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Pontoon vs deck boat

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Help me decide on my next boat. I apologize in advance for the run on and hope it makes sense.

So I currently have a pontoon 21' Ercoa hextoon with a 350 MPI/ alpha seats 12. It will run 35 on a good day. Thinking about getting a new to us boat. I like pontoons as I like to beach so the kids and dogs can get on and off as they please, and like that I don't worry too much about the bottom of the toons. up to now I've been liking the play craft because i think it would be faster and i love the rear steps in the toon. They are pretty hard to find used that aren't crazy expensive so I started thinking about an older deck boat like an Advantage party cat or something but worry about destroying the bottom when beaching on a rocky shore.

I guess Im looking for options I'm not thinking about. Criteria 22-26' flat deck like a pontoon or deck boat. needs to be faster than my boat. used for cruising, towing the kids. beaching in a cove. Ive always been an I/O guy but outboards are starting to interest me for the ability to trim up in shallow water. I prefer the sportier vibe of a play craft like style vs the luxury styles. Lots of storage. hoping under $40k

The other thing Im having trouble with when looking at the ads is none of them say top speed so I'm not even sure if they will fit my criteria. So if you have a boat similar to what i like can you comment on year/make/model, what powertrain, how fast it will go, and why you chose that boat

Also what factors do you consider when choosing I/O vs outboard?
 

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CobraDave

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I think that Godfrey that is for sale on here is exactly what you are looking for. It’s got a 350 Merc OB so should be faster and easy to work on.


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I think that Godfrey that is for sale on here is exactly what you are looking for. It’s got a 350 Merc OB so should be faster and easy to work on.


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Where do I find it? The search engine in the classifieds doesn't seem to find what I am looking for
 

DLC

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I think that Godfrey that is for sale on here is exactly what you are looking for. It’s got a 350 Merc OB so should be faster and easy to work on.


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not to say anything about how quiet they are with the outboard, the Godfrey should do high 40’s / low 50’s with the 350, if your not loaded down for bear and stocked 160 quart coolers And bodies all around.

with the market the way it is right now, it would be hard to find something that will be a few steps above your boat for $40,000 unless you get an older party cat But then that bring other possible issues
 
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not to say anything about how quiet they are with the outboard, the Godfrey should do high 40’s / low 50’s with the 350, if your not loaded down for bear and stocked 160 quart coolers And bodies all around.

with the market the way it is right now, it would be hard to find something that will be a few steps above your boat for $40,000 unless you get an older party cat But then that bring other possible issues
I am not opposed to an older boat. I built mine from an old fishing style pontoon. But Id like to have an idea what it will do when finished. what problems with the older party cats besides normal wear and tear? Saw a nicely built one with a built big block on here but didn't state the top speed. Also I might be willing to go a little higher on price
 

DLC

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knowing what it would do would be to call the seller and talk to them, When buying an older boat say 20 years old anything can happen even with the best maintainance, I’m not bagging on older boats It’s just a crap shoot On wear and tear.
 

DLC

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here is the godfrey
 

LowRiver2

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Under $40k in the Southwest to do more speed than you have is indeed a unicorn.
My 06’ Bennington does low 40’s and can sell for $40-45k as it sits with a 5.7 I/O

Look on powerboat listings and boat trader in the Midwest and you might find a few that would fit the bill.

Out west, the only thing I think you could get more power in a deck boat would be an older advantage or cheetah fast cat and even then that could be slim Pickens at $40k

Good luck though
 

boatdoc55

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A couple of thoughts from a newer, last year, tritoon owner and retired boat mechanic of over 40 years. I swore off working on inboard toons after the very first one I worked on. I and I believe a couple of the other mechanics on here know the they are a PITA to do even the most minor service, If you have the funds to have it serviced by some poor unlucky mechanic, more power to you. I left an I/O only shop early on and went to a everything that floats shop and when I first got there and the following several months I hated having to learn those damn messy 2 stroke outboards and I would cuss them up and down because of the 10 pounds of shit under a 5 pound cowling. Tight Tight Tight. MY boss would tell all the time I was going to love them in the future and after time passed he was totally right. No more crawling up into a boat with your shoes off, no more working under a damn swim step, no more having to get a fricking Mercruiser #1 to shift right. I guess you get my point. Go outboard if you can.
Now our tritoon, it's a Godfrey Sweetwater that is a very good looking boat at 23' long. It has a Yamaha 150 HP on it and runs like a clock, I have had the cowling of it 1 time to change the oil and filter. I don't recognize anything under there but if I keep up on the service I should never have to worry about any of the stuff I don't know.
Our boat will run GPS 41 MPH with 4 adults @ 5200 RPM's on the pin. That leaves me another 800 if I wanted to mess with props but why bother, it's just fine for us. We cruise at 4100 and 31 mph. I don;t think one needs drag boat speed with a bunch of couches sitting on top of three beer cans. My drag boat days are way behind me 70's and 80's.
On pricing, we looked at $120K boats and $50K boats and settled for a $40k boat but we got what we believe to be a whale of a deal. Not that I'm cheap but thifty, I couldn't see the diff in all these boats. Do yourself a favor and think about that when looking, why is this one so much more than that one, other than the power plant or why is this one so much less.
It's not a Avalon or a Bennington but it suits us just fine.

Soap box put away and sorry for the long post.
 

PlanB

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^^^ We went from an I/O toon to an O/B toon, and like you stated, night and day difference to work on. I hated working on the I/O boat. The O/B is a breeze to do yearly maintenance on.
 
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I also spent a few years as an I/O mechanic. That is the main reason I bought the boat I have. I like it cause I know it, but there is interest in an outboard . As for the pricing seems like it can be all over for similar boats. Hard to tell where the pricing comes from
 

PlanB

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I also spent a few years as an I/O mechanic. That is the main reason I bought the boat I have. I like it cause I know it, but there is interest in an outboard . As for the pricing seems like it can be all over for similar boats. Hard to tell where the pricing comes from

Check build quality and warranties. My Bennington is lifetime from the deck down, and 10 years for everything else. They are a very good company to deal with with warranty issues. They also through bolt their decks unlike a lot of others. My last Bennington was rock solid for the entire 10 years I owned it. I am on 5 years with the current one, and it's been just as good.
 
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