8 Reasons Why You Need to Buy a Pontoon Boat

One of the first big purchases we made after buying our lake home was a pontoon boat. Never having a boat before, we spent a ton of time learning and researching the type of boat that would meet our lake life needs. We couldn’t be happier with our decision to go with a pontoon boat. Read these 8 Reasons Why You Need to Buy a Pontoon Boat to learn more about our experience.

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Happy Monday, my sweet friend! I’m so thankful you decided to stop by the lake and visit me today. I’m writing about a topic that totally excites me because it has to do with lake life. And I hope it’s pretty evident by now how much the thought of being out on the water makes my heart smile.

As tranquil as it is to just sit and stare at the lake, I know because I do this often, actually getting out on the water is in a category all its own.

We knew when we bought this house that a boat purchase would be inevitable some point down the road. Although exactly when we would be able to pull it off was a mystery at the time.

If you’ve ever purchased a home before, or even rented for that matter, you are very aware that moving can be expensive. Buying a boat is also expensive and we didn’t want to make the investment until we saved enough to buy it in cash. Look at us being all mature and responsible over here! Must be something in the lake water…

When the time arrived for us to start looking for boats, we had a flurry of emotions. On the one hand, we were super excited knowing we’d have a boat to explore the lake with. On the flip side, we had absolutely no idea what we were doing when it came to purchasing a boat and we were completely intimidated.

The research began and we started narrowing down more and more what we were looking for in a boat. Ultimately we wanted something that was comfortable, had a decent amount of room, and was easy to operate.

Turns out that a pontoon boat not only meets the criteria we set but even exceeded it! Our decision to buy a pontoon boat was definitely a smart one. Anything I can contribute to helping you make an educated decision on a boat purchase for your own family is a win in my book.

8 Reason Why You Need to Buy a Pontoon Boat

A pontoon is a perfect boat for a beginner

Why do you ask? It’s super easy to drive. I’m not sure drive is the right word to use here but you know what I mean.

All three of us (myself, hubby and our son, Zach, 14 at the time) were able to drive our pontoon on the first day with a brief lesson from the boat company we purchased it from. When delivering the boat, the company was nice enough to take us on a spin around the lake and teach us the basics of the pontoon. It took a few trips out on the water to feel completely comfortable, but we all got the hang of it quickly and could easily maneuver the pontoon with no problem.

Pontoons are easy to clean

Our family is made up of total neat freaks. As crazy as I am about being organized and tidy inside the house, Patrick is equally the same when it comes to the outside. He has always been obsessive about the cleanliness of our vehicles so it didn’t surprise me when that same enthusiasm transferred over to the pontoon.

Normally, a good scrub down with some soap and water is all it takes to get our pontoon looking pretty. If we want a very thorough cleaning, we’ll pull out the pressure washer and that easily does the trick.

When we aren’t using the pontoon boat, we always have a boat cover over it. We tried leaving it open without anything protecting it and it was a complete nightmare. Although it’s docked in a covered area, the birds still got inside and decided to make the pontoon their home. The had a field day doing what birds do ALL over the pontoon…

Pontoon boats are perfect for families

One drawback that I hear people mention often about pontoon boats is their lack of speed. And while I agree that pontoon boats definitely don’t have the speed of a fishing or skiing boat, I kind of don’t see that as a disadvantage.

Here’s why.

For us, one of the main criteria we wanted from a boat was the ability to have our family and friends join us on the lake. The slower speed of the pontoon allows ALL our family and friends to enjoy the lake life experience without fear. We’ve had everyone from babies to pregnant women to people normally afraid of water out on the lake with no problems.

The pontoon boat creates more of a relaxing experience and one that is suitable for family and friends of all ages!

The amount of storage on a pontoon boat is ridiculous!

Having storage on a boat is most definitely a hot commodity. It’s one thing to be able to get your family and friends on your boat, but to get all their things on the boat too, well that’s just plain right awesomeness.

And you can do that with a pontoon! There is storage underneath every seat on the boat plus plenty of open space in the center if you needed to really load it up with all the things.

I personally find this to be a major perk to owning a pontoon boat. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have room for things like my lake bag on my boat.

A pontoon boat is perfect for entertaining

Do you know that another name for a pontoon is a party boat? It’s true! Check it out on Google if you don’t believe me.

Because of the amount of space and storage you have on a pontoon boat, you can literally have a full-blown party on it. We even have a bbq grill that attaches to the side of our pontoon to grill on. Think hamburgers, hotdogs, some yummy cocktails and a day on the water.

If that alone doesn’t sell you on buying a pontoon boat, I don’t what will!

Here’s the grill we use.


 

There are a million toys and accessories you can buy for your pontoon

Like the bbq grill I just mentioned, there are so many toys and accessories you can purchase to enhance your pontooning experience. Besides grills, you can buy things like inflatable water slides to hang off the side of the boat, tubes to tow behind the pontoon, and even cocktail bars that attach to the railing. The skies the limit.

I created a fun Pinterest board with some ideas for you to take a peek at.

Pontoon boats are very safe

Pontoon boats are the perfect boat to have in the calm waters of a lake or river. I hate to say they’re unsinkable, remember what happened with the Titanic, but they’re pretty darn close to it.

You also won’t have to worry too much about the pontoon bottoming out or getting stuck somewhere since it sits mainly above the water. We’ve been able to make it through some pretty shallow water without a problem.

Like mentioned earlier, the speed of a pontoon is definitely slower when comparing it to a fishing or skiing boat. This allows a more leisurely ride around the lake that’s more relaxing and less intense.

Pontoons are great for fishing too!

One of our absolute favorite things to do on our pontoon boat is fishing. There’s so much open space on the pontoon that everyone can have their own area on the boat and never have to worry about lines crossing or hooks getting caught.

It’s crazy! Never in a million years would I ever think I’d be sitting here telling how much I love to fish, but here I am doing it. The pontoon boat and the comfortability of it really help the experience too. I’m not sure I’d be singing the same tune if I were stuck on a fishing boat for hours.

I could really go on for days about how much I love our pontoon boat but I’m hoping these 8 reasons why you need to buy a pontoon boat have given you enough to ponder on for now. Coming from a family who has zero experience with boating prior to this, we’ve found the pontoon boat to be the best fit for us due to its versatility and ease of use. It’s perfect for a boating amateur!

If you’ve found this post because you’re on the hunt for your own pontoon boat, feel free to comment below with any questions or concerns I might not have covered. And if you’re interested in living the lake life, here are 8 Tips for Living on a Lake.

Want to remember this? Post these 8 Reasons Why You Need to Buy a Pontoon Boat to your favorite Pinterest board!