New to boats and this sight

[hailbun]

My girlfriend and I are looking for a used pontoon boat. We found a Godfrey tri toon that has had the pontoons replaced with Rettey pontoons. Does anyone know if this is a good pontoon and if a tri toon is better or worse than 2 pontoons. The boat is about 18' long with a 50 HP motor and appears in good shape, just don't know about the pontoons. Thanks to all.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: New to boats and this sight

Welcome to iboats!

We are fortunate to have an iboats member who works at a pontoon factory. I will move this to the Pontoon section and I am sure you will get some good responses.

 

[5150abf]

Re: New to boats and this sight

Godfrey has made pontoons since the beggining of time, actually 1954 I think i could be wrong on that but it has been a really long time.

The older ones are better than the new ones so if it is 4-6 years old it is a good boat.

Can't say I have ever heard of Rettey but to a tube are tubes and if the guy went to the trouble and expense to replace the tubes he probably took pretty good care of the boat, they are far from cheap.

Tri tube baots are better just because of the extra flotation but there is nothing wrong with a 2 tube boat either, about 97% of our boats are 2 tubers.

Jus tlook it over good, you say it is in good condition so there is a plus and if the new tubes are crappy it will be obvious even to someone who doesn't know boats.

 

[Jeff-in-PA]

Re: New to boats and this sight

Welcome. You mention you're "new to boats". I suggest both you and the gf take the USCG Safe Boating course. Not only will it give you an understanding of the rules of the water, it's also good for a discount on your boat insurance ( I get a 10% from State Farm )

Jeff

 

[lncoop]

Re: New to boats and this sight

I had a '98 Sweetwater (made by Godfrey) the same size. It was a GREAT boat, but I had to get rid of it because my girls made me get them a bigger one. I still miss that little rig. Ditto the safety course recommendation. It will save you many a dollar and headache and maybe even a life someday. Good luck!

 

[steelespike]

Re: New to boats and this sight

A 2 toon is pretty slow your tri tune will make the 50 quite a bit faster.
They run more like a regular boat.
I like the toons because you can make them into almost anything.
a floating patio,an over nighter a terrific fishing platform,diving platform
the skys the limit.

 

[VaGent]

Re: New to boats and this sight

I have a 1984 JC pontoon that I am completly rebuilding from the ground up. It has a 1987 Johnson 70 on it & I wish I could find as good a running Johnson 50 as the 70 is because I would trade for it & put it on my pontoon in the blink of an eye. I am not into the "need for speed" at all & care far more about gas consumption & "crusing along merrily" then how fast can I get somewhere.

Like the poster above stated, you can build it "your way" & make it fit your lifestyle & enjoy it far more then you can believe. Not to mention the pride of knowing you did it "your way". I can't do that with my bass boat. I am "old & slow" & I need a boat that will keep up with me & my pontoon fits the bill just right. I've had more fun on it then I have ever had with my bass boat including the time I caught that 42 pound large mouth bass that got away before I could actually weigh that sucker. LOL

 

[gmc1962]

Re: New to boats and this sight

As was said before Triple toons give you more floatation....But they also cause more drag in the water. If you have tons of power the triple is lots of fun when they are set-up right. Of course with a 50 hp you are not going to be a speed demon. Make sure you prop is well below the bottom of the toons with any boat you buy. Cavitation is a big problem and the dealers don't let you know.....Take care.