Thoughts on New Sun Tracker Pontoons?

[jweckley]

I currently have a 1973 Aloha Pontoon. It works but the 1978 Mecury 2 Stroke fights me sometimes and the transom cannot support any more weight. I am thinking of of a 24DLX Sun Tracker Party Barge. Curious on the thoughts and experiences you guys may have had. Any input would be great Thanks!

John

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Thoughts on New Sun Tracker Pontoons?

Have had an '08 Sun Tracker since '09. I find the materials, fit and finish to be on par with most. There are better boats such as Bennington and Avalon but for a lot more money. I do like the 26" pontoons and the layout. If you want to fish, the Regency Edition is not layed out for this. They have other models that are better suited. For a 24' model, don't consider anything less than a 115 hp. If you go with lifting strakes, start at 150 hp. The 4 strokes are quiet, no smoke and great on fuel. Good luck with your purchase.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Thoughts on New Sun Tracker Pontoons?

How much you want to spend? What will you be doing with your boat? Carrying heavy loads of people? Cruising at slow speeds? Pulling skiers and tubers?

A 24' tritoon with 150 hp will run the high $30's with a trailer. The two toon pontoons with 90 hp or more perform well in a straight line, but handle like pigs. But if you're not doing water sports, handling is not a big deal.

Pontoons with 50-60 hp are for old people putting around. I'm old, but I like boats with some excitement.

The whole performance trick is to get a boat with 25" toons, lifting strakes on the hulls and the bottom (between the toons) sealed with aluminum sheeting. With strakes, 90 hp is the minimum, and 115 hp is better. Strakes are good for 5 mph and better fuel usage. Few twin toon pontoons handle more than a 115 hp motor.

When it comes to brands, the top 4 are Bennington, Harris, Premier and Manitou. There are at least another dozen other brands that are very popular like SunTracker, Cypress Cay, JC, Avalon/Tahoe, Berkshire and many others. I would be proud to own any of them.

I have a new Bennington 24' tritoon with the rear facing lounge bed and a Yamaha 150 hp. I'm seeing 41-42 mph and it performs efficiently. I often pass inboard outboard and other boats on the lake, and they cannot believe how great a modern tritoon runs.

Now when it comes to Suntrackers: I don't care for their one price marketing. They advertise relatively low prices, but they'll try to sell you a motor that's too small. And they charge too much for trailers, delivery and dealer prep. If you went the comparable Regency Suntracker model vs. my Bennington, you'd come up spending $3-4K more than my Bennington.

My best suggestion this time of the year is to wait another 6 weeks and visit a big city Boat Show. When you get a bunch of dealers under the same roof, hopefully the prices will be lower. The boat manufacturers also give dealers special incentives for being part of boat shows including free options, a larger motor for the same price, and extended warranties. Seeing all the boats together is a good education on what boats meet your needs.

Try to buy close to home. If you buy from a dealer 100 miles away, any warranty claim is going to take 400 miles driving (going and coming.)

 

[MaPaHa]

Re: Thoughts on New Sun Tracker Pontoons?

I can't give any advice on price but I've got a lot of experience on the boat itself and performance. So here's my input on that part.

EVERYTHING Bamaman1 said on the performance part is right on. Short, sweet and straight to the point.

My current pontoon boat is a 1983 Aloha tri-toon (I added the center toon) with 23 inch x 23.5 foot tubes. It has lifting strakes on all three tubes (added those also) and underskinning (added that too). I repowered it this last year with a '94 Johnson 150, jack plate and a nice performance 4 blade prop and I'm getting just under 40 mph. Turning and handling is great now but was a pig with twin toons without strakes and was not suitable for tubing the way my crew likes to ride a tube. As a tri-toon with a 125 hp on it (an old 140) tubing was great but the speed wasn't there enough for me to ski without sinking a little and working too hard (I'm old too but still like to ski). If you pull tubers then turning is an issue. If you pull skiers then speed is an issue. If you want to do both well then I wouldn't stop short of a tri-toon with lifting strakes and a 150 hp and that's based on a 22-24 foot boat.

 

[jweckley]

Re: Thoughts on New Sun Tracker Pontoons?

I appreciate the input thanks guys. I am mainly using the boat for cruising around find a shady spot to cast a couple lines swing by a sand bar and swim and let the dog off. I do no have any kids and don't plan on tubing or skiing. I see the lake as relaxing and don't need to go or turn fast. If i could run 25 MPH (my current toon runs 18 MPH) maybe 30 that's fast enough. I am on the list to get a slip next year and the current boat work's. I am tired of hauling portable tanks and mixing oil and very tired of taking it on and off the trailer every week. It also makes using it during the week a lot harder as I am 30 miles from the lake. So with the slip i am looking for reliability and ease of use. I don't mind spending the money but I don't think i would want to go over 40K. It seems as the sun tracker units are entry level which is fine a few tunes a few good friends and a slow cruise around the lake is all we really do.

 

[Old Screwball]

Re: Thoughts on New Sun Tracker Pontoons?

We bought a 2012 Sun Tracker 18' Party Barge new in 2012. I opted the largest engine allowed for the transom, a 75hp Merc 4 stroke. Strakes came standard as did most everything else. Whole package, out the door, boat, motor, trailer was just a tad under $19,000. It came with a 13 pitch prop and will run 24.6 MPH all day at WOT with the family on board. Definitely can't ski behind her, and tubing would be lame except for little ones.... B U T for meandering around the river, a barbecue, and a lazy day you can't beat it. My neighbor has a 22' Regency with a HP Merc, and I'm faster. (Picture in your head two 60+ old men drag racing pontoon boats) We 'downgraded' from a 70MPH Go Fast ski boat so it took a little time to get used to the slower pace. Fit and finish, can't go wrong. Tracker makes a fishing version with seating for fishing for a few bucks less. Good Luck!

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Thoughts on New Sun Tracker Pontoons?

I appreciate the input thanks guys. I am mainly using the boat for cruising around find a shady spot to cast a couple lines swing by a sand bar and swim and let the dog off. I do no have any kids and don't plan on tubing or skiing. I see the lake as relaxing and don't need to go or turn fast. If i could run 25 MPH (my current toon runs 18 MPH) maybe 30 that's fast enough. I am on the list to get a slip next year and the current boat work's. I am tired of hauling portable tanks and mixing oil and very tired of taking it on and off the trailer every week. It also makes using it during the week a lot harder as I am 30 miles from the lake. So with the slip i am looking for reliability and ease of use. I don't mind spending the money but I don't think i would want to go over 40K. It seems as the sun tracker units are entry level which is fine a few tunes a few good friends and a slow cruise around the lake is all we really do.

Okay, we're now getting down to what meets your needs. I would suggest you look for a 22' pontoon with a 115 hp 4 stroke engine. It'd be good for 30 mph, but a 22 mph normal cruise speed would be effortless. There's a new 2012 model Bennington at a dealer just west of Nashville @ $28,900, not including a trailer. That's just for comparison purposes.

Most tritoons with 150 hp will set you back just under $40K with a trailer. My 24' Bennington was running 41-42 mph @ 6200 rpm's last week.

I especially like to power a pontoon toward the higher end of the boat's hp ratings. The larger engines run at lower rpms at a cruise speed, and they're running quieter and efficiently when not run so hard (like 50 hp motors). And they're also more seaworthy if you need to run full throttle to escape storms.

 

[jweckley]

Re: Thoughts on New Sun Tracker Pontoons?

Really good input guys. Thanks. I haven't fully decided which direction to go. I have been looking at the different websites and comparing models. I will be attending a boat show in Jan. I hope to get a lot more info then. In the mean time I am going to try and sell my boat. Hopefully find one before the season starts. Did you guys buy showroom models or did you order them. Some of the local guys i have talked to have said not to buy showroom models as people have been all over them messing with switches and kids crawling around them. If its better to order one how do they take for delivery?

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Thoughts on New Sun Tracker Pontoons?

I don't think there's anything wrong w/ buying floor models. May get a better deal and I'm sure any reputable dealer would address any problems you might find. In our case, we ordered ours. We wanted a particular color combination and specific options. Dealer required 10% down until the boat was delivered. good luck !!!

 

[Old Screwball]

Re: Thoughts on New Sun Tracker Pontoons?

I bought our boat at Bass Pro in Las Vegas. They had 4. 1 was opened and on the showroom floor, the other 3 were still in shrink wrap on the storage lot. Mine had to be refitted with the 75hp motor, picked it up 2 days after I ordered it. Nothing but good to say about the boat and dealer.

I should also mention we bought the 18' because it would fit in our garage off season. My neighbor's 22' has to be parked diagnally and takes the whole garage. I can also pull it with an old Jeep. Just something else to consider. We usually launch with 4 adults and 2 kids so we didn't need a bigger boat.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Thoughts on New Sun Tracker Pontoons?

I think you'd be smart to wait for the boat show. You'll have dealers you can play against each other on price. And you can see the difference between brands. Manufacturers often throw in free options and extended warranties to dealers participating in the shows.

I made the mistake of taking my wife to the boat show 2 years ago. Buying a Bennington was her decision.

You can also order a boat that exactly fits your needs and have it delivered before "the season." Ask the dealer to store it for free until April-May. Every experienced pontoon owner will tell you to buy the biggest motor you can afford.