Just bought first pontoon

[davesparks2001]

Hey guys, I still have a post running where I asked for some guidance on picking out a toon and yesterday I pulled the trigger. Thanks for all the great replies on that thread, now I have a new set of concerns. As the title indicates, this is my first pontoon and also my first outboard motor, 2-stroke to be specific. My first question (noobie type), what's the best way to deal with the mixing of the gas and oil? Beyond that, any general practices I should aclimate to? I'm used to a 19' bowrider with a 4.3L I/O so I'm sure this will be a major adjustment. The toon is a 1998 Starcraft Stardeck 240 (24'X8') Elite with a 90HP Force motor on it. I feel like I did pretty decent on this unit. The guys original asking price was $9800. NADA says $8200 with a 60HP motor and the guy just had the bimini recovered and a new custom cover made. I set up the appointment to check it out when he dropped his price to $8000. After looking it over I offered him $6000 and a 14' Jon boat with a 2 HP outboard and a trolling motor and to my surprise he said ok. I asked about test driving and without hesitation he offered to let me take it to the river for as long as I wanted but his reason for dropping the price so fast was it was in his way and he didn't need the money. OK, I'm rambling, back to the boat. It has a seating capacity of 17 and is rated for a maximum of 125 HP motor. Like all older boats I've seen it could use a little vinyl work but all the seating areas are comfortable. All the guages work and it came with a fish finder. The stereo seems to have an intermittant connection but I'm not sweating the small stuff. I'll be putting a new winch and transom straps on the trailer right away and as soon as the weather allows the boat to go in the water for a weekend I'll have to recarpet the trailer bunks also but overall the condition is pretty good for a 14 year old boat. If anyone has any experience with this model toon and knows of anything I should beware of please chime in. Hopefully as you guys keep educating me, I'll be able to start taking up the slack and educating other rookies so it doesn't always fall on the same ones. This site is awesome, thanks for letting me be a part of it. Dave

 

[steelespike]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

We had a 95? Starcraft Starfish 18. New boat and our 87 Evinrude 50.Wasn't impressed with the front gate it sagged from day one
and the stern light was a pain to keep upright.The bow running lights were very prone to breakage at the dock.Otherwise it had reasonable speed ,rode very smooth (typical of a pontoon)It also handled well in a very crowded but well protected marina.
The 90 Force wouldn't be my first choice for a motor, they have been out of business since 99 so some parts can be a pain.
They are relatively light (about 255)Todays 60 hp Etec are only 15lbs ligfhter They are said to be simple easy to work on motor and Force fans do say they are reliable.
You have a nice big boat that you could make into an overnighter with a camper top and a head.
If you need to update the seats you could have some fun and set it up like a deck with tables,chairs
maybe a porch glider and or a marine gas grill.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

You asked about mixing the oil and gas. As long as the ratio ends up 50:1 it doesn't matter how you do it. If you have the typical 6 gallon portable tanks, 1 pint of oil poured in the tank and filled with gas is 50:1. If you have a built in tank, do it the same way. Pour in a pinit of fuel add 6 gallons of fuel. Pour in another pint and another six. Once you figure out how accurate the fuel gauge is you will know how much fuel you can add depending on the what the gauge says. As you approach full you can add just 1/2 pint and 3 gallons of fuel. Don't worry about too much oil. Other than a little extra smoke it won't hurt anything. You do not need to worry about shaking the portable tank or shaking the entire boat if you have a built-in tank. Once you leave the gas station or go down the road 50 feet the fuel will be properly mixed.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

Congrats on the new boat, Starcraft builds a very nice boat and you should be happy with it.

Mixing gas depends on what type of tank you have, I use a 6 gallon and normally get the gas in first since you can never be sure exactly how much it will hold then get in the right amount of oil, if it is a built in tank you will have to sort of geuss how much it will hold and get the oil in first.

It won't hurt anything to mix rich if you miss but you don't want to go under and use a good TCW 3 outboard oil, alot of people, including myself, use the Wal Mart brand oil, Dura Tech or something like that, it si good oil that won't break the bank.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

[BatDaddy1887]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

We pre-mix and usually buy marine oil on sale in the winter in the gallon jugs. If you decide to use the gallon jugs, a really handy device that I use is a marine oil mixing bottle with the correct fill lines marked on the outside of the bottle (see photo) we use 50:1. They are available at many places including Amazon. Have fun and please post some pictures as we would love to see them.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

If you buy your oil in quarts by the case measuring becomes easy the bottles are marked on the side.
2.6 oz per gallon is 50:1. A pint to 6 gallons.assuming a portion of fuel left in the tank.

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

Congratulations Dave, and welcome to the wonderful world of "Tooning". Since you think you'll be re-doing the carpet on those trailer bunks, you might consider using the heavy duty vinyl/rubber/plastic type covering. Sometimes the chemicals used in the pressure treated bunks leaches through the carpet, and can cause small holes/ pitting on the toons. Good luck !!!

 

[davesparks2001]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

I'll see if I can get some pictures on here. Thanks for the response on the mixing issue, I thought 50:1 was probably right but I didn't know if thorough mixing before pouring in was required. Any rhyme or reason to the carpeting for the bunks, just regular indoor/outdoor?

 

[davesparks2001]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

Hey Rooster, your post must have came through while I was adding the pictures. Are you talking about vinyl, rubber or plastic sheeting in general or is there something just for use on the trailer bunks?
Hey Bat Daddy, I just noticed you're in Upper Chesapeake. We cross the Chesapeake Bay every summer to visit family in Cambridge, MD. Thanks for posting, I am lovin this site!

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

Hey Dave, not sure where my dealer gets them, but he orders all his Pontoon trailers w/ that type of covering, and has been doing that since at least 2005. They must be somewhat common. If you don't have any luck, send me a PM, and I'll find out where he gets them. By the way, nice, clean looking toon.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

Congratulations on your purchase. You certainly did all right. I also have a Starcraft pontoon, and I've had it for 26 years. Pontoons are something that has long, long lifespans as long as the decks and seats are kept out of the weather.

You can buy a funnel shaped plastic mixing cup that has a graduated scale on the side for 50:1. Depending on how much fuel you use, just put the oil into the cup up to the right mark--and pour the oil into your tank. Boat stores and motorcycle dealerships sell them.

Your Force motor is old generation, however they're pretty torquey motors. They seem to do good on pontoon boats. Treat it right, do required maintenance and run it til it dies. With few moving parts, spark plugs and cleaning the carbs is about all that's needed to keeping it running right. I try to use 100% gasoline to avoid the old 90/10 gasoline breaking down into acids. 90/10 deterioration will cause problems with any rubber parts in your fuel system/carbs.

Three things you need to do for peace of mind on any used boat. Replace the water pump impeller, change the lower unit grease and replace the trailer bearings and races before you use the boat. I would also suggest replacing the axle caps with bearing buddies.

 

[davesparks2001]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

Thanks for all the great advice. I just took the pontoon to the shop where my bowrider has been for the last few days. I'm having the fish finders swapped out since the one on my bowrider is also a GPS Chartplotter (Lowrance HDS5). I told the repair shop to check/replace the impeller, change the gear lube in the lower unit and check the bearings on the trailer. I also told them I just got the boat so if they see any cause for concern let me know. I'm going to add a second battery so we can enjoy music and fish finder and such without fear of draining the starting battery and of course I'll work on the trailer as soon as I can get the boat off of it. I'll probably be replacing the stereo speakers fairly soon also so if anyone knows of any marine speakers that above average please chime in, I think mine are 6 or 6-1/2". I appreciate all the great advice and I'll keep checking this most every day so if you'd like to contribute any more advice, suggestions, pointers, what ever, I'll humbly accept all. I'll try to do my part also and start contributing to other newbie threads as you guys continue to bring me up to speed, so it doesn't always fall on the same ones. Thanks again, Dave

 

[davesparks2001]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

Just got home from Bass Pro Shops where I looked at new carpet for the trailer bunks and I've got sticker shock. It looked to have a backing on it so I'm not sure if that would accomplish the isolation The Rooster was referring to or not. Does anyone know of a reasonable cost effective source for this stuff. I'm not trying to be a tight wad and I want to take good care of my boat but the stuff I saw at Bass Pro was $23 a piece and I'd need two for each bunk. I was hoping to get off a little easier than that.

 

[a1nowell]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

dave,
If The Rooster is talking about getting some seperation between your bunk carpet and the leaching of chemicals from the treated bunk board through the carpet this is what I did. http://www.wholesalemarine.com/p/T-D-86164/Boat+Trailer+Bunk+Slick+Kit,+10+piece.html
This gives me about 1/4 inch separation, my toons set easily on the glides.

Welcome to tooning, it's like going boating in your livingroom.

 

[davesparks2001]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

I like the idea of the glides but that creates another question. Since the glides provide separation, is there any reason to recarpet the bunks? I could put glides on all the bunks for about the same money or less than covering them all with new carpet and leaving the bunks exposed would make it easy to keep up with the condition of the treated lumber.

 

[River_Lizard]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

Dave,

Do you have access to the top of your inboard fuel tank? If so, look at the label it should tell you how many gallons it will hold, if not you can search online for how to figure out the gallons of your tank. I mix mine in 6 gallon portables and just monitor my fuel level in my built-in tank, when needed I just add to fill it back up again. If you pre-mix in portables you won't have to figure out how much oil/fuel mix you need in your built-in tank it'll already be pre-mixed in the portable tanks. I usually store 2 full pre-mix portables unless I know I'm going to do some running on the river and then I have 2 more 6 gallon tanks that I fill up and take with me. I finally got a 24 gallon tank for my pontoon, which will make it nice not having to bring portable tanks with me every trip...that 12 gallon tank with a 90 hp just wasn't cutting it. Good luck with your new toon...I think you and your family will really enjoy it.

 

[a1nowell]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

Dave,
No need to carpet the bunks, you can put the glides right over the exposed wood bunks. The key is the seperation between your toons and the treated wood. I forgot to mention the glides make your boat slide on and off the trailer easily.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

Lowes and Home Depot sell indoor outdoor carpet that's easily cut into strips for trailer bunks. I usually put it on with roofing nails or galvanized 1 1/2" screws. It's also very cheap.

 

[a1nowell]

Re: Just bought first pontoon

Bamaman,
If your bunks are treated wood, the chemicals in the wood will leach through the carpet and pit you aluminum toons.