About to buy my first used Pontoon tomorrow (water test) anything I should watch for?

RebTech

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 13, 2019
Messages
41
I've been on this forum for awhile and completely rebuilt a 1995 Invader open bow boat. We now want to get a pontoon and I need your expertise as I trust you all, i just don't know enough about outboards and pontoons. I've been looking for a long time and I cam across this Pontoon. My dream Pontoon is a tritoon with capacity of at least 8 with a 115HP and vinyl flooring with good seats. My budget is under 20,000. these are rare in Canada. but I found one that I might be able to get it up to my liking with some work! it's not a 115hp but will accept it if I decide to add it in the future.
the one I found looks like it has good bones and the seats are in really awesome shape for the year (2007) think i only found 2-3 nicks in the vinyl. which i think can be easily fix by a pro or me.
The sticker it says max 115hp and up to 11 people. not sure what the real capacity is for Canada 8 or 9 people?
The unit I found is a 2007 Manitou Oasis 22. Wife and I looked at it at the dealer on Wednesday. It definitely has some cosmetic issues that you don't see in the photos. I'll list them:

1. the Tin of the fence somehow got bashed in on two corners, maybe they were drunk and kicked them in?? dealer asked last owner and he said "don't ask" I assume I could pull them out and flatten the tin and replace or buy new. the main fence looks fine, no bends or warps.

2. There are one missing machine screw holding the front door angle support, not a big deal.

3. Looked at the tubes, they look solid no dents only thing I noticed was the the lifting strakes had some minor bends near the tips probably from loading and unloading?

4. under side of the deck looks solid no signs of rot. it just looks like a dull grey and flat, you can see that the moved the main table by the captains chair slight over. no signs of rot but the holes are exposed. I would assume I could just fill this holes in with something?

5. Back right corner bracket cap is missing where the stern meets with the starboard rail meet the deck is exposed and its slightly delaminated they added 2 screws to try and compress it together. don't see any rot, but I think something could be applied and the add a new corner.

5. the Deck Vinyl.....the big IF! It looks well secured to the plywood Didn't see any signs of it lifting or bubbles. it was a hot day around 34C when we went to view it in the lot.
but in a lot of areas it is reddish and Crusty. If you zoom in and look closely at one of my photos you can see it at the front past the fence off the front of the boat
Dealer said they started to pressure wash it and it will come off. I'm Skeptical, I think its sun exposure.
When i take it of for the water test I'm going to bring some "Simple Green" and see if it will come off. It's not a huge deal breaker for me, I'm just super glad I found a pontoon without carpet. Our lake is full of fine sand and I'm done with all the sand in my Invader! plus with two Dogs!!! If I have to replace the deck in a year or two I'm willing to take that on!

6. Engine, dealer says about 300hrs. But first thing I notice was it had a 40HP sticker on the back. he told me that it is truly a 60HP and the only reason it has a 40HP sticker is because in some provinces they won't allow 16 year old's to drive a boat unless it 40Hp and under. I checked the serial Number is it is a 60Hp, I1.jpg2.jpg3.jpg4.jpg5.jpg6.jpg7.jpg8.jpg9.jpg10.jpgIMG_0741.JPGIMG_0738.JPGIMG_0739.JPG also could tell that the sticker was replace as you could see where the old sticker outline.

7. Plan to put a volt meter on the battery when we are moving to make sure the Stator is working and charging the battery. (buddy ran into this issue when he bought a pontoon)

8. one thing that sucks, doesn't come with a cover. called a local guy in the area and I was quoted about $2600 for a proper cover. I showed them photos of the dealer ad photos for a better idea of what I needed and they told me that my Boat (hopefully my Boat) is actually in there shop right now getting a new Bimini top top top put on! that was a pleasant surprize! Sunbrella 10yr Warranty.

What do you think guys is this a good boat or should I wait for something else?
 

DeepCMark58A

Captain
Joined
Aug 17, 2015
Messages
3,461
I am of the firm belief a pontoon is a pontoon a party barge, it does not do well being anything else, a fast pontoon does not handle waves well. it is like trying to golf 18 holes with one club. Get a pontoon and cruise slow and get a go fast boat for fun.
 

Captain of the Double G's

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 29, 2026
Messages
126
I am of the firm belief a pontoon is a pontoon a party barge, it does not do well being anything else, a fast pontoon does not handle waves well. it is like trying to golf 18 holes with one club. Get a pontoon and cruise slow and get a go fast boat for fun.
Agreed, way too much for that, you could find an older one, have it all redone and get an engine for less than 10k ( IMHO) Spend that money for a down payment for a house on the water. 99 % you will never lose.
 

jlh3rd

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Jul 10, 2017
Messages
1,118
I own a 2006 Lowe suncruiser Trinidad 240, (24') , bought around 2016-17.
Originally came with a 60hp, now has a 2021 115 hp (max). Re-upholstered over 2 years ago.
the dented tin is stretched, there's no working it back. It can be replaced but it won't match graphics. So you have to do all of it. Labor intensive. Google for places that sell pontoon replacement pieces and refurbishing.
Biggest issue for used pontoons are leaking toons. They like to develop cracks at the welded seams and at the "M" mounting brackets. Google it.
My toons had threaded plugs at the top of each section which allowed me to test for leaks....which I did have....at a seam and at a bracket. Luckily, the repairs were accessible with the boat on the trailer. Not hard to imagine the trouble (money) involved if not. A bracket crack may not be accessible.
My toons were replaced a few years ago...that's another story.

Make sure the transom has no cracks at the welded seams. It doesn't appear the boat has been over powered so it probably is ok.
My vinyl was also in good shape, until the one year the tops were un cleanable and beyond sun damaged clean up. But the end came when some of the wood supporting structures of the furniture pieces had rotted.
Your vinyl floor looks like permanent damage in the places you showed...I'm not there.
My boat still has original carpet....Wish it wasn't, but still looks ok. More important is that Lowe used marine grade decking which has held up extremely well.
From your description it appears suspect that your decking is not....I'm not there.
All I can say is that my 20 year old decking is not grey or delaminating anywhere.....yet. Deck replacement is extremely labor intensive...google it.

Back to toons. They come in different diameters. Mine are 25". I wouldn't want a pontoon with anything less.
My capacity plate says 12 people or 1700 lbs, so you can see it's unrealistic. 9 on my 24' is comfortable, and reasonable performance with the 115hp....

I actually got lucky with my purchase as I knew practically nothing concerning pontoons. The seller had concealed some issues with the motor....and the trailer.....All of which I discovered/fixed myself.

I paid $14,000 ....10 years ago....so there's that.
 
Last edited:

RGrew176

Commander
Joined
Mar 20, 2002
Messages
2,137
The only thing that bothers me is that is a rather large boat for a single axle trailer. Should be a tandem axle I have a 22' Godfrey and it sits on a tandem axle trailer. The rest of the boat looks decent for the age.

Give it a good going over and sea trial it prior to finalizing the purchase.
 

redneck joe

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
15,803
you sound like you know enough, keep doing what you are doing and 100% agree - a pontoon is for chugging down the river with people, nothing do do with performance.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
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Jul 23, 2011
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52,917
Pontoon boats are stuck between displacement speed and planing speed. its the nature of the hull. there wont be a significant performance jump between 60hp and 115hp on a 2-log 'toon

you can turn them into a fast brick, but you must throw A LOT of HP at them. as in 800hp + after you add the center log

so if speed is what you are after, look for a performance boat.

the upholstery vinyl in the pictures is at end of its life. (vinyl after 2004 doesnt last as long as the stuff prior to 2004). so expect to do upholstery in the near future.

the fence is toast. however not worth the effort to replace it unless you get the boat significantly cheap enough to warrant the expense and labor.

The sticker it says max 115hp and up to 11 people. not sure what the real capacity is for Canada 8 or 9 people?
the total weight of cargo (people + stuff) is based on ISO and IMO rules regardless if its specified by ABYC or transport canada. the pontoon doesn't fall under the small vessel complaince which assumes 90kg per person for balance reasons. I believe it falls under the standard TP1332 which is 65kg per person which is just slightly over the 150# ABYC calc on the tag. so ignore the number of people and look at the total weight of cargo. Then be honest with the weights of your passengers

its almost NEVER the number of people, its the total capacity in LB or KG. with one exception (see below)

1786446304772.png

because most people can not do math anymore, there is now a new law for capacity plates going into effect. Boat manufacturers not only now need to spell out the totals with the words "Not Exceeding"

two generic examples, one of the new USCG, one of the Transport Canada label

1786446522965.png

1786446644144.png

however, in addition boat manufacturers today must also provide a seating chart because some drunk/stoned guy had too many people in the bow of his boat and ran one over when she fell out because he wanted to "splash them"

so if your brother in law weighs 200kg........ he is 3 people worth

Now onto the exception. if you have a dozen newborn babies on board with you, you would be under weight, but you have 2 more than the capacity plaque for the boat you are looking at, so that would also not be in compliance.

regardless of the plaque you will find the boat crowded with more than 6-8 people

What do you think guys is this a good boat or should I wait for something else?
That is a decision between you and your wife. I personally would look for boats come fall when people are winterizing their boats to buy deals. However if you are looking to get on the water by the weekend, this may be the boat to buy.
 
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