Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

I am reading two free boats-shopper magazines that have many many ads
for various styles of boats. But they only have a very small number of
ads for pontoon boats. What does this means?

- Does this mean that pontoon boats are not popular? If this is so, I
need to think twice before buying a pontoon boat (I enjoy riding on
one though).

- Does this mean that pontoon boat owners love their boats so much
that they will not part with their pontoon boats? I doubt this but I
ask anyway.

- Does this have something to do with the possible naturnal
progression of owning a boat: When someone buys a boat, he may start
with a small one first. After a while, he sells it and buy a bigger
one. Gradually, he keeps spending money in trading up to bigger and
bigger boat. He finds that he is low in fund, and has to sell his big
boat. That may explain the reason why there are so many ads for
non-pontoon boats. On the other hand, pontoon boats have very limited
choices in sizes. Regardless how big it is, we still cannot use it
off-shore. A 18-ft pontoon boat probably is just as good as a 24-ft
one. Therefore, people don't tend to trade it up. This is just a
guess.

- Am I reading the wrong boats-shopper magazines?

- Any other possible reason?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

"Jay Chan" wrote in message
om...
I am reading two free boats-shopper magazines that have many many ads
for various styles of boats. But they only have a very small number of
ads for pontoon boats. What does this means?


Perhaps their owners place ads locally and they end up selling quickly, so
they have no need to branch out to other selling resources.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Althought it is true will any boat, a pontoon boat can easily become solid
waste/scrap aluminum if you don't take care of them. Perhaps a large
percentage end up in recycling yards when the furniture goes to hell
or the hulls start pitting. If you are using a pontoon in salt water
you need bottom (or whole pontoon) paint.

I see. This probably explains the reason why there are very few ads
for used pontoon boats (most of the small number of ads for pontoon
boats are for new boats). Thanks.

Then I have one question:
Does this also mean that rusty pontoons are very difficult to fix?
Therefore, people don't even bother to fix them. I am under the
impression that fiberglass boats have other sets of problem too, and
probably also be difficult to fix. I don't know. I am just very
puzzled.

Jay Chan

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

"Jay Chan" wrote in message
om...
Althought it is true will any boat, a pontoon boat can easily become
solid
waste/scrap aluminum if you don't take care of them. Perhaps a large
percentage end up in recycling yards when the furniture goes to hell
or the hulls start pitting. If you are using a pontoon in salt water
you need bottom (or whole pontoon) paint.

I see. This probably explains the reason why there are very few ads
for used pontoon boats (most of the small number of ads for pontoon
boats are for new boats). Thanks.

Then I have one question:
Does this also mean that rusty pontoons are very difficult to fix?
Therefore, people don't even bother to fix them. I am under the
impression that fiberglass boats have other sets of problem too, and
probably also be difficult to fix. I don't know. I am just very
puzzled.

Jay Chan

All boats need maintenance. I know people in the Adirondacks (fresh water)
who've had pontoon boats for many years, and I hear no unusual complaints
from them. The "problems" you mention are nothing more than normal wear and
tear (assuming you don't run the pontoons into a rock).

Personally, I would never have a pontoon boat if I were going to spend any
time on the ocean. I know people who won't use theirs even on inland lakes
when the water gets rowdy at certain times of the day. I suppose it all
depends on your purpose in owning a boat. If you're a hard core fisherman
who'll go out fishing even when the weather is making most people hurl their
lunch, you'll want a real boat, not a floating playroom.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Personally, I would never have a pontoon boat if I were going to spend any
time on the ocean. I know people who won't use theirs even on inland lakes
when the water gets rowdy

I am not on the ocean, I'm on the Gulf but I still stay in the back bay most of
the time. Pontoons are different than a regular boat. They get "wet" a long
time before they will pound you. Things get exciting about the time that the
deck starts going under in a swell and you see blue water over the deck. Prior
to that they are pretty smooth but a lot of water is coming over the top as you
clip the tops of the waves. In a small chop it is a lot better ride than you
get out of a monohull, just wet.
One thing about them, a capsized pontoon boat is still a pontoon boat!
With 6 to 10 separate chambers on the logs, they are pretty hard to sink.
All that said they are still an "inshore" boat, in spite of the fact that you
see plenty of them 8-10 miles offshore here in the gulf. YMMV in the "ocean" or
even places like the Chesapeake bay.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Actually, the aluminum in the pontoons holds up pretty well to sal****er
although I would never advocate permanently mooring one in sal****er, MUCH
better to trailer them.

Also, you can not use "normal" bottom paint on a pontoon boat (or any other
metal boat for that matter. Galvanic corrosion occurs between the aluminum
and the copper in the anti-fouling bottom paint unless there is an epoxy
barrier put between them. There are problems with epoxy barrier coats too,
but I won't go into that here.

Pontoon boats are some of the lowest maintenance boats I've ever used. I
helped a friend re-furbish his 'toon boat last year. It's 23 years old. All
of the leaks in the pontoons were a result of poor design, not corrosion
(pitting). The welder did have problems trying to weld the old aluminum and
there were a few pinholes in the welds. I did some research for my friend
and found a product called "Aluminox", it's a 2 part epoxy putty made just
for old aluminum. My friend used this epoxy to plug the pinholes in the
welds and the weak parts of the pontoons were re-enforced. We put a new
marine plywood deck on and modified a few things to customize it for his
needs/wants. He now has a very solid 'toon boat that should be good for
another 20 years.

As to your original question about why there aren't more ads for used ones.
Personally, I attribute it to this, seldom do I talk to a pontoon boat owner
where the pontoon boat was his first boat. The stories I hear are much like
my own. I started out at 16 with a 16' jon boat, moved to a 18' center
console, then to a 25' cuddy, now I have a 31' flybridge sportfishing boat.
This is not mentioning that I've owned up to 5 boats at a time. Now I'm to
the point where I'm getting to old to keep the sportfishing boat up. I just
want something for the wife and I to putter around the intercoastal in and
occasional drowned a few shrimp trying to catch fish. Pontoon boat are low
maintenance (certainly not maintenance free though), low cost to buy (most
are $20,000) and their cheap to operate. I can run my friends boat all day
on 6 gallons of fuel . . . a day out on my sportfishing boat uses ~90
gallons, that's why it pretty only leaves the slip when someone else is
paying for the fuel. BTW, if you haven't noticed, my charter boat is for
sale . . . willing to take pontoon boat in trade or partial trade. :-)

Later . . .
Capt. Dave Fortner


"Jay Chan" wrote in message
om...
Althought it is true will any boat, a pontoon boat can easily become
solid
waste/scrap aluminum if you don't take care of them. Perhaps a large
percentage end up in recycling yards when the furniture goes to hell
or the hulls start pitting. If you are using a pontoon in salt water
you need bottom (or whole pontoon) paint.

I see. This probably explains the reason why there are very few ads
for used pontoon boats (most of the small number of ads for pontoon
boats are for new boats). Thanks.

Then I have one question:
Does this also mean that rusty pontoons are very difficult to fix?
Therefore, people don't even bother to fix them. I am under the
impression that fiberglass boats have other sets of problem too, and
probably also be difficult to fix. I don't know. I am just very
puzzled.

Jay Chan

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Jay,
Here is my guess...
Pontoon boats are typically not trailer boats. (I know this is changing,
but it has been the case until recently.) Therfore they are much more
limited to people with waterfront property or access. Anyone can buy a
trailer boat and keep it in the driveway, etc. As a result, there are far
more trailer boats than pontoon boats.

My first pontoon boat was 30+ years old (~1968 vintage). It did not have
any leak problems when I bought it. It did not have any furniture, etc. I
finally replaced it beause of the deck going bad, some welds starting to
break, and cable and pully steering. Still not unrepaired leaks. (I have a
concrete sea wall that it got up against.)

The next boat was about 10 years newer. Still no furniture, but newer
steering. (BTW, for my purposes no furniture was ideal. Cheaper, need not
be covered, and never in the way for fishing.) Also, I got a better motor
at the same time.

Theron

"Jay Chan" wrote in message
om...
I am reading two free boats-shopper magazines that have many many ads
for various styles of boats. But they only have a very small number of
ads for pontoon boats. What does this means?

- Does this mean that pontoon boats are not popular? If this is so, I
need to think twice before buying a pontoon boat (I enjoy riding on
one though).

- Does this mean that pontoon boat owners love their boats so much
that they will not part with their pontoon boats? I doubt this but I
ask anyway.

- Does this have something to do with the possible naturnal
progression of owning a boat: When someone buys a boat, he may start
with a small one first. After a while, he sells it and buy a bigger
one. Gradually, he keeps spending money in trading up to bigger and
bigger boat. He finds that he is low in fund, and has to sell his big
boat. That may explain the reason why there are so many ads for
non-pontoon boats. On the other hand, pontoon boats have very limited
choices in sizes. Regardless how big it is, we still cannot use it
off-shore. A 18-ft pontoon boat probably is just as good as a 24-ft
one. Therefore, people don't tend to trade it up. This is just a
guess.

- Am I reading the wrong boats-shopper magazines?

- Any other possible reason?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Why pontoon boats are typically not being trailered?

Lack of a decent trailer. (also if you have flimsy furniture it won't make the
trip)
Pontoon boats usually don't have a decent bow hook to pull them up on the
trailer with. A common type of trailer fits between the pontoons and only
provides about 4 feet between the wheels. These are unsafe at any speed. You
can get a regular boat trailer with ~7' axle and rollers or bunks under the
pontoons that will do well on the highway. You can also rig a bow hook but it
has to be connected to a stringer that runs down the deck far enough to be
pulling on several cross ties. Mine is 2 pieces of 2x2x1/4" angle 8' long under
the deck, an inch apart with a 1/2"stainless bolt between them for the hook.
I take my boat to the Keys and other places but I did have a learning curve to
find a good trailer and learn how to load it.
Tie this thing down well !
I use 3 load binders like you see on flatbed trucks.
One tip, be sure the bow trails lower than the stern, it keeps the boat from
flying. Mine is about 15 degrees from level and it trails true at Florida
"interstate speeds" (80 or so) although I don't recomend trailering anything
that fast.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Here in North Calif lots of trailered pontoon boats. Only thing is they
trailer them a mile ot 2 at the most to local storage yard. Pontoons seem
to be used on the lake they live at as opposed to boats that are trailered a
lot. Do see a few "Bass Buggy" boats trailer on the highway.
Bill

"Jay Chan" wrote in message
om...
Pontoon boats are typically not trailer boats. (I know this is
changing,
but it has been the case until recently.) Therfore they are much more
limited to people with waterfront property or access. Anyone can buy a
trailer boat and keep it in the driveway, etc. As a result, there are
far
more trailer boats than pontoon boats.

This brings up two questions:

- Why pontoon boats are typically not being trailered? Are they too
wide to be trailered safely or easily? I doubt this. But I ask anyway.
I must admit that I rarely see a pontoon boat being trailered on
highway (grand total: one); on the other hand, I see quite a number of
regular boats being trailered. After saying this, this may have to do
with not enough number of pontoon boats being used. I don't know.

- Why pontoon boats are mainly used by people who have water front
property? Are they being used as a floating patio? Kind of like an
extension of the backyard. Therefore, this may have something to do
with the intended purpose of people who buy pontoon boats.

Jay Chan

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Around here (upstate NY), pontoon boats tend to be owned by the same people
who think a K-car is just a bit too wild. Or, they're rental boats on the
Finger Lakes and some of the Adirondack waters.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Around here (upstate NY), pontoon boats tend to be owned by the same people
who think a K-car is just a bit too wild.

Folks around here are discovering that a pontoon boat makes a pretty good back
bay fishing boat if you set it up center console and toss all of that
furniture.
I use the truck tool boxes for my gear.
Carpet on glued top of the box makes a good walking surface. When granny wants
to go for a ride, just bring along a lawn chair.
That makes this a very low maintenance boat.
One advantage of a pontoon is that you can mount the engine a lot higher so it
runs "on the step" with the cavitation plate just under water and when it sets
down it is only a few inches below that. That makes a boat that will run in a
bit over a foot of water at idle speed without tearing up the bottom. Not many
flats boats (none?) can do that.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

put 60 hours on the motor during the past 15 months.

I just went over 450hrs since April 2002 when I bought my 60 merc 4 stroke. We
are 12 month boaters tho.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Glad to hear the Merc 60 4 stroke is going on 450 hours. Give me confidence
that mine will last a long time

It's still making a little oil but I am changing it every 50 and things seem
fine. It is still a "bump the starter" to start engine that runs smoothly from
about 600rpm up to WOT with no stumbles, chokes or smoke. I'm sold on 4
strokes.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

"Gfretwell" wrote in message
...
Around here (upstate NY), pontoon boats tend to be owned by the same
people
who think a K-car is just a bit too wild.

Folks around here are discovering that a pontoon boat makes a pretty good
back
bay fishing boat if you set it up center console and toss all of that
furniture.
I use the truck tool boxes for my gear.
Carpet on glued top of the box makes a good walking surface. When granny
wants
to go for a ride, just bring along a lawn chair.
That makes this a very low maintenance boat.
One advantage of a pontoon is that you can mount the engine a lot higher
so it
runs "on the step" with the cavitation plate just under water and when it
sets
down it is only a few inches below that. That makes a boat that will run
in a
bit over a foot of water at idle speed without tearing up the bottom. Not
many
flats boats (none?) can do that.

Hey....I don't doubt that they can be set up and used creatively. I just
made an observation of what I see most of the time around here. Sort
like...mention a Crown Victoria in front of 50 guys and the mental picture
48 will have will involve a very old driver.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Sort
like...mention a Crown Victoria in front of 50 guys and the mental picture
48 will have will involve a very old driver.

Nope ... a cop!

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

"Gfretwell" wrote in message
...
Sort
like...mention a Crown Victoria in front of 50 guys and the mental
picture
48 will have will involve a very old driver.

Nope ... a cop!

Yeah...them too. But, when I was shopping for a vehicle last year for towing
my 14' boat, the Crown Vic was one of my final candidates. All my friends
said "Grandpa!". :-)

The instant barbeque gas tank feature blew the Ford out of the running and I
ended up with the Tacoma.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

We had a Vickie for a few years. Nice car, kinda hard on gas, and it scared
people at night who thought they had a cop behind them. It died of a head
gasket issue and drove itself to the junkyard.

I escaped the "grandpa" stuff because everyone knew it was a "winter car" to
my 68 Vette. I had a tendency to get BIG 2nd cars, in part as a counter to
the rather spartan living conditions inside the Vette. My favorite of these
was a '68 Caddy convertable that I had in the very early 80's.

-W


--

PLEASE NOTE: Email address change from to

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"Gfretwell" wrote in message
...
Sort
like...mention a Crown Victoria in front of 50 guys and the mental
picture
48 will have will involve a very old driver.

Nope ... a cop!

Yeah...them too. But, when I was shopping for a vehicle last year for
towing
my 14' boat, the Crown Vic was one of my final candidates. All my friends
said "Grandpa!". :-)

The instant barbeque gas tank feature blew the Ford out of the running and
I
ended up with the Tacoma.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

"Clams Canino" wrote in message
.. .
We had a Vickie for a few years. Nice car, kinda hard on gas, and it
scared
people at night who thought they had a cop behind them. It died of a head
gasket issue and drove itself to the junkyard.

I escaped the "grandpa" stuff because everyone knew it was a "winter car"
to
my 68 Vette. I had a tendency to get BIG 2nd cars, in part as a counter to
the rather spartan living conditions inside the Vette. My favorite of
these
was a '68 Caddy convertable that I had in the very early 80's.


Next time you have an hour to kill and you're around a Ford/Merc dealer, see
if they have a Marauder available for a test drive. It's a REALLY cool car.
But, as you mentioned, everyone you get behind will slow down, which will
drive you nuts. That even used to happen with my '92 white Taurus. The
grille was almost identical to that of the Crown Vics of that time period.
Looked like an unmarked car.

Things are better now with the Tacoma pickup. It's high enough off the
ground that one flash of the brights burns the retinas of the driver in
front of me, and they drive right off the road into the woods.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Jay, I conducted a survey of pontoon boat owners a couple of months ago. 33
owners responded. 17 keep their boats on trailers, the rest in docks or dry
storage.

Wow! Thanks for your effort in finding out how people use their
pontoon boats. Seem like quite a number of people trailer their
pontoon boats.

Pontoon boats have maximum people versatility (lots of people and lots of
activties) and minimal boating versatility (poor speed and maneuvarability,
lack of seaworthiness for bad conditions). In recreational boating, they are
truly a compromise, moreso than most boats.

I see your point. If I get a pontoon boat, I will not want to bring it
out near shore even when the weather is nice and the water is
relatively calm because there will be some waves in the sea even if
the weather is very nice. This limits the use of a pontoon boat in
lakes, bay or in-shore. This means I need to decide whether I will
ever want to bring the boat outside the bay...

Jay Chan

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

I take my boat to the Keys and other places ...

Where did you go if you don't mind telling me? Did you go to Florida
Bay and try fishing in the flats? How things went?


We are primarily interested in diving the reefs but on calm days I have been
offshore a ways (with other boats) looking for dolphin or whatever other blue
water fish might show up. I have chased a few bonefish around in the Contents
but I am not interested in just fishing to toss them back.
A pontoon is a very stable dive platform.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Gfretwell wrote:

I take my boat to the Keys and other places ...

Where did you go if you don't mind telling me? Did you go to Florida
Bay and try fishing in the flats? How things went?


We are primarily interested in diving the reefs but on calm days I have been
offshore a ways (with other boats) looking for dolphin or whatever other blue
water fish might show up. I have chased a few bonefish around in the Contents
but I am not interested in just fishing to toss them back.
A pontoon is a very stable dive platform.

One of the delights of the Middle Keys is that even the smallest
reasonable boat can get you out to the reef line. Heck, you can wave to
friends on shore from the reefs. Great fishing, too.




--
* * *
email sent to will *never* get to me.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

One of the delights of the Middle Keys is that even the smallest
reasonable boat can get you out to the reef line. Heck, you can wave to
friends on shore from the reefs. Great fishing, too.

Absolutely true. I just wish there weren't so many people who knew.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Glad to hear that you have a good use of both the pontoon boat and the
monohull.

Seem like each one is useful for specific environment and the intended
use.

A monohull can go off-shore, while a pontoon boat can go to very
shallow water. I am wondering whether the reason why there are only a
few ads on used pontoon boats may have to do with more people want to
go off-shore than people want to go fishing in very shallow water.

Jay Chan

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

We are primarily interested in diving the reefs but on calm days I have been
offshore a ways (with other boats) looking for dolphin or whatever other blue
water fish might show up. I have chased a few bonefish around in the Contents
but I am not interested in just fishing to toss them back.
A pontoon is a very stable dive platform.

I am surprised to hear that you used your pontoon boat in the ocean
side of the Keys. The reef must be very near shore in that part of the
Keys, and the water got to be very calm at that day.

Jay Chan

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

I am surprised to hear that you used your pontoon boat in the ocean
side of the Keys. The reef must be very near shore in that part of the
Keys, and the water got to be very calm at that day.

I would rather be on my pontoon boat than a 16-18' bowrider in this water.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Jay Chan wrote:

We are primarily interested in diving the reefs but on calm days I have been
offshore a ways (with other boats) looking for dolphin or whatever other blue
water fish might show up. I have chased a few bonefish around in the Contents
but I am not interested in just fishing to toss them back.
A pontoon is a very stable dive platform.

I am surprised to hear that you used your pontoon boat in the ocean
side of the Keys. The reef must be very near shore in that part of the
Keys, and the water got to be very calm at that day.

Jay Chan


Depends on where you are on the "ocean side" of the Keys. In some
places, the reefs are almost within range of a frisbee toss.



--
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email sent to will *never* get to me.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Depends on where you are on the "ocean side" of the Keys. In some
places, the reefs are almost within range of a frisbee toss.

In the Big Pine area we like, the reefs are a tad over 3 miles out. The blue
water is more like 7-8. You see ski boats tied up to the buoys at Looe Key

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

In the Big Pine area we like, the reefs are a tad over 3 miles out. The blue
water is more like 7-8. You see ski boats tied up to the buoys at Looe Key

Is 3 miles away from shore considered as "very close"? I don't go
near-shore or off-shore that often. Therefore, I don't have a point of
reference as of how far is considered as too far to be safe for small
boats.

Jay Chan

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

"Jay Chan" wrote ...
Is 3 miles away from shore considered as "very close"? I don't go
near-shore or off-shore that often. Therefore, I don't have a point of
reference as of how far is considered as too far to be safe for small
boats.

Depends upon where you're at, I guess... If you're in an area where the reef
provides a lot of protection from the seas / surf, then it's acceptable for
a small boat... If there is no reef, that 3 miles can be a rough trip in
even light to moderate seas... I have a 16 ft jet boat (actually probably 14
ft since the swim platform really shouldn't have been counted by the
manufacturer) and with 2 ft seas, I can keep up a pretty good speed... Once
it gets to 3 ft or more, I have to slow down to hull speed or it will beat
me to death on those drops when the troughs are not evenly spaced... A 4 ft
following sea can be kind of fun if you can get the speed matched right so
that you can basically surf it into shore... A head sea will slow you down
to a crawl unless you can go fast enough to be able to just skip over the
tops of the waves (but this can be a painful ride when you encounter a rogue
wave/trough)...

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Depends upon where you're at, I guess... If you're in an area where the reef
provides a lot of protection from the seas / surf, then it's acceptable for
a small boat...

I would like to know how deep the water in the reef that you have
mentioned. Is it like 10-ft? If this is so, I can understand why the
reef can provide a great deal of protection to a small boat. Thanks.

Jay Chan

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

I would like to know how deep the water in the reef

It ranges from 25 feet or so to just under water at low tide. You still have
calm days where the ocean is like a pond outside the reef.
The average day on the ocean in the keys is not as rough as the Chesapeake bay.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

Gfretwell wrote:

I would like to know how deep the water in the reef

It ranges from 25 feet or so to just under water at low tide. You still have
calm days where the ocean is like a pond outside the reef.
The average day on the ocean in the keys is not as rough as the Chesapeake bay.


Depends on which reef off the Keys...some of them even at high tide are
only a few feet below the surface.

And your observation about Chesapeake Bay is spot-on. There almost
always seems to be a hard chop and rough water...



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email sent to will *never* get to me.

Why So Few Pontoon Boat Ads?
 

It ranges from 25 feet or so to just under water at low tide. You still have
calm days where the ocean is like a pond outside the reef.
The average day on the ocean in the keys is not as rough as the Chesapeake
bay.

Thanks. This explains the reason why the water inside the reef in Keys
is likely to be calm. This means that there are days that we can use a
pontoon boat inside the protected water within the reef in the occean
side of the Keys. This also means that the use of pontoon boat is not
as restrictive as what I had originally thought.

Jay Chan