Pontoon Boat, Or Sportsman? There Is A Comparison.
A Day on the water with friends!
How dare I even bring up the two style boats in the same sentence? Well? Cause I gotta come up with this stuff everyday, and yesterday while out on the water with 9 people on board the idea that was a party barge hit me. This of course while a Pontoon boat went the other direction, also loaded. I though, we are no different. And then one half milla second later I thought. Yes we are. All my people were waving and laughing. The pontoon boat was full of people just on the water where as my crew was Woody Boating in style. Now I am sure they pontooned around with no issues where as I am always in constant fear of something breaking, leaking or fuming. But set that aside. Cause that’s in my head not the boats.
Sportsman party barge.
So you have justified a pontoon boat in your life. STOP READING, this will mess you up. First, a fancy pants Pontoon boat can set you aside over 100K, well, now you are in 25 Sportsman territory. Style in the Pontoon? HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH, mini van looks, with a give up eat at McDonalds Drive through attitude. 25 Sportsman Style.. Eat at a local family owned hangout, and take your time.
Lets go swimming!
But lets talk practical. Want to stop and go swimming? Have an EzZee Ladder from Freedom Boat Service? Bam, no difference. Worried about storage? The sportsman in easier to store, its not as wide and can use any and most boat lifts and trailers in a pinch. The pontoon. NOPE.
That ladder is GOLD!
Ageing. Okay this is where the pontoon boat just dies. Like that hotty in high school you had a crush on, and just stalked her or him on facebook, and YIKES. writes religious political rants and looks like a tick now? Ya, that’s a pontoon boat. Where as the Sportsman ages with patina, style, like that real nice gal, or guy you always had a good laugh with and now is a WoodyBoater! BAM!
Okay its a Riva, you get the point!
It’s okay.. It’s okay, you are reading this. So you are a Woody Boater. And may own a Pontoon boat….Cough cough..
Now I am sure many of you Pontooners out there with have something to say. And I will say, there is something to be said about carefree boating. A pontoon boat is a tool. And used as such, and that is about it. And remember the boat you drive says a lot about you… Speaking of Tools, later we will compare Jet Skis with small speed boats!
We in Michigan call them “Power Porch”
I still wear my Woodyboater t-shirts when I have 15 people on the pontoon for a cruise around the lake. That way, I maintain my true identity, even if everybody thinks I’m crazy!
They’re a good thing for someone you know to own…………….
Now that is a T shirt I would like to have, very simple looking, any information about getting some?
Its an oldy and sold out. We are about to design some new ones though
But, where’s the grill?
The 25 Sportsman is a large boat and yet it barely holds 9 people, and you need to leave the printing press at the dock to even get that many.
A 25 foot(ish) pontoon can carry twice as many people, a dozen dogs, a half keg, AND a printing press.
And a swim ladder? Please. You can mount a water slide on a pontoon!
Swim slide vs. ladder? How do you get back on?
M-Fine, you hit one of the basics of life, BEER. Now try to put a porta-potty on a 25SP. Stock on several pontoons. Remember you only rent beer.
SP-25s are also perfect for Pizza Parties…
… or pizza deliveries! I’m going to recommend this to one of our waterfront pizza establishments
No argument either way, but you are not going to let your 16 year old and his or her friends take the 25′ Sportsman out!
If you have a choice, you’d have to be a damned fool not to go with the Sportsman. As far as passenger capacity goes, just get rid of a few of those marginal free beer/free boat ride mooching friends.
Compromise!
Less attention to what boat you own and more attention to who you are.
I wonder where things will be with classic boats 50 years from now? One-third of all new boats sold today are pontoons, one-third PWCs, and one-third everything else, with most of the last one-third consisting of fishing boats or watersport tow boats. Classic Aluma-Craft or Moomba boats anyone, let alone all the pontoons and Wave Runners?
Enjoy the classics we’ve got today while they are still here. Things will always keep changing!
Matt,
You are very lucky to live where you do. The boating looks spectacular! You always have something cool in the background.
Where was today’s header taken? I’ve seen your other shots like that, dead calm water, misty/foggy horizon, and no land for miles. it looks so relaxing!
We live and love it in Reedville Va, its at the mouth of the Potamac River and Chesapeake bay,. Brackish water though, but a thousand different boating adventures. Captain John Smith was here on his trip back in the day. Its very rich in history. The town is frzen in time and at one point was one of the wealthiest ( per Capita) town in the US with 13 fish factories, Now One Omega Protein. Which is a blessing, to some, me included because it has kept the area free of weekenders. Most people here are full time and LOVE it. If you google it you will see many of the Victorian homes, all settled in the late 1800s by Northern solders that decided to live here because it was so nice. It has a very cool history
I think comparing a Sportsman to a Deckboat would be a better comparison instead of pontoons.
Try to do this on the Sportsman.
Pizza floater in a 25′ Sportsman