New to boating, advice needed please!

[tgriff3]

Hi all, our family is relatively new to the boating world so please bear with me as I ask all of my dumb questions!

We have 6 children, the older ones enjoy tubing and waterskiing but the youngest 2 are almost 2 and 4. We are looking at buying a pontoon boat from someone my husband works with. We would likely use this boat for swimming at a lake (central Ohio) and tubing/skiing. We would also likely have at least 7-10 people on it most times.

The boat we are looking at is a 2004 Sweetwater Challenger 24ft with a Yamaha 25hp 4 stroke motor. My concern is that the motor does not have enough hp to pull that many people. The seller is asking 4k for the boat but it is not in the greatest shape so would need cosmetic work. Still, it seems like a decent price as she is including all the accesories like tube, skis, water tramp, life vests, tandem axle trailer and covers (which, if she had USED, the interior would still be nice! ARGH!). So, please give us some advice and tell me if this boat should work for us. We would be using it a LOT next summer and possibly even still some this fall for fishing and just recreation but we don't want to waste our money.

Thanks in advance!
Tina in OH

 

[rrhodes]

Re: New to boating, advice needed please!

25hp will not pull up a skier and tubing will be boring at best. I have a 25' Triple Tube with a 115hp and I top out at 26mph with 3 Adults and 3 kids. Loaded with 5 Adults 2 teenagers 3 kids and pulling a 2 man tube we top around 24mph WOT.

I am not 100% sure but I would expect around 10 - 12 mph with a 25hp on a 24' toon and a light load.

That being said. Depending on the shape $4k is not a bad price. The trailer alone is worthe half that. You will not be happy with the lack of power on a big boat like that.

 

[DJ]

Re: New to boating, advice needed please!

A 24' toon with a 25 HP engine is not going to do anything but give you a very sedate cruise.

With your expected load, a 22' toon would be a minimum and at least a 90 HP engine. 115 would be better yet.

We have two 22' Starcrafts with Merc. 75's. One four stroke, one two stroke. Both will pull skiiers and tubes but they really labor. They won't with six people on board.

Get as much HP as the toon is rated for. Just because you have it doesn't mean you have to use it.

See what that 24 footer is rated for (HP). You may be able to trade that 25 off for something more powerful. A decent used 75-115 HP engine is going to cost you around $4-7,000.00. Some are available right here on iboats.

See link.

http://www.boatmotors.com/rebuilt_outboard_motors/

 

[steelespike]

Re: New to boating, advice needed please!

I fully agree the 25 is basically good to motor around at best probably 10 to 12 mph. and use about 2.5 gph(gallons per hour)at wot(wide open throttle). That said if you double the hp your still only going to be in the 18-20 mph range still really only good for cruising and thats about it on top of that the e 50 will use about 5 gph.But the 50 will be loafing at the same speed the 25 is blowing its guts out.A 115 (almost 5 times the hp) will do about 28
on a good day and use about 11 gph.
The toon is a great platformm for cruising,fishing and water loafing.
The 24 is big enough you could make an over nighter even if you only put up a tent or 2.You could do it up like a home deck with a grill etc.or make a big front porch with rockers and a proch glider etc.Your imagination is the limit.
Just watch your capacities and weight distribution.

 

[phipps]

Re: New to boating, advice needed please!

We have a 24' Sylvan with a 28HP Johnson on it. With my wife, 2 kids and I we get about 10mph on a calm lake with no wind.

I was on the boat a couple days ago with just me, ~230lbs, on a choppy lake with a decent wind and was only able to muster 10mph.

The fastest I've had it was 13mph with my son and I on it on a calm lake with no wind.

The other thing I've discovered with the smaller motor is that you have to have the weight distributed just right, otherwise it's not strong enough to pull the boat up onto plane.

 

[mthieme]

Re: New to boating, advice needed please!

Agree. 25 is way underpowered.
I have a friend who has an 18/20' toon with a Merc 25 on the back. I tease him that he do WOT in the 6 knot zone!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: New to boating, advice needed please!

Here is one safety tip for you. Regardless what you end up purchasing and regardless how much horsepower it has, DO NOT allow everyone to run to the front of the pontoon when you are under way. Before you leave the dock, make everyone sit down and try to have the majority of the people sitting from the center of the boat to the rear. Having everyone up front when you are moving means the water can actually rush over the bow of the deck and you have now created a diving plane which drives the pontoon under water. It won't sink, but people can get hurt or even washed overboard. I've seen it happen by accident and I've seen it happen to idiots that had too many barley pops. Pontoons are very safe boats but like any other, improper operation or careless passengers that can't stay seated.

 

[tgriff3]

Re: New to boating, advice needed please!

Thanks to all who replied! As I suspected the motor on this boat will not be sufficient but we may see what we can do about that. I appreciate all the other advice, especially from Silvertip about weight distribution. We are not "barley pop" drinkers, LOL! But we may have unknowingly allowed all the kids to sit up front and caused a situation. We'll be sure not to do that.

I love the idea of tenting the boat! What a concept. Another dumb question though: what would you do for a bathroom??

 

[DJ]

Re: New to boating, advice needed please!

I love the idea of tenting the boat! What a concept. Another dumb question though: what would you do for a bathroom??

A Porta Potti with a stand up surround type shower curtain.

Both our Starcrafts have this type of feature built in at the stern. Just lift the lid and pull up the curtain and rod.

 

[BMOLCHANY]

Re: New to boating, advice needed please!

It sounds like you have a good deal sitting in front of you. As everyone else has said a 25 hp is too small. I have a 24 ft and a 40 hp on the back and it is nice to cruise with but it is just on the line.

 

[DJ]

Re: New to boating, advice needed please!

I say again, find out what size engine the toon will handle. you may upgrade later.

 

[Captain Trips]

Re: New to boating, advice needed please!

We have a 90 hp and get about 20 mph with five adults on board.I think you will be disappointed with the small motor for anything other than getting out on the water on a calm day. It does sound like a reasonable price though for what you are getting. Just don't have high expectations about any tubing action. The kids will love the experience and you can always trade up!

 

[VaGent]

Re: New to boating, advice needed please!

We have a 90 hp and get about 20 mph with five adults on board.I think you will be disappointed with the small motor for anything other than getting out on the water on a calm day. It does sound like a reasonable price though for what you are getting. Just don't have high expectations about any tubing action. The kids will love the experience and you can always trade up!

Mine is a 20 footer with a Johnson 75hp on it. I don't know the speed as I don't have a speedometer or gps on it yet but when we tested it we had 3 grown adults 2 of which weighed 230 each & one weighing 190, along with 45 gallons of gas aboard & 2 batteries & we estimated the speed at WOT somewhere around 20-25 mph. Mine is a 1986 Riveria with a 18ft deck & has an aluminum canopy & only one couch across the back, one captains chair & the helm. I was impressed with the speed & the smooth ride verses my small bassboat.At my age I "NEED" a softer ride. I won't be using mine for tubing or pulling skiers. Just nice enjoyable weekend outings with my wife & grown kids. My plans are to re-deck it, new carpet, replace the couch & add a few chairs, a couple of builtin coolers, porti-pottie & LOTS of cleaning. SAFETY is my prime concern over noise or a little water splashing on me. I'd like to spend more time enjoying the boat then working on it all the time if possible.

 

[quantico]

Re: New to boating, advice needed please!

The price sounds great... the boat would be underpowered , but a good start in the boating world. The one other thing about pontoons is that kids love to try to sit in front, and have legs hanging off the front of the boat... lots of fun unless the boat is moving... my boat has a four foot area in front of the gate and people seem to want to go to the front while moving around at a slow cruise... this is extremely dangerous and not legal... I know you will be a safe boater and learn as you go... but I wanted to pass along this info before you let any bad habits get started.

I would snap up the boat and play with it as is for a while... then look around for a good deal on a larger engine.. You are much more likely to find a good deal once you start hanging around other boaters, so you will likely find your engine as you go. As stated that price is great and half the money would be fair for just the trailer.