Ever since the wife and I sold our 18' bow rider I/O last summer, we have been looking for a clean late model pontoon boat. We have had just about every kind of watercraft over the years, and now at this stage of life, we are ready for a Toon. Reading these forum posts for the past months has been a big help to figure out what we wanted, when there are so many factors to decide on. 20-21 feet was the size we wanted, with at least a 90 hp motor, since we like to pull a tube from time to time. We have been looking mostly at Benningtons, SunTrackers, and Lowe pontoon boats. Living in the southwest, we don't have nearly the used boats to choose from, and it seemed like everything we found was East of the Mississippi! If it was in state (AZ), usually it was overpriced or junk.
On a whim, we stopped off at the Cabela's to look at their Lowe toons. Long story short, they had an SS210 SunCruiser toon in the right color, and with all the gear we wanted. It came with a 90 HP 4-stroke Merc, ski tow bar, lifting strakes, full underskinning, and a tandem axle trailer. And it had the 25" logs instead of 24" on most boats. Plus by closing the deal this month, we got the engine warranty out to 5 yrs instead of 3, and a free fitted boat cover. Where as Bass Pro would not deal at all on the price of a Tracker, Cabela's really cut us a sweet deal. We had thought a new boat was out of our price range, but they came up with a figure we couldn't walk away from. We'll go pick it up at the end of the week after they detail it, and finish the prep. Can't wait to get it in the water!!! This is the longest we have been boatless in over 30 yrs!
QUESTIONS
1) What kind of break-in is recommended on the 4-stroke Merc's?
2) What about additional warranty coverage on the motor? They will extend out to 7 yrs (3 yr Standard, 4 yr Platinum coverage) for $880. How is the reliability on the high$$ components? I am leaning toward skipping it, and just going with the 5 yr coverage. We take pretty good care of our stuff, and don't skimp on preventative maintenance. What do you think?
Thanks for any advice!
Infidel
On a whim, we stopped off at the Cabela's to look at their Lowe toons. Long story short, they had an SS210 SunCruiser toon in the right color, and with all the gear we wanted. It came with a 90 HP 4-stroke Merc, ski tow bar, lifting strakes, full underskinning, and a tandem axle trailer. And it had the 25" logs instead of 24" on most boats. Plus by closing the deal this month, we got the engine warranty out to 5 yrs instead of 3, and a free fitted boat cover. Where as Bass Pro would not deal at all on the price of a Tracker, Cabela's really cut us a sweet deal. We had thought a new boat was out of our price range, but they came up with a figure we couldn't walk away from. We'll go pick it up at the end of the week after they detail it, and finish the prep. Can't wait to get it in the water!!! This is the longest we have been boatless in over 30 yrs!
QUESTIONS
1) What kind of break-in is recommended on the 4-stroke Merc's?
2) What about additional warranty coverage on the motor? They will extend out to 7 yrs (3 yr Standard, 4 yr Platinum coverage) for $880. How is the reliability on the high$$ components? I am leaning toward skipping it, and just going with the 5 yr coverage. We take pretty good care of our stuff, and don't skimp on preventative maintenance. What do you think?
Thanks for any advice!
Infidel
