PONTOON boat for inland waters > exp or sug please

[teknitroxdiver]

My family used to own a pontoon boat, so I've been on and drove one quite a bit, but until recently hadn't dove off of it. At the closest lake (Lake Norfork) we rented a mediumish pontoon boat (I forget the footage on it) and loaded it up with 8 people and 10 or so tanks, which we put on the front platform. For future reference, you may wish to choose a better location for tanks than the front platform. Bad deal there. It holds the nose down and makes you go THROUGH the waves, not over them. Other than that, great boat to dive off of, and pretty well maneuverable for a party barge.

 

[skeet]

Thanks everyone, very helpful insight. Tom, those are the biggest pontoon boats I've ever seen, think I'll call for pricing for the heck of it.

 

[The Kraken]

Skeet, my pontoon is one of the Sun Trackers.
I never carry more than 4 divers because of the gear and of the fact that we will each have 2 tanks. Adds quite a bit of weight.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

HAd bass boats and other types just never a pontoon boat. Any ideas, comments, expeiriences, etc. Please submit advice.

I don't own one but I spent a day on one a couple of years ago. My experience was
they are acceptable for puttering around the shore line but they are not fast, nor are they intended for open water with wind, chop or waves.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Whether they are fast or no depends on the pontoon boat. The typical round tube PB is
slow, but there are planing hull PBs that are plenty fast.

Chuck

 

[Scott M]

I dive off my pontoon boat. The room is incredible. I have mine well set-up with a refrigerator, changing room and bathroom.

They get a bad rap for not handling well, someof it unjustified. There is basically two reasons for them acting as people have stated. One they are usually under powered. Mine has a 115 Yamaha and will run 32MPH empty and 26 loaded. If I keep it this year I am going to get a 150 for it. The other reason is that most are built with only two pontoons, go for the one with three. Now I will give you that I am only on a lake but it is a large lake and can get pretty rough real quick. I have never had a problem getting out and back. I use to keep it a local marina before I moved to the lake. There were many days that most boats just could not get out, I had only several days I could not go.

Mine is a Sweetwater tripletoon rear entry 24'

Take Care

 

[Tom Winters]

A triple ponton sounds like a pretty good boat for something the size of Lake Champlane. I didn't realize the lake was 108 miles long. Cannon balls and none of that continuous salt water maintenance nonsense either!

 

[Scott M]

A triple ponton sounds like a pretty good boat for something the size of Lake Champlane. I didn't realize the lake was 108 miles long. Cannon balls and none of that continuous salt water maintenance nonsense either!

I find it fits the bill quite well. There are days nobody is going out. We are on the north end of the lake and the summer winds are from the south with realatively no brakes from the south to the north so the lake can get real rough. There are days nobody goes out. I am lucky enough to have a northern exposure bay so the I can now use the lake more often than I use to.

As for the salt water, I can not imagine the maintenance that would create.

 

[DEW Diving]

HAd bass boats and other types just never a pontoon boat. Any ideas, comments, expeiriences, etc. Please submit advice.

Skeet:
Set up some tank mounts when you get it. Just remember that they are "tippy" when all the divers move to one side of the pontoon boat!

Keep diving!

DEW Diving

 

[Jafo123]

Skeet; I just bought a 20 ft. pontoon For my inland water diving (Iowa) I have not had a chance to try it out yet as we are waiting for the ice to leave our lakes here. I also had several styles of fishing boats but didn't sute out needs for diving either. Wife had trouble getting back into them. This one has a nice built in ladder off the back of one of the pontoons and hoping that will help her get back in the boat.

Jafo123