Pro's and Con's - Need some assistance

[stever40]

Hey all

Need a some assistance. My wife and I are in the boat shopping mode. We currently do not have a boat but have had two others. Both recreation so I would consider myself a novice. I want to lean towards the Yamaha 242 LS or new X and she wants to moving into the Sylvan S5 Extreme pontoon.

I look to your experience as to as to the pro's and con's of these boats.

A few things to note: This will be fresh water only, have a son that has disabilities (DS), we do tube, wake board, ski, etc.

Thanks for your input.

 

[LTM1964]

One big decision is whether you are trailering or not. If you trailer very far, very often, I wouldn't consider the pontoon. Even if you are only trailering a short distance to the ramp, it may be a hassle to maneuver the pontoon to the ramp and some parking areas are not really suited to parking pontoon trailers. I have seen several pontoon trailers hit because they don't fit in the parking spaces. Many people have to drive their truck over the parking stops to get more of the trailer inside a space.

 

[Bruce]

The Yamaha has easier (lower) access to and from the water and a head.

Depending on the level of disability the flat deck of the pontoon may be easier to move your son around. If he is able to handle the steps to the swim deck then the Yamaha is likely better for you.

Where are you located? Perhaps someone in your area could take you out for a ride.

 

[Dough]

I say one of each! Really tho, don't buy a pontoon, look at tritoons. 150 horse min. They are taking over on my lake. My best boating buddy has an x-polde with 350. Not for me tho, maybe when I'm 90! I'll take a yamaha or any v bottom over any toon.

 

[stever40]

The Yamaha has easier (lower) access to and from the water and a head.

Depending on the level of disability the flat deck of the pontoon may be easier to move your son around. If he is able to handle the steps to the swim deck then the Yamaha is likely better for you.

Where are you located? Perhaps someone in your area could take you out for a ride.

I am located in MN. We do have the ability to take a lake ride on a Yamaha. Not the Sylvan

View attachment 28070 I say one of each! Really tho, don't buy a pontoon, look at tritoons. 150 horse min. They are taking over on my lake. My best boating buddy has an x-polde with 350. Not for me tho, maybe when I'm 90! I'll take a yamaha or any v bottom over any toon.

Good idea with buying both. $150K in boats would make the Warden (wife) real happy.
The Sylvan is a tri-toon with a 300 E-Tec on it. I hear ya with the 90 bit. Thats what I tell her.

 

[Bruce]

Go out on the Yamaha, I bet it sells her.

I have a friend whose father has a 30' tritoon with I believe dual 250s. It is much better than the party barges cruising along at 10 mph but I would prefer a boat with a hull.

Plus that deep prop on the pontoon is more likely to need replacement.

 

[octavio3311]

Pontoons do have their place - especially if you want to entertain several families. And as @Bruce mentioned - might be better for your son depending on his level.
And some of the newer ones are equipped with 300hp, wake towers, big sound systems, bars, grills, etc.

But - the only pontoons I want part of - is the ones owned by my friends. It's best to have a friend with one to cove out with.
As for me - no thank you.

 

[OrangeTJ]

Well , let's see. The tritoon will be much quieter, almost certainly smoother in chop, roomier by far, and easier for somebody with physical limitations to be on. The Yamaha will be more nimble, easier to trailer and store, and arguably much more stylish. It will also probably produce a more pronounced wake for boarding.

A tri with. 300 hp outboard will likely run close to 50 mph, which is not slow. The Yam is probably a couple ticks faster.

As I think about our next boat , a tri is in the running. Probably a Bennington or a Harris.

 

[jawsf16]

I don't think this is an easy decision. I love my Yamaha, but I will go against the norm here and say that sylvan is a nice pontoon. They have some awesome features that I could see my family enjoying, especially if you couple it with a jet ski for the speed/maneuverability fix. There is no doubt that the pontoon is the minivan of the water, but when my wife and I finally got a minivan our only regret was not getting it sooner. (Don't worry I drive a truck and fly jets, so no Sally comments fellas!) Just another point of view. i think you need to get into both and make a very well informed decision.

 

[OrangeTJ]

I for one am very excited to lake test a tritoon with a big outboard. I wish they were prettier but man the strong suits if the toon seem like they would be awesome for how we spend a lot of our on-water time.

 

[txav8r]

Three things @stever40 ,
1. Ease of maintenance. This single thing will sell most folks, but I doubt that will sway your wife.
2. Safety, no prop in the water or outdrive for that matter. I think this is a key feature that you wife needs to see and appreciate.
3. Swim Deck. The Yamaha swim deck by far takes boating to a level I had not seen before I bought my first Yamaha. Go take a test drive. I doubt that the salesman can or does demos that can show you all you can do with the boat.

I suggest you change your profile to include your MN location in your profile so that you can find a local member that can possibly take you guys or at least show you, how to anchor deep and back into the beach area, and utilize that swim deck not only efficiently, but get the most bang for the buck! I suspect that even the the "toon" may have great features, the maintenance and storage, combined with trailering issues, would turn me off. And getting to and from the water without a great swim deck would add to the misery.

Who do we have in MN that can show Steve the finer points of Yamaha ownership?

 

[Glassman]

When My wife and I were boat shopping we made sure to keep our kids factored into the equation and from your post I sense you are too.
There must be an underlying reason your wife is leaning toward the pontoon. And if it were me, I'd be sure to sniff around that tree before setting my sights on any boat.
Inherent in the two differing types of boats you are considering are the handling characteristics of each.
Two ends of the spectrum, so to speak.
Go as a family and test drive each. That's the only way to be sure. Or as close to sure as you can get.
I won't begin to try and sell you on a Yamaha. That's not needed. It's a great boat, but it's not a pontoon.
And no pontoon delivers like the Yamahas.

 

[mark_m]

One big decision is whether you are trailering or not. If you trailer very far, very often, I wouldn't consider the pontoon. Even if you are only trailering a short distance to the ramp, it may be a hassle to maneuver the pontoon to the ramp and some parking areas are not really suited to parking pontoon trailers. I have seen several pontoon trailers hit because they don't fit in the parking spaces. Many people have to drive their truck over the parking stops to get more of the trailer inside a space.

My neighbor flipped empty pontoon trailer he rented to transport his moms toon from Columbus to Toledo. Unloaded they have a very high center of gravity and he unknowingly received it from the rental place in the "rolled up" position making it too heavy.

Toons are going to come with outboard motors and lower units and associated maint. I have seen more than one boat towed up the ramp this season with the out drive down.

Buy your second boat first. As others have pointed out about the swim deck it is excellent place to hang out - no props to cut you up.

 

[Julian]

You can tube behind a pontoon, but they aren't very good with side to side swinging, so tubing tends to be pretty dull. Would be a lot easier for wheel chair access for sure. They don't call them party barges for nothing!

 

[SCSTWG]

Pontoons have come a very long way and the Sylvan S5 Extreme is a very nice boat. While Pontoons are the minivan's of boats, some have some basic watersports (primarily tubing) ability. That said, none of them are going to compare to a Yamaha for water sports. I think you need to evaluate how you are going to use the boat. If you are going to be doing watersports for 10 minutes per outing and send the rest of the time strolling around the edge of the lake or at anchor, the pontoon is probably the best bet. If you plan to trailer it, spend a fair amount of time doing watersports (especially surfing, wakeboarding, etc.) and you have a need for speed, then I like the Yamaha. As others have said, the maintenance of the Yamaha is much easier and less expensive and having the folks on this forum as a resource is really invaluable and probably the best reason to own a Yamaha. Good luck - either way you will be on the water and having fun.

 

[Kevin1741]

If i didn't travel to different bodies of water, I personally would go with a pontoon and have a couple jet skis.

 

[OrangeTJ]

The outboard engines used on most toons are not hard to maintain. Nowhere near the complexity of an I/o. Also many manufacturers have performance oriented hull designs which place the center toon lower and incorporate lifting strakes to give v-hull like handling. You won't be doing spins, for sure, but a performance tri is a different animal from a traditional two log pontoon. Watch a video on the manitou xplode or bennington with esp to see what I mean.

 

[mark_m]

My neighbor flipped empty pontoon trailer he rented to transport his moms toon from Columbus to Toledo. Unloaded they have a very high center of gravity and he unknowingly received it from the rental place in the "rolled up" position making it too heavy.

Toons are going to come with outboard motors and lower units and associated maint. I have seen more than one boat towed up the ramp this season with the out drive down.

Buy your second boat first. As others have pointed out about the swim deck it is excellent place to hang out - no props to cut you up.

Interesting boat - sylvan extreme pontoon

Have you seen @Julian video review on the '16 X?