Pontoon Boats

ejm4

Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2006
RO Number
22513
Messages
26
I have a buddy who want to take his pontoon boat to NJ and boat in the bays. Do you see pontoon boats in this area or is the water too rough?
 
Years ago we rented a pontoon boat in Seaside Park from the Wheel House Marina for use in the bay. Aside from the fact the kid didn't refill the tank from the previous rental it handled the bay pretty well. Wouldn't want to attempt Barnegat Inlet but we had a nice time.

The shallow draft is great for the bay as well.
 
I do see a fair amount of pontoon boats in the Barnegat bay. Many more than there was say 5-7 years ago. Even more so now, I see the Sundeck, fiberglass type boats with enclosed heads.

I live in a waterfront coummunity, and many of my neighbors use them to go up and down the canals. They also make for a nice day boat for crabbing and the like. However, I have been caught in many storms on the Barnegat Bay, and in some of those storms, a pontoon boat may not have held up so well. You REALLY need to watch the weather reports and the skies.....
 
I put a 20 ft pontoon boat with sundeck in Barnegat bay for the summer 2008. I love the bay and it gave me a way to spend more time there.

I had problems with shallow water, the prop hitting the sand. I might raise the engine up a little this coming season and pay closer attention to the tide schedules.

I made several trips from South Seaside Park (shallow water) into areas of deeper water. If the water was calm, it was great. If however the deep water got rough and the wind was howling, the boat didn't handle well.
 
A good friend of mine has a tri-toon on Lake Michigan that he uses all over in wide open water. Many trips to Chicago with no problems.

Certainly not for me, but he makes it work.
 
I've been in the Barnegat Bay area since '76 with my boats & previously with other's. Biggest problem with Barnegat Bay is depth of water. Never, never leave channels in Barney. I did "ONCE"; never again. Being shallow; winds that generally come out of the south, kick up the bay fairly quickly. It'll get nasty before ocean does; trust me! I still love the area. Go for it !
 
There are a lot of them being bought since the price of gas went up.
Some are a lot cheaper than others, but they can ride around all day on around 10 gallons.
Kids love them.
 
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