Crawl under the boat with a great flashlight!! If you see Whitehorse or black blotches that's rot!!! Start with reputable dealer lots old folk die every day and family get rid of boats!!!!
I'm thinking of moving up to a pontoon boat since I have at least 4 folks including my 2 grandsons who like to go fishing with me. I'm looking at buying used. So what are some the pitfalls I need to be aware of? From what I can tell most all decks are carpeted. Other than feeling for soft spots under the carpet, how do I determine the quality of what lies beneath? Also is there anyway to determine if the pontoons have pinholes in them?
Thanks.
Crawl under the boat with a great flashlight!! If you see Whitehorse or black blotches that's rot!!! Start with reputable dealer lots old folk die every day and family get rid of boats!!!!
See if you can find a used fishing model if fishing will be what it is used for. They are set up with fishing seats up front and in the back for fishing. I recently bought a used 22 ft crest fishing model with a 140 hp Johnson 4 stroke at a good price. Pontoons will need a bigger trolling motor because of there size and tendency to be blown around in windy conditions. If pontoons have water in them they will sit lower in the water. The flooring is easy to check.
I lucked into an aluminum floor on mine. I find many without a trailer. A new trailer is more expensive than some old pontoons out there. I basically found a good core. Had the motor electronics gone through and the carbs redone. Have in mind how much you want to spend and be picky and be careful buying out of state.
thinkingredneck LIKED above post
At first, I hated pontoon boats! But the more and more I think about their uses, the more I like them.
I'm seriously thinking of buying a pontoon as my next boat. Just so useful!
Get an I-pilot trolling motor. I can't use mine (24 volt 70lb thrust) in winds greater than 3mph. Have 21' Lowe.
That would be a great boat for 4 people to fish and be safe pontoon
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First, have clean title in hand, lots of bargains with no titles. Need good anchors, I used my trolling motor on ours worked fine on clam day.
I also found an older Sun Tracker with the aluminum deck. Nice to never worry about rot. Nice to have all the floor space.