DETAILS ABOUT TRITOONS & SPORT TOONS - FAQ & Things You Should Know
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- Опубликовано: 18 июн 2024
- This is a new series that will hopefully start to answer questions that I get on a regular basis. I'm breaking down the difference between a tritoon and sport toon, and filling in important information about each to help you if you're shopping for a boat or making modifications to your own boat. If you find this helpful, or have found our other content helpful, consider contributing to our channel here:
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Hi Tom, love my boat. I started out with a brand new 2002 19 foot Manitou Oasis pontoon with a 40. After getting board with the slow speed I went to a 75 Mercury 4 stroke. The boat clipped along at 19mph. I then installed a Waterglide sport toon according to Waterglide instructions. Speed jumped to 26mph. That was great, then installed a 115 Mercury and speed only up to 29MPH. Then I added additional cross beams to the motor pod, and a few more in the middle and new marine plywood and vinyl flooring. I also did a skin over the underside of the boat. Then added a long shaft 140 Suzuki 4 stroke and a jack plate. After some motor adjustments my 19’ Manitou with a 21 pitch tri blade will run at 39mph with 2 people on a calm night. The Waterglide toon gives about 500 pounds of buoyancy. The boat on plane sits 5-6 inches higher out of the water.
Thanks for sharing that great anecdotal information! It makes sense that the 75 to 115 speed increase was minimal as Mercury uses the same engine block and everything for those two outboards. They perform identically at low to mid range, and the increase on the top end is minimal. Jumping to the 140 Suzuki is a significant change though, glad it gave you that type of top end. It's also neat to hear that the water glide was able to provide some significant help for speed and buoyancy. Not a lot of information out there about those so it's great to hear from someone who's installed one!
I’ve been trying to get info on adjustments for my tri and this is a Godsend. I heard about Pontoon Stuff on a video of a kid that was sponsored by y’all to help him build his boat. Thank y’all . For the help
Glad this was helpful!!
Was it on the ultimate rebuilds channel? I help Pontoon Stuff with making some videos for them, but they’re a separate company (and a great one at that). My restoration business is a dealer for their products!!
This was a fantastic video Tom, very informative, it never occurred to me about adding a smaller third pontoon, I came here from a link you gave somebody from your video of extending a transom with that heavy C channel. (Got my gears turning again...sigh) 🤦♂😂
Glad you found it worth the watch! Pontoon boats just have this way of giving us all sorts of ideas, especially once they're torn down and we can see the blank slate in front of us!! The possibilities are endless!!!
Great thanks for a very informative video one of the best analogies ever heard on tri toon and motor placement.
Awesome! Glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching!
Great info. I had seen a video a few years ago and with a higher hp engine they recommended a larger center room for turning and performance as you described. So 25” outer toons you should have a 27” center toon.
Correct, that’s what we did with our tritoon build. Otherwise if you could only get a 25” center with 25” outers you’d want to put spacers between the center toon and crossmembers to push the middle toon farther into the water below the outer toons.
Thanks Tom for the informative video. I'll sure be interested in your prop video suppose after third toon will need to reprop. I haven't started the tri toon conversion. I know if I'm going to be fishing this spring better get going
Thanks for watching! Yes, it always takes longer than folks expect and it’s going to be spring/summer before we know it, so get to work!! Keep an eye out for the prop selection video, hope to post it in the next few weeks.
Loved the video!!!
Thanks for watching!
Thanks, informative.
Thanks for watching!
I have four toons 24 out 18 in 18 are smaller around it also cavatated with 2toons same as 4
Cavitation often occurs from the position of the motor in relation to the backs of the pontoons. It’s all about water flow. If you can move the motor back behind the pontoons about 16” you’ll likely get better water flow and help the issue. Or lower the motor with a jack plate if need be.
Great video Tom! 2 years ago I went and rebuilt an early 2000's Lowe pontoon with basically everything from pontoonstuff and then Amazon and GLS to fill in the gaps. I stumbled across your channel this year and appreciate your very egalitarian approach to things. I repowered last year from a 50hp to a 90hp and being that after rebuild and repower and added weight, the waterline is higher on these U-shaped pontoons, I picked up a 24' 25" center transom pontoon with strakes which is currently getting welded up (had a small leak) and will be going on after the season is over so Im not missing any water time. Really excited and curious as I know in the long run there will be added benefits but even more curious where I will see it the most after adding that and underskinning. Keep up the good work! Need a partner? I could do this all day! haha
Thanks so much for watching and the kind words about our channel. We love being a small shop and sharing our knowledge. Definitely let me know how your tritoon conversion helps your boat!!
Good video. Did I understand you correctly or misunderstood when you said with more people on the boat would make the boat faster?
It’ll go faster as a tritoon with 8 people on it compared to when it was a pontoon with 8 people on it. The increased buoyancy allows for faster cruising speed when weighted down.
Enjoying your videos! Question installing a third pontoon to my boat to make it a sport toon my pontoons are 24 inch and adding another center pontoon that’s 24 how far down should I install that center 2inch lower or 4inches pontoon ?
Normally I'd say go 2" deeper into the water with the middle toon, but with a sport toon you need to be careful about pushing the water flow too low to where the water doesn't have time to rise to the propeller. The general rule of thumb is that water will rise 1" vertically per 12" of horizontal distance from the bottom of the planing surface (in your case the sport toon). Just make sure there's enough space between the end of the sport toon and the prop to get enough water to the propeller when traveling at faster speeds. If you're looking mostly for the buoyancy and don't mind it steering the same as a pontoon you can play it safe and mount the sport toon even with the outers. Or worst case you may need to install a jack plate to allow you to lower the motor in the event that it's ventilating.
love your channel, !
Thanks Bo!!!
Thank you
Happy to help!!
Hey Tom. Another great video! You mentioned adding lifting strakes. I’ve added a center log to my pontoon that has lifting strakes. I was considering adding stakes to the inside of my outer logs but wasn’t sure where to place them and what size to make them. I read some chats on line that made it sound complicated. My center toon is 27” and my outer toons are 25” 22’ boat similar to the tritoon you just built? What’s your thoughts? Did you add strakes to yours? Oh and I’m planning on repowering with a 200hp. Thanks!
Great question! I don’t think it’s incredibly complicated. I would measure the distance that the factory put the strakes on the center toon and try to replicate that on your outer pontoons relative to their diameter. I would really like to strake the insides of my outer toons on the tritoon we built. I would just have a bunch of 1/8” sheet bent to the angle I want, weld them on, and weld the seams closed. It’s more accessing the inside of those pontoons to weld on them that’s holding me up. Id like to add them so that I can hit 45 mph and cruise with lower RPMs at 30 mph.
I have a 24 ft pontoon. And a 20” center. I want to make a sport tune because center is not long enough. I would have to cut 4 ft to fit before v transom. Do I mount right before transom or a foot before transom?
There's honestly a lot of guess and check on sport toons. I would personally mount it right at the transom so that you get buoyancy farther back. Remember that water needs 12" of horizontal distance to rise 1"...that's the equation used to determine how far back the motor needs to be if it's above the planing surface on boats (or the center sport toon in this case).
What does adding the tritoon do for weight/ passenger capacity? Like how many more people can safely ride?
There are some calculations to find the floatation of adding a center toon. I like to try to find comparable new boats to compare pontoon sizes and HP and passenger capacities. A lot of manufacturers list their models and capacities
Greetings Tom, will your "V" tri-config work the same if the same diameter center tube was installed to run deeper in the water than the outer tubes? If yes, could that be a cost saving to add in that way?
Yes, pushing the center toon down into the water farther would give a similar result if one can’t find a larger diameter center toon or the price is right for one that’s the same size as the outers.
So, am I correct in thinking that adding a centre pontoon to a pontoon boat being converted into a live-aboard houseboat will be beneficial to adding stability, additional flotation and buoyancy.
I would 100% always want a pontoon houseboat to be a tritoon. In general, the higher you float on a pontoon the more stable it will be.
How about length when adding a center toon. I didn’t hear any comments about it but your diagram seems to hint at all 3 in line up front but center toon being longer than outside toons in the back. Is that your preferred layout? Is it bad if the front of the center is in front or behind the outsides ? How far back behind the outside toons do you like the transom of the new center?
I like to line all three up in front for even spray and to reduce spray from the middle toon spraying over the top of the other toons in goofy spots. I also like to have the center toon extend out about 18" to 24" beyond the outer toons as it helps with trim response and handling at higher speeds.
Im looking to add a toon on a 2001 JC pontoon (24ft). The factory toons are U shaped. What center toon would work with the U shape toons?
Check out BillsBoatStuff.com, they've had U-shaped custom center pontoons on their website quite a bit over the years. Otherwise the brands that you'll find U-shaped toons on are typically Lowe and JC. Your center toon doesn't have to be U-shaped unless you're looking for it to be uniform for aesthetics. We converted a JC (u shaped outer toons) to a tritoon last year and the center wasn't round. Still looks great and performs really well.
ruclips.net/video/UxzpRgynrG0/видео.html
When adding the third center pontoon with in a graded transom, 20 inches, and 25 inch diameter, the same as the outside pontoons, how much lower should I install the center pontoon? Thanks. 12:21
I like the center pontoon mounted so that it's about 2" to 4" below the outer pontoons. Being a 20" transom the deeper you push your center toon down the higher the water will be on your outboard, especially at idle speeds, so keep that in mind. With a 25" transom and XL shaft motor the belly cowl is 5" higher up off the water so there's not much concern there about it. 2" is pretty much industry standard, or at least a center pontoon with 2" larger diameter.
I love the video
Great!! Thanks for watching!
Great explanation. So would it be better to spend one’s hard earned money on third toon or go with a hydrofoil or Hydro fin set up for a pontoon?
I would invest in the center pontoon. It offers more stability, higher and drier ride, and usually the opportunity to go up on horsepower. Plus the handling is completely different at speed with a tritoon. No matter what a pontoon will steer flat, foils or not. I’d want to see more tests on hydrofoils and fins to see how much they add performance wise, and especially when the boat is loaded to its max capacity. That’s my two cents!
I completely agree, it just makes more sense in my head for what how i will be using a pontoon boat for. I guess you have to be honest with yourself on how you are going to use boat most of the time. Slow and low for myself. I do think the wave of the future is jet drive for the pontoon Industry the Sea-Doo switch really has shown how versatile it is. To bad it’s so small.
@@carltrano1325 That's the beauty of pontoon boats...they can be used for so many different things. Some folks want it all with luxury, speed, capacity. Others just want comfort and reliability. And there are tons out there who are happy with a couple lawn chairs, a cooler, and whatever outboard is on their boat that runs. The common factor is that pontoons are a great way to bring people together and have a great time!
Have a Ranger Pontoon, found a tube off another Ranger painted to match and everything. Only thing is it is the outside tube not the center. Has a lifting strake on one side not both. Does have a small dent up front I am going to fix then need to shorten and recap the end after I cut it. Will the lifting strake on one side affect anything? Or do I need to add one to the other side? Also what should I pressure test the tube to after I get it welded up?
I would definitely add a lifting strake to the other side or get rid of the one that's on there. I'm not sure what it would do exactly, but I don't think it would be a good thing steering/handling wise once you're up at cruising speeds.
I put 2 psi MAX in toons when I pressure check them. It's plenty of pressure. I wouldn't want to risk putting any more than that in there and cracking a weld or bursting a weld open!
@@tomspontoons sounds good I’ll probably just add one on the other side while I’m cutting and welding, it won’t be much more work to just add one. It is off a tritoon and think they are 2” bigger than my tubes. Will let you know how it turns out! Thank you for the quick response
@@605aerialphotography5 Happy to help! Sounds like you'll have a great setup by the time you're done!!
Hey there Tom, First off thanks for all the videos & information! I have a 28' suntracker pontoon and i just picked up a center tube that came off a 28' suntracker BUT- the center tube is only 20'-6" (made that way from the manufacturer). Has transom mount so& same diameter at the outside tubes. do you think it would be best to set this up just like it came off OR i could seal up the wash out & set it up like a sport toon? I do plan to install perhaps a 200 later (will beef up the transom & rear crossmembers either way) and will use the boat mainly for fishing & cruising with minimal water sports.
Thanks for watching, and great questions! If you install it as-is and position it farther back in relation to the outer pontoons so that the motor is in the proper place in the stern you will be just fine BUT you will have a lot of spray from that center nosecone so you'll definitely need to have underskinning on the bottom of your crossmembers AND the sides to cover where water will spray sideways off the nosecone...especially going up to a larger HP motor. I think all around performance and efficiency will be better with it installed like that versus as a sport toon.
I'll put it this way...if I were in your shoes I would install it with the motor mounted to the transom of the center toon and it tucked back farther under than outer toons. I'd definitely underskin the boat with sheet aluminum!
@@tomspontoons Awesome, I definitely planned on under skinning and side covers & ill install as you describe. More coffee headed your way!
@@user-lj8ml3qi4k Sounds like you've got a plan now!! Only other thing to consider would be adding lifting strakes, especially on the inside of the outer toons. I think it would give great lift and a smoother ride when you go up to the larger HP, but those can always be added later. Coffee is always much appreciated!
@@tomspontoons Adding strakes would help but because i will be running this in salt water i would want to seal weld them to the tubes rather than intermittent stitch, so i will see how she does and make that decision later.
@@user-lj8ml3qi4k You've got it figured out, smart!
Question on center toon size compared to outer toons. I have 20' x 19" outer toons and plant to add a 21' x 27" center. What do you think about the 8" size difference? Thanks for your videos.
I wish I could experience driving that tritoon! I think it’ll float super high and stable and have great handling. What HP motor are you thinking?
Right now I have a 70hp. May go bigger later.
You won't likely see big speed increases at the 70 hp size, but if you go up at least you'll be prepared to handle more HP and it'll be a fun ride!
Is it OK to cut off some of the mounting pod front end / transom to get yur center toon back a little farther ?
Hard part with doing that is that you’re likely going to lose a set of bolts that’s holding the transom up to the crossmembers. If that’s the case I’d HIGHLY advise against it. If you’re not interfering with the structure and how everything is bolted up then I don’t see it being a problem.
@@tomspontoons thank you sir. Just wanting to keep from cavitation
@@user-jc7yi3un2egotta fight the cavitation!!
Hi Tom my 24 foot pontoon sits low in the back. Any thaughts on adding a 20 foot pontoon in the center with engine on back of it ?
@@user-jc7yi3un2e If you went with a transom mount center toon you'd DEFINITELY have improved buoyancy and thus stability too. I would encourage you to go with a full length to the front which will help with a smoothly and dryer ride if you're ever out on big water. If you can only get the 20' center toon then it'll still improve your all around experience.
Would you recommend lowering the centre pontoon and motor mount pod on a sport tune boat?
A sport toon becomes a lot of trial and error regardless when it comes to getting the water flow just right. If your goal is just more buoyancy then I'd play it as safe as possible in terms of keeping the center toon close to the motor and not much below the ventilation plate, to reduce the chance of ventilation. If you want better all around performance and handling with higher HP and speeds then I would want a larger center toon as the sport toon and to keep the motor as high as possible to reduce drag and spray...that becomes challenging as raising the motor in relation to the sport toon increases likelihood of ventilation and over-revving.
@@tomspontoons ......... I LOVE my jack plate! Makes adjusting prop depth EASY!
@@surfsalterpath A jack plate can make ALL the difference on a lot of different boats, including a sport toon!
So i have 26ft outside pontoons a 24ft middle pontoon the middle pontoon sits close to the back but i m thinking i need to move it forward a ft or 2 to bting the ftont up. Will this work
Does the center pontoon have a transom integrated into the back of it or are you mounting it in front of a transom as a sport toon?
@@tomspontoons sorry it's in front
@@michellelos8978 The farther you go forward with a sport toon like that the more it's going to make the back end sit lower when moving slowly or at the dock. I always like having the center pontoon as far back as possible, as long as it doesn't interfere with the water flow to the outboard. It's a little bit of a trial and error as it seems like every sport toon is a little different.
How do you determine the length of the tri-Toon? I have a 20 foot two toon but I would love to convert to a try toon preferably by buying a used center log. Can I use a 22 foot x 2”s bigger diameter? If so, what online it up to be flush with the outside on the front and let the extra 2 foot extend towards the rear or split the difference? I would love to be able to add a little bit of extra deck on the back if I could choke it all the way to the back.
You’re on the right track for sure. A 22’ that’s 2”-4” bigger diameter would work great. I like the center log to stick out about 12”-24” behind the outer logs, and I always recommend keeping the front three in line together, or even tucking the center log back a hair if you need to in order to allow for it to extend in the rear.
Thanks for the reply. I kind of had in mind to have the middle tune, stick out past the outside, tunes about a foot in the front, as it seems like it would simulate a V hull. Have you ever seen it done and is there any reason why you wouldn’t do that?
@@markmanning6773 It definitely makes sense in theory, and it might provide a better cut through bigger waves. I just haven't build one with that shape. I would just make sure that your deck is covering all of or most of the front of that center toon. The tops of those nosecones sticking out can be a big hazard for people jumping off the front of the boat, even just hopping off into shallow water.
@@tomspontoons thanks again for your reply. That makes perfect sense, and definitely wouldn’t want to create a hazard. I plan on covering that area with marine decking, and it won’t stick out any further than what the sides do it’ll be triangulated I feel like it would help not only pushing through big waves, but cornering as well. It may not, but I already have a bead on a center pontoon the size for a really good price and so I’m gonna give it a shot. I will take it for a test run before I go all out, modifying the deck and if it doesn’t work, then I will reposition the pontoon and have the length modified. I would imagine you want 4 feet hanging off the back, but who knows
@@markmanning6773 You'd be fine if you triangled the front to cover some of the center toon. I like 18" to 24" of center toon sticking out the back behind the outer pontoons. That's just my preference, and seems to be how most factory tritoons are built.
Your comment that adding a center toon may not add speed as me reconsidering my project. Am I wasting my time adding a center to an 18’ with 23” toons and a 70hp? Lower hp than most tritoons I know but that’s the max my coast guard plate shows and would rather not get into weirdness with that. Main goal was a bit more speed. I’m a bit nervous if 70hp was enough to benefit from a center also. Any chance that being only an 18’ that the 70hp is enough to see an increase from a center?
You won't gain any speed when the boat is empty. However, you will go faster with a load of 4+ people than you used to as a standard pontoon. The ride will be higher and dryer, and if you go with a 25"+ center toon you should get far better handling at higher speeds as the boat will lean better into turns.
We had a 16' with a 40 hp, upgraded to a new 60 hp and went from 17 mph to 23 mph. Added the center toon and stayed at 23 mph empty, majorly disappointed at first. However!!! With 4 adults and 6 big dogs we could still go 19 mph where as before the center toon we would have been hardly pushing 15mph.
Thanks, that’s great feedback! Appreciate the info from the very similar past project.
I don’t suppose strakes on the new center would help any would they? I always hear them talked about for higher hp applications but the principle seems like it could still help a bit. Even my previous 40 would lift the boat a bit, I always wondered what it would do if strakes where there but nobody talks about them with lower hp
That I don't know much about, but from what I hear strakes don't have a huge impact until 150 hp and up where there's some serious water displacement. I would add a third toon for all around performance and improved ride before strakes if it were with a smaller HP motor.
Where’s the link to source a third toon?
Contact info is in the description!! Just an email address currently as they’re a newer business in terms of tritoon stuff. Thanks for watching!!!
I swear my dealer mounted the 2018 Mercury Pro XS 115 CT too high on my 2019 Harris cruiser 240 with sport toon. The prop cavitates on turns and straight lines, no amount of trim helps. It’s beyond frustrating.
Bought new from the dealer set up like that or was it a repower situation? It's a VERY sensitive setup, even on factory boats. It might be kind of late now, but I would take it back to them and have them lower it. I've always said if I did a sport toon I would 100% plan on adding a hydraulic jackplate so that I could raise and lower the motor on the fly depending on conditions, load, etc.
@@tomspontoons it came from the dealer already rigged. All the videos, photos, etc. I’ve seen with the same motor and pontoon length/sport tube have the motor mounted on the lowest transom hole. Mine is mounted on the 2nd to lowest. If I was able to get a motor hoist, could I just unscrew the bolts and drop it myself of is there more to it?
@@jakewyler1945 I'd definitely take it to them for the adjustment if they're nearby. They should do it no questions asked, especially if you provide a video showing the effects of their rigging.
That motor requires a special lift ring to do it the best way possible, otherwise you'd have to get a strap or two around the motor to hoist it up. From there it's just four 1/2" bolts with 3/4" wrench on each side. Some use silicone if there's wood between the aluminum of the transom and would need to have silicone added, but most aluminum transoms don't need silicone when it comes to a pontoon boat.
@@tomspontoons thanks brother. You da man!
@@jakewyler1945 happy to help!
My pontoon boat spray water on my engine cover is motor to low
If the spray is coming off the pontoons you may just need some splash guards made to deflect it. If the spray is coming off the motor back towards the boat then yes, I probably could come up a little bit. Worst case, raise it until it’s running cleaner or it starts to ventilate and go from there. Definitely some guess and check with motor height on a standard pontoon
@Chris This was my issue. I extended my transom higher, to raise the motor. I also discovered, I had to power through the rooster tails spraying all over the back of the boat, just keep throttling up, until it planed and the spray disappeared. My next investment is electric trim/tilt/lift/lower to try and get rid of the embarrassing spray on the fly.
@@selridel4184 ....... adding a jack plate is GREAT!
what is biggest motor on tri toon
I’m pretty sure I saw the new 600hp Mercury on a tritoon at one of the boat shows this spring!!!
Wow, 6 bills pushing a toon is bananas
@@awakenedtotruth8419 I believe they sell for $75K per motor too!
@Toms Toons Pontoon Refurbishing During my time in automotive, I saw the day compact combustion V12s would be upon us. Boating used to mean the time spent enjoying the scenery, not wizzing past it. Although technology is greatly improved as far as the open water travels or pushing a large house toon. Looks like we'll be needing a bigger gas tank !
@@awakenedtotruth8419 I hear you on that! Fast Tritoons have offered folks the ability to have one boat to pull skis and tubes that can also load up 15 people for slow cruises…replacing the need to have a pontoon PLUS a speed boat. Gotta appreciate that.
I think the big 600+ hp outboards are really targeting the saltwater marine industry because outboards are preferred for maintenance and most everything else in the salt. A couple 600 outboards will perform great even on large fiberglass hulls…they even have a transmission! Watch out for Ox Marine too, they’re building turbo diesel outboards that will be super popular in the coming years I’m sure!
Great video I want to add a 3rd ton to my 2017 16DLX Bass Buggy drop the 40 Hp Command Thurst and go Suzuki 70can you point me in best starting point for the right toon ?
Thanks for watching!
We’ve used an outfit in Ft Wayne, Indiana for most of our projects.
Email: JoeyTippman@gmail.com
Phone: 260-403-1911
Be sure to tell him Tom’s Toons sent you!!!