outboardrick
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Ok, let me try to stay with the criteria.
2005 Playcraft Tritoon
26 ft
300hp 350 Merc Mag
Bravo 3 Drive
Pros:The platform is awesome if you want a pontoon. I came from small performance boats and just got tired of getting beat to death on the weekends. I'm a simple guy and don't care about all the fluff, I just wanted the performance aspect and had ridden in a friends Playcraft many years ago and was sold. When I decided to get a pontoon I started to shop around and found a really nice JC and went for a ride. The JC just plowed through the water and I really did a second thought on the pontoon deal until I got another friend with a Playcraft to give me a ride. There is a HUGE difference in the boats that don't have lifting strakes on the bottom. I know most of the newer tritoons have lifting strakes now but I have no experience in them. I said earlier that I came from performance boats but I failed to mention that they were tunnel boats, or more correctly, Mod VP boats. I have a lot of experience in tunnel type boats and this pontoon boat drives more like a tunnel boat than a tunnel boat does
With the B3 drive, the boat will actually trim at a just off idle speed, which means that if you're in really rough water you can have a nose up attitude at 10mph. The B3 drive is like having 4wd on water, absolutely awesome traction. Just be careful about backing off a beach, a little too much throttle and you will swamp the whole beach, that's how much water it throws. The ride is probably best described better by someone who has been in other boats. All my friends have said it is the best they've ever been in. I've only been in one Magic deck boat and it sucked compaired to the pontoon, especially in rough water. I have just one large bimini top but that's just my choice, it works well and I don't have to look past a front one. The boat will do 47mph on a very good day, 43-45 normally, and I have a GPS speedo and I'm a racer so I've done all the prop work/changes. I like to cruise at 30ish and it gets great mileage with the 300MPI. It rides awesome and will plow through the rough water like it wasn't even there.
Cons: The boat has so much mechanical lift (lift strakes on the pontoons) that it tends to "trip" on itself in rough water if you're trying to go fast. That's about all.
Overall I couldn't be happier. I did a lot of research before I ordered this boat and although it's not the most luxurious boat out there, Bennington and JC make a very nice boat, I felt that the performance of the Playcraft was what was most important to me.
Rick
2005 Playcraft Tritoon
26 ft
300hp 350 Merc Mag
Bravo 3 Drive
Pros:The platform is awesome if you want a pontoon. I came from small performance boats and just got tired of getting beat to death on the weekends. I'm a simple guy and don't care about all the fluff, I just wanted the performance aspect and had ridden in a friends Playcraft many years ago and was sold. When I decided to get a pontoon I started to shop around and found a really nice JC and went for a ride. The JC just plowed through the water and I really did a second thought on the pontoon deal until I got another friend with a Playcraft to give me a ride. There is a HUGE difference in the boats that don't have lifting strakes on the bottom. I know most of the newer tritoons have lifting strakes now but I have no experience in them. I said earlier that I came from performance boats but I failed to mention that they were tunnel boats, or more correctly, Mod VP boats. I have a lot of experience in tunnel type boats and this pontoon boat drives more like a tunnel boat than a tunnel boat does
With the B3 drive, the boat will actually trim at a just off idle speed, which means that if you're in really rough water you can have a nose up attitude at 10mph. The B3 drive is like having 4wd on water, absolutely awesome traction. Just be careful about backing off a beach, a little too much throttle and you will swamp the whole beach, that's how much water it throws. The ride is probably best described better by someone who has been in other boats. All my friends have said it is the best they've ever been in. I've only been in one Magic deck boat and it sucked compaired to the pontoon, especially in rough water. I have just one large bimini top but that's just my choice, it works well and I don't have to look past a front one. The boat will do 47mph on a very good day, 43-45 normally, and I have a GPS speedo and I'm a racer so I've done all the prop work/changes. I like to cruise at 30ish and it gets great mileage with the 300MPI. It rides awesome and will plow through the rough water like it wasn't even there.Cons: The boat has so much mechanical lift (lift strakes on the pontoons) that it tends to "trip" on itself in rough water if you're trying to go fast. That's about all.
Overall I couldn't be happier. I did a lot of research before I ordered this boat and although it's not the most luxurious boat out there, Bennington and JC make a very nice boat, I felt that the performance of the Playcraft was what was most important to me.
Rick
