So you came here because you are interested in either buying a pontoon boat, or just some information on them. Either way you are in for a what you were searching for. By the end of this article you should have a better overall understanding on pontoon boats and which type would be the best for you.

What exactly are pontoon boats?

Pontoon boats are like a raft on the water, but they stay bouyant by the means of two to three cylinder shaped “pontoons”. They come in many sizes and have been around for over 60 years, and they are continuing to grow in popularity.

What types of pontoon boats are there?

There are many types of pontoon boats, such as single person pontoon boats and duel pontoon boats, often referred to as inflatable pontoon boats. There are mini pontoon boats, which are usually anywhere from 8-19 feet, and they are great for fishing. Then there is the most popular for parties on the boat, which are usually 20 feet and up.

Types of inflatable pontoon boats

Inflatable pontoon boats are great for many reasons, to me the main one is the portability of them. Some of them can be assembled in under ten minutes, and can be stored in the back of you truck or van when not inflated. They are also referred to as dinghy’s, and they are designed to hold 1 or 2 people depending on what type it is you have.

I think that inflatable pontoon boats are excellent for fishing, whether you are on a lake, in a calm bay, a river or saltwater flats. You will have easy access to those shallow flats that most boats do not. They are also more sturdy than canoes and small rafts, as they are designed to handle small waves and wakes you would expect to get while fishing inshore.

The cruising and fishing pontoon boats

These are the more popular ones in my opinion. They can range in length from about 19-30 feet to 8 feet in width. Definitely the bang for your buck when it comes to square footage on a boat. The pontoon boat has more space than all other boats if you are comparing them by spare footage.

The best thing about pontoon boats is that they can be customized just about any way that you want them to be. If you like to fish there are tons of fishing stuff that you can install on the boat such as live wells, rod holders, secured coolers, and much more, basically anything that you can think of.

Party Boats and Tour Crafts

These are the monster pontoon boats. These are the ones that are usually too wide to be on the highways as they can get over the legal width limit to be on the road. If you own a business where you are giving tours on the water then this is the type of boat that you would want.

These types of boats are usually more than 30 feet, and are popular for tourism, and if you have the right business you will be able to repay the price of the pontoon boat in no time at all. Some of the types of businesses that use these are sight seeing and touring pontoon boats.

If you are someone that likes to get on the water, and has boating skills, and also completely stuck on what he is going to do this weekend, then why not give pontoon boat rentals a try? Dollar for dollar, this is one of the best ways that you and your family, friends, dogs, can get on the water and have fun. With that being said – I’m going to cover a couple ideas that you could do if you decide to take action in a pontoon boat rental for the weekend.

Fishing from a Pontoon Boat

Some types of pontoon boats are excellent for inshore fishing, while others not so much. If you and your buddies are planning on renting a pontoon boat for the day to go fishing, there are a couple of necessities that the boat should have. In my opinion, the most important thing you should have on the boat is a live well – to ensure that you have live bait to catch some fish, but that’s just me, some people have better luck with lures.

The pontoon boat should also have a couple of fishing chairs, and also an anchor. Make sure to bring plenty of water to drink and also sunscreen – especially if you are renting the pontoon boat ina a hot climate that gets a lot of sunlight.

Looking for Manatees

Lot’s of pontoon boat rental establishments will offer manatee sight seeing tours. If you are in an area that is full with manatees, you may not have to pay the extra money for a guide to take you out, you can just rent the pontoon boat and stroll up and down canals until you spot them, and since pontoon boats can hold many people, you can have many eyes looking out for manatees.

Fun on the Beach

This is one of my favorite things to do with the family when I am out on a pontoon boat. Bring a grill (if the beach allows it) and grill some hot dogs and hamburgers on the beach. As many pontoon boats are extremely spacious, with many compartments of storage, it should be no problem storing beach chairs, umbrellas, towels, and what ever else you may want to bring along on your beach picnic.

Just remember, when anchoring a pontoon boat onto the beach, ensure that you are always paying close attention to whether the tide is outgoing or coming in – especially if you are parked directly on the beach, as a fast outgoing tide can get a pontoon boat stuck extremely quick.

If you are looking into getting a boat, you may want to start looking around at the used pontoon boats that are out there. Pontoon boats have many uses, some of these may include fishing, tour boats, party boats, or just plain old play boats.

While they are not really designed to go off shore, there is still plenty of fun to be had on them. Bring the whole entire family, pull up on the beach and have a cook out, while the kids play in the sand. With more square footage for your money compared to any other type of boat, you will have plenty of room to store your coolers and bags, and even a couple little portable grilles if you want to have a cook out.

Many people choose to buy used pontoon boats over new ones, and why not. If you are buying from a good reputable dealer, you can still get similar warranties on the engine and the rest of the stuff, just as you would if you were buying a brand new pontoon boat for sale. If you are in the Fort Myers area, you can find great deals on used pontoon boats at Marina Mikes, even if you are out of town, they will deliver it to you as long as you are south of the Mason Dixon line.

Okay so I am going to cover some of the reasons that fishing from a pontoon boat is better than fishing from any other kind of boat, and then I am going to go over some of the disadvantages of fishing from a pontoon boat.

First off if you are just learning to fish, this will be a great way for you to do so, as pontoon boats are very spacious when compared to other types of boats that are out there. You can think of it as a raft, nice and flat, and as I have mentioned before, if you are looking for square footage on the water, then pontoon boats are the way to go.

Bring the kids or kid fishing, there is more room to learn how to cast, walk around. This also greatly benefits those that are learning how to throw a cast net, as you will have plenty of space to swing around and toss the net. Also one of my favorites about pontoon boats are the ones that have a sunroof on them. This is perfect for many reasons. One is that you can go out fishing and not get catch hell from your woman. The women can sit out and tan, drink their margaritas or whatever else it is that they drink, while the men can fish.

Another advantage of having a sunroof is, that you will be able to see all of the fish, assuming that you are flats fishing inland in saltwater, or on a lake looking for some bass. The higher you are the more field you can cover with your eyes, especially if you have on some good polarized glasses.

The space that is available on pontoon boats can greatly benefit fishermen, as they can add livewells, coolers, tackle boxes, basically anything that you can imagine. You will also have plenty of room to store all of your fishing gear such as nets, rods and reels, cast nets, and much more.

If you are getting a pontoon boat for fishing, then you should know that it is not recommended to take it into the oceans or gulfs, as rough seas and pontoon boats do not mix well together. It is by design, some people though ignore this and pay the price by getting soaked. Pontoon boats are not designed for rough waters, actually the good majority of them are not anyway.

The other disadvantage is because they are so wide, and if you are fishing canals and the flats, there may be some spots that you will just not be able to access. Those hard to reach spots are where inflatable pontoon boats will come in handy. Pontoon fishing boats are what you make of them. You can buy a pontoon fishing boat fully equipped for the freshwater or saltwater angler, or you can turn a ordinary pontoon boat into a fishermen’s paradise customizing it to the edge of your imagination.

The way that I look at pontoon boats are homes that are on the water, and many of them actually are, except they are called something different, houseboats. You can do whatever you want to them, you can spend money to customize them a whole lot more than many of the other boats that are out there. That is why I love them so much, now if I was a deep sea fisherman I would not be going out 20 miles for dolphin in a pontoon, I wouldn’t even go a mile out in a pontoon, but I would fish lakes and the saltwater inshore flats all day in a pontoon fishing boat.

In the modern age, almost every pontoon boat that is constructed is made from aluminum. The reason that companies and boat manufacturers use aluminum is that it is a very light metal, and it does not rust at all. To make the log shaped pontoons, sheets of aluminum are rolled and then welded into cylinders. The cylinders do not cover the boat from aft to stern, they slant upwards as they get to the stern of the boat, this is necessary so the boat will be able to move forward with a very small amount of resistance.

If they were just flat you would need a lot more power to move the boat, and that would be poor design as you would be wasting money on fuel. There are anywhere from 2-3 cylinders, but actually there are a lot more than that. Just to make up one, several cylinders are welded together with each having its own water tight compartment, so if a hole gets punctured in one of the cylinders then there are many more water tight compartments to keep the boat afloat.

Boat builders can choose from different kinds of aluminum, it will all depend on what size boat that they will be building. It isn’t extremely important on what grade aluminum is used if you plan on using the pontoon boat in freshwater. But if you plan on using the pontoon boat for saltwater you will want the highest quality that you can get, as saltwater has the tendency to corrode metal.

There are three main types of logs that are used on pontoon boats, these are the traditional round logs, U-shaped logs, and boat shaped bottom logs. The boat shaped bottom logs, or pontoons, are made for speed, so if you want a boat that travels fast you may want to look into a boat that has these. The traditional rounded logs are rarely used these days in pontoon construction as there are many other factors that can be easily upgraded to contribute to better speed, and better deck attachment. U-shaped logs are probably the most popular logs that are used in pontoon construction, as they provide great buoyancy and are easier to assemble to the beams that connect the 2 or 3 pontoon logs.

The 2 or three pontoon logs are attached together by aluminum bridge beams, and they are generally 16 inches apart. The beams are either connected to the pontoon logs by means of welding, or by nuts and bolts. If the boat is using nuts and bolts then they will have to be inspected annually to make sure that they are still tight, while if the cross beams are welded onto the pontoon logs there would be no need to check up on the tightness.

Once the beams are intact then a boat builder will start adding the deck, which is almost always made of plywood that has been pressure treated so the wood will not rot. A few reasons why boat builders use plywood as a deck over metal are metal decks get hot easier, this would be bad on a hot sunny day. Another reason is that would absorb vibrations and sound a whole lot better than metal does.

Once the deck is mounted onto the cross beams it is usually outline in a finished aluminum for looks and support, and they marine carpet is added on top of the deck also in most cases. From there the boat builder could install railing and furniture on the boat which is mounted to the deck, now for the main design all that is left to do is install the motor.

Pontoon boats almost always use outboard motors, and the mounting of the motor is easily done by use of a motor mount that is installed between the pontoon logs.  I have not seen many pontoon boats that have more than one outboard motor installed on them but I am sure that it possible and there are some out there with dual motors.

Now that the main design is done there are many other things that could be added to the pontoon boat. For instance Crest along with other pontoon boat manufacturer’s have models where an aluminum sundeck is mounted to the frame, giving the pontoon boat another floor. Ladders are often installed on new pontoon boats, and can easily be installed if you have a boat without one.

Pontoon Boats Can Go Fast

Most people think pontoon boats are big flat rafts that are very slow and are only made for cruising, since they are not designed for the big waters of the gulf and definitely not supposed to go into the ocean. This is very untrue, there are many pontoon boats out there that are fast and can break over 40 mph you just have to have your boat set up to do so.

Like I have talked about before there are two basic kinds of motorized pontoon boats, the ones that have the 2 metal cylinders under the deck and the ones that have three. The metal cylinders (or pontoons) allow for the boat to float freely, if you have a boat with two cylinders than it is mainly designed for cruising, not many people care about fast speeds when purchasing a pontoon boat because its not in their right mind to picture a pontoon boat that can haul ass.

But if you do want a pontoon boat that hauls ass then get one that has three pontoons under the deck, this allows for aerodynamics to take over and there will be lest resistance to allow the boat to ‘glide’ a lot faster, but beware that a boat with trio of pontoons is going to cost you a little more money out of your pocket, but if it is speed you are looking for you are going to have to pay that extra dollar. It is the same thing with a car or a motorcycle, if you want to go fast you are going to have to pay for it, same with a pontoon boat.

So you have a pontoon boat with three pontoon under the deck supporting the resistance to haul ass in the water, but the main thing that is going to make you boat jet is going to be the motor, or motors. Think about it, the more power you have pushing the boat the faster you are going to go, just like an airplane or jet, whatever size engine is under the hood (or in this case on the back of the boat), will greatly affect how fast the boat is going to travel.

But if you can’t go out in the ocean or gulf then what is the point of having a fast pontoon boat then? Let’s see, ummmmm what about water sports ! Of course, think about having a vessel on the water that is fast enough for someone to ride some skis or a wakeboard behind, there’s a whole days worth of fun right there.

Water sports are very popular they even feature them in ESPN’s X-Games. So yes it is pretty uncommon to see a pontoon boat speeding through the lake or out in the flats dragging some water skiers behind it, but it does happen. There are pontoon boats out there that have a couple 200 HP motors on the back to allow such great speeds, the only downfall I would think of this is that the turning on a pontoon boat isn’t that great, but that extra pontoon in the middle aids this tremendously. So think again if you thought that pontoon boats are primarily for cruising canals and lakes at 10 mph.

A Little Info On Used Pontoon Boats

The pontoon motorboat was invented in the year 1952. Since then pontoon boats have been growing ever so greatly with popularity. Now most people prefer pontoon boats over various sporting boats. There’s many good reasons for this, pontoon boats are cheaper for there size, meaning you can fit more people on them for your buck, the more people you have on board the bigger the party, the more the merrier, the more fish will get caught and more drinks to be drunk. So pontoon boats have had a good habit of being referred to as party boats. I mean why not? With countless options and customizing they should be considered a party boat, I mean you can buy furniture, fridges, carpet, custom tops, railings, and many other things to make it a party boat. I had seen a picture of one the other day that had a slide built in on the roof, now tell me that wouldn’t be fun.  Pontoon boats can also be used for water sporting like wake boarding, or water skiing, skurfing, depending on what size of motor you have. If you are little tight on budget, and need to fond a great deal, then I would look into used pontoon boats for sale.

Pontoon boats are flat boats with two or three cylinder shaped pontoons under the deck, used as a flotation device, which also deeply aides in the amount of rocking that’s done. They usually have railing across the outer part of the boat, that go up to the bow and usually stop a couple feet from it. The only bad thing about a pontoon boat would be, that they are not made to go out in the ocean. The bow is only a couple feet from the water, and it doesn’t take a big wave to crash over the bow, so if you do plan on going off shore you better make sure that the seas are very calm, but I would not recommend it at all. There’s plenty of places to go inshore in most cases, you can fish the flats or get involved in some water skiing, or you could just throw a party with your friends and family on the water.

Choosing The Right Size Pontoon Boat

The smaller sized motor pontoon boats are generally about 18 foot long, an 18 foot long pontoon boat can comfortably hold about 8-10 people. The larger sized motor pontoon boats are about 26 foot long, and they can comfortably hold about 16-20 people. Just something to keep in mind, because even the smaller pontoon boats can carry a good load, and 8-10 people is definitely enough people for a fishing trip or a small little party on the water. If you really want to get a feel for how many people you can comfortably fit onto the boat, then you can always rent one for a day or a half of day. Just contact you local marina and see if they are renting out pontoon boats, renting them out for a day is very common in the United States, and if you get enough buddies together, they can all chip in and it shouldn’t be too expensive to have a fun day out on the water, this will give you the best idea of how many persons you can comfortably fit onto a pontoon boat. They also make pontoon boats as tour guides, these are generally a lot bigger than the ones you would fish on or go down a river. The sizes can range from 12′ x 35′ to 12 x 46′ and bigger.

Why A Pontoon Boat?

So why should you purchase a pontoon boat instead of a faster sporting boat? Well like I already stated above you can fit a whole lot more people on a pontoon boat for your dollar. And another good reason is that the chics dig pontoon boats. Thing about it, the girls can lay out in the sun and tan, while the guys can be catching fish and drinking beer, or the girls and guys can be fishing, or the guys can be laying out getting a tan?  And on a pontoon boat there is room for tons of coolers to keep your drinks cold and for people to still comfortably walk around. The amount of customization you could do to a pontoon boat is off the charts, you can treat it just like a house, you will get what you put into it. Say you wanted to optimize it for fishing, well you wouldn’t need a powerful motor to do this, which will cut down on your expenses, because you aren’t going to be going out into the ocean to try and catch some fish, at least I hope you are not. There is all the room you will need, you could easily build or buy a fishing rack for your pontoon boat, you will not have any trouble trying to figure out where you are going to store your fishing gear either. Rod holders can also be mounted all over the boat for your convenience, which will make it so you can have multiple lines out on the water at once to increase your chances to catch some fish. Whether it be all new furniture and railings, new carpet, or just a little motor upgrade, you can make the boat into anything that you want to.

So again, lets look at some of the advantages we have here. They are the lowest cost for square footage of deck space, which is more room to walk around, install chairs, furniture, ice chests, whatever you can think of. They are great for teaching kids how to fish, the stability of the boat will make it easier for the youngsters to adapt their sea legs, plus all of the room to move around and fight the fish. They make a great boat for swimming, diving, or snorkeling, you will have pleny of room to keep all of your equipment.

Safety On The Water

Safety on the water must not be taken lightly when you are out on the water, and there are some items that are mandatory for you to have deemed by the U.S. Coast Guard. You should have at least one life jacket for every person on the boat, or in other words, if your boat has a seating capacity of thirteen then you should have thirteen life jackets on board. Another good thing that you should have on board is an emergency kit, this should consist of medical items that you may need to treat wounds, there are no doctors on board in the water most of the times. A flare kit, if your pontoon boat breaks down, you will need some way to let someone know exactly where you are located. A radio, the main communication on the water is through radio, you should have one in case you need to contact the  U.S. Coast Guard in case of an emergency. An anchor is always good to have, if your boat breaks down and the engine will not start, you will want to anchor and avoid currents from pulling you out to sea or in the ocean, you will sit still until some can be contacted to come and help.