PONTOON BOATS ARE HOT SELLERS
This is the time of year when people start thinking about purchasing a new boat. With the pandemic somewhat in the rearview mirror dealers are back to full inventories for the most part. If you have a cottage at the lake and family and friends you want to take out on the water, more and more people are looking at pontoon boats. Three years ago I got to spend time with my family fishing on one with friend Ralph Smart. Ralph owns and operates Prairie Pro Outfitters on Rafferty Reservoir in southern Saskatchewan.
Ralph has a couple of large pontoon boats that he rents out but also guides anglers out of. My family and I were on his 23-foot tri hull for the weekend. While the wind blew hard for part of it, the boat handled the waves with ease. It was also very comfortable to be on.
BOAT CONTROL THE KEY
Since there were five of us on the trip, this was an ideal setup to have everyone on the same boat. With a beautiful weekend of weather and Ralph’s expert boat control of this big pontoon boat we had a wonderful time. What amazed me was his ability to control the pontoon even in windy weather. He had a front mounted Minnkota Ulterra with 115 pound thrust and a 72-inch shaft. It is a 36-volt system, and it will last the day, even in windy conditions. Of course, it has all the features, including spot lock, which makes boat control so much easier.
We fished five off the boat and not once did we get a line in a motor, impressive in itself.
While there Ralph was constantly getting calls from people to either rent his other pontoon boat or advice on buying one. Honestly there were just as many pontoon boats at Main Prize Park as there were regular fishing boats. After spending two days on it, I was sold on the value of having this for families and large groups. If you own a cabin on a lake or have a seasonal campground, it is a great way to go.
When I asked Ralph about pricing, he said you could find a decent second hand one in the $40,000 range and a nice new one for $70,000. With the price of a fully rigged 2075 Lund Prov V somewhere around $150,000 it seems like a good deal.
KEY FEATURES TO CONSIDER WHEN PURCHASING A PONTOON BOAT
Ralph Smart says the Tri-Hull Triton is the way to go. It is more stable and a much smoother ride in rough water.
Since our trip there three summers ago Ralph has made a lot of changes. Here is his recap.
Pedestal seats are more fishing friendly and can be adjusted for big or small individual so they can easily fish over the side and railings Ralph removed all the bench seating in his Triton and now has eight individual pedestal seats that face outwards This opened up the center of the boat so his customers could move around more freely. This also cleared up more room for coolers and storage containers He still has a flip up small bench along the side that has a curtain when stood up to hold the essential porta potty.
MOVING THE LIVEWELL
Another change was to move the livewell along the side. I switched to a big, insulated cooler that is plumbed for lake water to be pumped in. This replaces the small, uninsulated one that most all Tritons come with. If we are keeping fish that day we fill our big cooler with a bag or two of ice . This keeps any fish we want to keep firm and fresh!
YOU NEED A TOP!
The Bimini top is another must have! Not only for sun protection and staying cool but for a passing rain or thunderstorm soaker. We’ve put ours to good use in a hail once or twice.
The electronics are vitally important, and Ralph runs a totally separate 36-volt system for the trolling motor.
“My auto deploy Ulterra is mounted on a custom plate on the driver’s side front corner. It stows on the outside of the boat parallel with the front, not along the side. Most trolling motors stow in the boat through the front door but that creates a tripping hazard when not being used. Placed in the front corner I can now tell the direction it is going from the driver’s seat. Very simple. It also pulls and anchors perfectly from the corner and not necessary in the middle though that works also if you wish on some boats.”
Ralph has his Fish finders hooked up to a separate 12 volt battery and with a livescope in down mode they can watch all the hooks in the water!
One thing recommends to add is rubberized or marine grade vinyl flooring. It is non slippery and easy to clean up fish mess and night crawler dirt. Carpet is a nightmare to keep clean and when dirty with fish slime it attracts fly’s that love to bite ankles.
SIDEBAR
TRAILER MODIFICATION
One bad rap Tritons have is the loading back onto the trailer. With any wind especially cross wind loading can be stressful and difficult. Ralph modified his trailer with wheeled guideons and extended the front half of the bunks with 2x10s instead of the 2 narrow 2×4’s which are very difficult to drive perfectly onto even when n calm water.
The wider bunks at the front that are sticking out of the water catch the front of the boat easily and funnel it down into the bottom of the bunks The extensions don’t even need to be carpeted. Back the trailer in deep to wet the bunks before driving the boat on.
