Pontoon Invasion - Whats up with these Tritoons?

[282Captain]

If you’re like me, mentioning a pontoon is not cool. Been noticing a lot of pontoons.....a lot more.....as if new dealers are selling them as fast as CBD stores sell medical pain relief. Anyone have one of the multi motor tritoons? I haven’t seen a PlayCraft or Xplod yet with twin or Tripple motors, but I did see a local dealer has a 36’ Tritoon for sale at $170,000??? Ummmm, can’t imagine passing up a Cobalt to spend that on a pontoon. Tons of higher end single models have invaded Oklahoma lakes.

Just curious if anyone here has a high performing toon with their Cobalt?

[AsLan7]

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I know MNLakeBum has one in his lake house setup. It’s a great combo. His post is here.

I was surprised Cobalt dropped their toon line. The profit margins on these are ridiculous.... and there is certainly a demand for them as your post mentions.

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[Jackbfree]

Lake Norman Marina in NC has a really nice boat club option. Their club fleet includes Cobalt R3's, Malibu 22 LSV's and 24' Bennington tri-toons w/ a 150 yamaha on the back. They have twice as many of the tri-toons as the R3's because apparently that's where the demand is. I don't get it either. Whatever makes you happy on the water...

[MnLakeBum]

Lot’s of pontoons here in the Land of 10,000 lakes and most are 2nd boats on the lake we are on. As Aslan7 mentioned I have a 27.5’ Marker One Pontoon which was made by Cobalt. It’s the preferred boat by my wife because of the smooth ride and it’s way roomier than our R5 or even an R7. I’m not a fan of the general poor build quality of the other Tritoons but our Marker One I love and it actually sees more hours each summer than our R5. This summer we have about 80 hours on the Marker One and about 60 on the R5. We go to lunch or dinner by boat every weekend and on our lake parking at the restaurant docks can be an issue. Yesterday the docks were full for lunch so I beached the pontoon in front of the restaurant - not possible with the R5 Surf. If I had only one boat it would absolutely be the R5 or an R7, but we love having both.

[Ytmsn]

Yeah, one of my buddies had a 27' tri-toon and we tied up all the time. It's very nice to be able to sit, visit, relax,move around, or whatever. I like them, as long as it belongs to someone else! Kinda like cats..

[cmattj]

I’m in on the tri toon handling as the typically have a larger center which allows a “ lean in” when turning as opposed to off camber weird “ we gonna flip feel”.
If I was getting a toon after seeing the construction of the floors and attempted splash guards. I’d go used Marker One with a Verado.....Or a 1985 Tracker with a 2 stroke Johnson . ( see how I insured human kindness?)

[Mike in SC]

There's a Playcraft on Lake Murray that has 3 300 hp mercury outboards on it.
I've seen a twin 400 hp one at Cove to Coast, a nearby dealer.
All it takes is money!

[jhnmdahl]

A pontoon is like having an SUV - it can hold a lot, do a lot, and is usually relatively cheaper than a Mercedes (or a Cobalt). And while it's not ideal as many purpose-built boats, they're easy to fish off of, pull a tuber behind, or anchor and swim from. If I lived on a lake and hosted large numbers of guests all the time, I think I'd have to look pretty seriously at having a pontoon too.

[willyswagon]

Pontoons are like mini vans....Not in my yard!

They do introduce people to the water, and many move on to "Real Boats"

[sailor55330]

So, I have a good friend with a 26 ft tri toon. And a 300 hp motor on the back. It’s actually sitting right next to the R3 at his dock. I’ve driven it and raced it side by side. Out of the hole it’s very close. I start to pull away at about 40 but it’s very respectable and probably clip him on the top end any 2-3 mph. The tri is very comfortable especially at anchor as to where the r3 rolls a little more. I have seen it pull a skier with 12 people on board. I couldn’t do that. He can anchor at sandbars that I can’t due to draft. With 4 adults and day gear (coolers floats, snacks) it takes planning to get from the front to the back on the R3. On the tri you could roller skate. The storage is much easier to access than my R. The fit and finish of the cobalt is clearly better but it is a very nice boat—I would say it is about like a crownline or regal. Just a notch below. The boat handles very well—-not as good as the cobalt but much better than my old Glastron. His boat is much quieter than my inboard. (Quasi confession here—the v8 sound is really becoming annoying to me and I wish I could make it quieter. Then again I also hated the loud pipes on my bike. I need the lake to be quiet and peaceful. I don’t know how you guys with captains call do it)

I
Mnbum has the ultimate setup. We all know Cobalts are fantastic But if I am honest the tri might be a better all around not provided you don’t trailer much. Cobalts win at great but some of the tri toons these days are really really good. They are not your Grandfathers pontoon by any means. I would say bow riders are for sports and speed where as traditional toons are for putting around. Tri toons are actually a really good mix. And you don’t have to polish the hull-lol

[Tuscany]

Yeah, one of my buddies had a 27' tri-toon and we tied up all the time. It's very nice to be able to sit, visit, relax,move around, or whatever. I like them, as long as it belongs to someone else! Kinda like cats..

Exactly..
We rented one on our last trip in Florida. I wore this.

[MnLakeBum]

And you don’t have to polish the hull-lol

Agree that pontoons are not at all cool but they do have a lot of utility. Mine has a lot of hull to polish, however. It’s 6000 lbs dry and most of that weight is fiberglass!

[Tuscany]

Not a lot of toons on the Niagara River, and only the BRAVE few run the 1 mile current and rapids to get to the big lake... Somewhat manageable on a good day, downright thrilling on a day like last Saturday...all of the fun they are missing.

A7, just let me know if you want to come up this fall, even solo to learn the River..
The fam will love it...

[282Captain]

Love the feeeback. It appears to me Cobalt needs to get back into the Marker One. The reality of the utility of the tritoons are fact. The new twin & triple engine combinations are what have me on the fence....as additional craft with the Cobalt. Especially on population packed holiday weekends where the chop is extreme. The toons fair better. Can’t imagine me polishing and running the stainless cleats like I do in my Cobalt the same on the toon. Half of it for me is just the hillariousness of rocking a tritoon at 70mph. Thanks for the pics. And I hadn’t seen a Marker One before. Will be on the look out.

[Ytmsn]

Love the feeeback. It appears to me Cobalt needs to get back into the Marker One. The reality of the utility of the tritoons are fact. The new twin & triple engine combinations are what have me on the fence....as additional craft with the Cobalt. Especially on population packed holiday weekends where the chop is extreme. The toons fair better. Can’t imagine me polishing and running the stainless cleats like I do in my Cobalt the same on the toon. Half of it for me is just the hillariousness of rocking a tritoon at 70mph. Thanks for the pics. And I hadn’t seen a Marker One before. Will be on the look out.

Good. Then when you buy your toon you can sell me your 282, and will call you Captain Looney Toons!