Pontoon Boat

[Steve7]

Okay, I know this is a GDRV forum, but I thought I’d share my experience today regarding our pontoon boat we have on order. I called the dealer today to inquire the status of our G3 on order, and am told our salesman is no longer there. I’m thinking oh boy, we went over a lot of details, including add ons to be ordered and done, etc.

45 minutes later the sales manager called. I was glad it was him as he was involved in our deal and had everything in the file, thank goodness. He says our boat arrived yesterday! I’m like...great! Then he says we have a problem. Okay, give it to me straight. He says that the trucker drove from Missouri and arrived safely. Then ...as he pulled into their lot, hits a tree limb and dents the starboard fence.

Apparently the new fence is already on order. He asked if I wanted it now and then return it, or wait for it to be corrected. Of course I said I would wait. I know once dealerships have your money your repairs on not a priority. I’ve learned this in our RV world. Especially one your not paying for anyway. It looks like the fence should be easy to take off and replace. The dealership is a couple hours away.

Then I went back to waxing our trailer prior to putting it away for winter.

For anyone who cares, I’ll post a couple pics of the boat as it sits in their shop. We will be seasonal at our favorite lake next year in northern Ca, Lake Trinity, and will get lots of use out of it, and our trailer.

[Bamaman]

Like I always say about my fifth wheel: Look right, look left, and don't forget to look up. A pontoon boat on a trailer is also very tall.

Sounds you won't need the pontoon any time soon. Put the dealer off on the sale as long as possible so the warranty doesn't run while not being used. Also, some states have advalorem taxes assessed at year-end that may be avoided if you wait to take delivery.

I have a Bennington tritoon and just love it. We have had party barges the last 32 years and are fortunate to have a bathhouse in our front yard.

[TucsonJim]

So I'm sitting here wondering. Are you going to double tow the boat behind your 297, or tow the 297 behind the boat?

Jim

[offtohavasu]

"Pontoon boat? What the he** are you going to do with a pontoon boat, retake Omaha Beach?"

Every I hear pontoon boat, I think of The Great Outdoors and that line. Congrats on the boat!

[Steve7]

So I'm sitting here wondering. Are you going to double tow the boat behind your 297, or tow the 297 behind the boat?

Jim

Ha! We will be towing the trailer up there first, and then returning in a day or two to get the boat. Reverse that at end of season. The lake is about six hours away. We planned on moving there when we retired a few years ago, but found another location that met our needs family wise. The price for the seasonal (May 10th - Sept 30th) was too good to pass up. We still want to travel, so we will take it one year at a time...

[Steve7]

"Pontoon boat? What the he** are you going to do with a pontoon boat, retake Omaha Beach?"

Every I hear pontoon boat, I think of The Great Outdoors and that line. Congrats on the boat!

Curtis, that was kinda my thought too. We always had boats until two years ago when we bought our first trailer. My wife has been talking about pontoon boats for years. I wasn’t big on them as I always thought of them as slow moving docks. Well, we’re older now (kinda), and upon further research learned that these boats can haul you know what. Now I don’t need top speed, but ours being a tritoon with a 150 Yamaha on it, will have a top speed of approx 36 mph. They also handle much better than I thought. I also got the fishing/cruising model so I can do my bass fishing. Best of both worlds.

[offtohavasu]

Curtis, that was kinda my thought too. We always had boats until two years ago when we bought our first trailer. My wife has been talking about pontoon boats for years. I wasn’t big on them as I always thought of them as slow moving docks. Well, we’re older now (kinda), and upon further research learned that these boats can haul you know what. Now I don’t need top speed, but ours being a tritoon with a 150 Yamaha on it, will have a top speed of approx 36 mph. They also handle much better than I thought. I also got the fishing/cruising model so I can do my bass fishing. Best of both worlds.

I hope my comment was taken in jest. Great Outdoors is one of my top 5. My friend's parents had a 34' ft tritooon with a Mercruiser 350 in it. We called it The Titanic. It was a beast to maneuver, but it was smooth. It had a neat little crane on the front of it too to lift the jet skis in and out of the water.

With the cousins and kids around the water, we're still doing the water skiing, wake boarding, and tubing, probably for a long while. Here is mine:

[theclarks]

I was glad it was him as he was involved in our deal and had everything in the file, thank goodness. He says our boat arrived yesterday! I’m like...great! Then he says we have a problem. Okay, give it to me straight. He says that the trucker drove from Missouri and arrived safely. Then ...as he pulled into their lot, hits a tree limb and dents the starboard fence.

Apparently the new fence is already on order.

We stopped by our dealer the other week and the salesman told of a recent delivery to them. . . . the transport driver must not have seen the low bridge sign. . . . lost the roof vents and the A/C units on top . . . . they told him just turn it around and take it back. . . .

[Steve7]

I hope my comment was taken in jest. Great Outdoors is one of my top 5. My friend's parents had a 34' ft tritooon with a Mercruiser 350 in it. We called it The Titanic. It was a beast to maneuver, but it was smooth. It had a neat little crane on the front of it too to lift the jet skis in and out of the water.

With the cousins and kids around the water, we're still doing the water skiing, wake boarding, and tubing, probably for a long while. Here is mine:

No Curtis, no ruffled feathers here. I feel I’ve read your posts and had some interaction with you enough that I know your sense of humor, kinda like mine. We had ski boats, fishing boats, and our last boat was what I said would be our last, a North River jet fishing boat, all decked out. Well that was sold for our last trailer. You’ve got a good looking boat. Thanks for sharing.

Oh yeah, now our kids have the ski and bass boats. We will be the floating base when they are with us.

[Steve7]

We stopped by our dealer the other week and the salesman told of a recent delivery to them. . . . the transport driver must not have seen the low bridge sign. . . . lost the roof vents and the A/C units on top . . . . they told him just turn it around and take it back. . . .

I just said to my wife today that if this happened to our trailer I would have been devastated. Fortunately this damaged fence will be easy to replace once the new one arrives. And the boating season is basically over. I will try to do some fishing and get some of the ten hour break in period done so I can change the fluids before we go to the lake next year.