Were using a i-pilot 70 thrust on a 24 ft and we get around easy with it.

I had a Bennington triple toon with a 150 on it. The thing ran 40mph plus. I'm shopping for one now and have a Merc 350 sitting in the garage waiting. Can't wait to see how fast it goes. Great ride and room for everyone.

24V 80lb thrust I-pilot on a my 22' works quite well. Remember when your considering your trolling motor get the biggest you can afford and be sure and have a place thought out on where to put the batteries.

If you use the TM for a lot of trolling, as advised, get a 24V 70lbs+ motor. I use mine for everything but trolling, and went with a 12v 55lbs motor. When I do troll, it'll do 2-4 - but that's with mild weather...etc...etc.

Before I forget - I'd consider putting any extra batteries somewhere else besides the back half of the boat. It's a problem I have with mine right now and it really adds up. I'll post a picture of what a back heavy pontoon boat looks like (mine).

Removed the ski pole and am going to remove 1 battery for starters...

Get the biggest one you can afford. I would get the 101. Yes you will need three battries but as much wind as a toon catches you will need it. I'm a person that keept my toon for 1 year and couldnt wait to get rid of it. Yes it was good to fish out of but when you start having to run over the lake when the bite gets tough you better pack a lunch. If a buddy called on schooling fish across the lake they were gone before I could get there! 22' toon with a 115hp merc, 21MPH with clean toons and 18mph on it's best day if it was in the water for over a week. I hated cleaning the pontoons. I keep it in a slip and didnt have a lift because I hated draging the thing around and unloading and loading it. Plus I got wetter in it than any boat I have ever had because of the spray if it was white caping. Just my 2cents but I sure some one will disagree!

Filletmaker,
Your negatives are accurate. It's not a perfect situation or else all the guides would be using pontoons. If you're a serious type A fisherman, it's probably not the best boat for you.

Exactly! I had a 22' Bennington tri-toon with a 135 Honda for a year and the last 2-3 months I didn't even get on the water with it. 29mph was the fastest I ever got from it, mostly it was 25-27mph loaded.

Had a 80lb ipilot terrova on it and would get blown around by the wind constantly. And for the size, there was not a lot of room for fishing(too much walking around plush furniture).

'Toons do have their place if you want to be comfortable and take the family out on the lake though. You just have to find what'll work for you. As they say, "get the kind of boat to fit what you're going to do 75% of the time". You can work around the other 25%.

I now have a center console...

I used to have a Bennington pontoon. I really liked it except for how slow it was. It was a smooth ride. I am not sure why someone complained about getting wet. Mine was a very dry ride.

I enjoyed the openness of the pontoon but wanted more speed so I looked at Deck Boats. I love my deck boat. I can seat 8 comfortably on the weekends or fish 3 pretty easy when I need to.

Just one thing I'd like to check on. Did y'all have fishing pontoon or recreation/cruising pontoons? The fishing pontoons are designed a little better for fishing but still functional as a party barge if you want.

I agree if you're 100% fishing, get a fishing boat. If you're like me - 50% fishing, 50% family/friends time - a pontoon is a good option.

Also, as I understand it deck boats offer pontoon space but can plane and go pretty darned fast. I did not price/research them much though.

Edit: Did not read the rest of the last message until just now - deck boat has been covered.

Mine was a fishing model. Livewell, some rod holders, front battery compartments, etc.

I guess what I liked the least about it was trailering(it catches alot of wind and toon trailer tires aren't the most confiding) and the speed. Not so much running on the water, but it was hard to maneuver and follow fish with the trolling motor. Maybe a 101 lb tm would've moved it better, but I never went there.

As mentioned, it was great for family/friend outings. I just figured out that I do more fishing than party boating. Hope this helps.

My pontoon is an old one that I rigged up to suit my fishing needs. I get blood and scales all over it and don't even blink. I put my money into the electronics. It's like I have a cheap rifle with the most expensive scope.

I love my pontoon. My use is 90%+ fishing brother and 10%- with family. But that less than 10% is more important to me that the other 90% so I own a pontoon. I completely agree with TexomaLvr in terms of electronics, that where most of your money should be spent. Better luck catching fish when you are on fish than having a nice boat and not catching fish.

My 101# TM can hold my 25ft pontoon in 15mph winds. I have not tested her when it's rougher. If you have lots of $ left after getting the right equipments, get a tritoon as much HP in the rear you can afford. I had a 21ft pontoon with 90hp Honda that was SLOW. I loved the space, stability and passenger capacity so I upgraded to a tritoon with 300hp in the rear. With all my electronics, 4 batteries, TM, she max out at around 33-34mph. A neighbor has a similar setup with a 350hp Yamaha and he tells me she moves around 40mph.

My pontoon ride can be wet but it was not much worse than my center console. Trailering in high wind can be challenging. Loading her especially my 25 footer is definitely harder than my center console. Hope that helps. Good luck.

Go get one.

Pontoons are awesome family boats. They are fine for anchoring up and catfishing or trolling hellpets. You can usually troll 3 HP's at once as long as you run a straight line. Great jugline boats and the smaller motors are great on gas!

I do mostly fishing and the occassional cruise with the wife. I want something that is easy to launch & load with one person. I want something that is easy to manuver and control with a trolling motor on the lake. I would have loved to have a pontoon but it was hard to load and hard to manuver. I fish by myself some and it has to be easy.

I'm not seeing what others are seeing about loading a pontoon on the trailer being difficult. I do it at least weekly by myself and have no problems. I did add these two short poles from Cabelas to the back of my trailer that throw me right on the runner. I just have to make sure they are inside the pontoons and then right on it goes.