiser, hopefully a fuel injected mpi version around 220 hp. An excellent combo for that rig. Just know that it will take a little more maint., but not much. The biggest problem w/ i/o's usually is accessability to the engine when it needs servicing. Since its going on 10 yrs. old, i'd have a marine mechanic check out everything. Well worth the money for your peace of mind. If you're going to have others service the engine, you will pay extra for the extra time involved for mechanics to get to things. If you really liked the boat after a test ride, I wouldn't let the fact that its an I/O stop you. Good luck !!!

 

[MaPaHa]

Re: Looking at a tritoon with a Merc I/O

I’ve been planning for my next pontoon in a few years and was seriously thinking about an I/O. I’ve always liked the idea because of the engine type and many I/O’s I’ve seen on ski boats seem to get better fuel mileage that standard two cycle engines. I’m not sure about four stroke outboards.

I’ve always been a Chevy guy and would have something back there I can change up as needed.

I’m not sure about the weight to horsepower but will be watching this thread.

 

[1960 Starflite]

Re: Looking at a tritoon with a Merc I/O

I have a 3.0 (181cu) 140 HP Merc I/O in my Century V-hull. It uses half the fuel that my 650 Merc outboard does on my pontoon. I wouldn't let the I/O in a pontoon bother me. Also, I think the I/O engines are easy to work on, lots of OEM auto parts will work with them.

As to the buildup of crust/junk on the outdrive, the toon probably has sat in the lake instead of a trailer. Toilet bowl cleaner will help clean it up.