Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

[gpfishingdude]

I am fairly new on here so I don't know if this is proper. My wife is looking for a USED 16' fishing pontoon boat with a gas motor. It has to be in very good shape and reasonable. We live in Illinois but could travel a few hundred miles for a good one.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

Sorry, no buying and selling here.

Well, not on the boards any way. However, iboats does have a classifieds section that's geographically searchable. Just go to the home page and you'll see it.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

Look here http://boats.iboats.com/

or craigslist

or ebay

or local

 

[gpfishingdude]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

Thanks! We missed a good one this morning-gone when we called. I'm sure she will find something soon. Thanks again

 

[5150abf]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

There are alot more 18' boats than 16' so maybe broaden your search and it is just a bit bigger, 16 is pretty small.

Let everyone you know know you are looking for a boat, the more eyes you have ont eh ground the better chance you have of finding one.

By the way, I am looking for a Honda XR 650 l, anything between '99 and 2005 and preferably in Michigan, Ohio or Indiana, just saying.

 

[DonHof]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

Try Craigs list, just be careful!

 

[markheck1]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

If you are really wanting a 16 footer you might also think about a deck boat too...I bet you'll see a lot more of those in 16 than pontoons,

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

Misty Harbor makes a very nice 18 footer specifically for fishing. Has fishing charis at all four corners and is set up with a raised gate at the bow so you can install a trolling motor. Has a live well as well. They also have a 16 footer but it is more of a cruiser than a serious fishing setup. This is an 18 footer.

 

[gpfishingdude]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

I know that some of the 18 footers are a lot nicer but she has the idea that we can get a 16 footer in some of the smaller lakes we fish at that have smaller shallow ramps. Sure are a great bunch of people on this forum always such great advice. Thanks

 

[lncoop]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

An eighteen footer won't be any more difficult to launch than a sixteen footer and will be much more enjoyable and easier to find.

 

[gpfishingdude]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

I am glad that she is looking at the 18 footers now. I think the 16 footer would have been too small by the time we took anybody fishing with us. Like somebody said there are a lot of nice 18 footers out there. She is starting to tell me what the differences are in them now. Which ones are better than others. I was just wondering has anybody reinforced their pontoons? Is it possible to add something on the front to keep from knocking holes in them?

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

Pontoons are made to beach and will easly stand a lot of abuse and unless your hitting rocks at speed its mostly fine.

 

[1973Chieftain]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

Where are you located? I've seen several decently priced ones in central mi cl.

 

[gpfishingdude]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

We bought a very sound 91 bass buggy 18 with a 50HP Merc that purrs like a kitten. We found it in an area newspaper and got it for a real reasonable price. We towed it home-about 35 miles and the trailer looks like it should do fine. I want to just do the basic stuff to it first so that we can get it in the water and try it out before we spend money fixing it up to look like new. She's looking at furniture for it and I'm thinking about trim and tilt. Thanks for the interest that you have shown--so many were sold the day or hour before we called about them that we were getting kind of discouraged with looking.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

Cool. We likey pics around here.

 

[gpfishingdude]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

Sorry about the lack of pictures but I have been too busy fixing up the boat and trailer the way we want it. I really want to thank the guys who advised us against getting a 16 footer. With everything we are putting on this 18 footer I'm beginning to wonder if we will need a bigger one yet. Maybe I can post some pictures later.

 

[Sunsetrider]

Re: Wife wants a small pontoon boat!

I had a 16 and it had a 6 ft beam (keel-to-keel). Would not fit on any trailer known to man. Nice boat, great for a run around the lake but more than 4 and you risked taking on a little water. Be happy you settled for an 18.