Just wanted to give eveyone who gave me advice and all who answered my questions about purchasing a pontoon. We got it! We are proud owners of a 1989 24' Grumman pontoon. It seats 12, has a bimini, 90hp Evinrude motor, stereo, grill and came with a scissor trailer. In my opinion, we got a steal on this pontoon. The carpet and floor is in great shape. The pontoon itself isn't in perfect condition (scratches on sides and pontoons, faded paint, but other than that it looks great for being 23 years old) The seats need some work (reupholstering and a few screws came out of the hinges) but it's ok to use for now with towels over them. The canopy has a few stitches that need to be fixed but nothing that a little duct tape can't fix.
We took it out both Saturday and Sunday and had a few issues with it restarting after shutting it off. We eventually got it started but with being first time pontoon owners, we got a little scared that it wouldn't start. We've noticed that there must be an electrical issue because when we tried starting it after being anchored, the ignition sometimes got stuck. Also, the stereo cuts out when using the USB port after about 10 minutes. My daughter and her fiance are stereo buffs so they will take care of that issue.
Other than those minor issues, we LOVE it! We love the scissor trailer and my boyfriend had no problem pulling it out of the water in 4-wheel drive on the all sand boat landing near where we live. This is an investment will will enjoy for years to come.
I do have another question. We have a black lab and he loves to go on the pontoon and loves to go swimming but it's so hard to get him back in the boat. I was thinking of getting a dog ramp for the pontoon just for him but don't know if there was any other option instead of buying a $300 dog ramp. I did go and buy him a life vest yesterday because he got so tired swimming and there is no rest platform for him so the vest gives him a way to rest and float.
