Question:
I am in the market for a pontoon boat and I am looking for any
recommendations/advice anyone may have.
The Suntracker 21' Party Barge w/Mercury 75 horse has caught my eye but
I don't know anyone who has a pontoon boat that I can compare to.
I am curious if the Merc 75 is powerful enough for this boat. This boat
would be used along the Gulf Coast in bays and the ICW.
Also, are the Suntracker boats of good quality?
Answer:
-I recomend Weeres
-You are where I was 1 year ago. I was looking for a pontoon that would
perform well in a salt environment. I settled on a 25’ Crest Carribbean
with a Mercury 115 outboard.
My big concern was the salt environment. My boat is permanently moored in
San Diego Bay. It has been on the trailer on once since I purchased it. I
looked at about 30 different brands before I selected Crest, it seemed to
have the best construction and included necessities for salt water, like
stainless fittings and stainless thru hull bolts. Even then, the
manufacturer recommended against salt water operation. I went to great
lengths to make sure the bottom was properly painted.
I did look at SunTracker. In fact, there is a SunTracker that has been moored
at Mission Bay for over 5 years without any bottom paint. I was impressed
with the condition of the hull. The boat had been abused from the rental
business but it seemed like it had endured the environment well.
I’m not happy with the Mercury 115. It chugs too much in the RPM range of
1050 to 1850 rpm. The top end is great though. My boat runs in the area of
26 to 28 mph with this engine (lightly loaded)
