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Dock length vs boat length

Mike31406

Mike31406

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Lake Greenwood, South Carolina
I have been reading this forum for about a year now.  Many of you have saved me for making several mistakes and I thank you all for that.  We have narrowed it down to a 22gsr, sps and 150; 22 ssrxp , sps, 150 and 22 ssrxp; 115 sho w/ lifting strakes.  I know most of you will opt for the tri with 150 which is what I am leaning towards, however it will just be my wife 85% of the time on board.  A 115 would be fine for us.  We currently have a older 22 Bennie with 2 cycle 90.  We have 7 grands who all live out of state and might come one or two times a year during boating season.  I know they would love the 150 for tubing etc.  Getting a tritoon will also involve some work on my dock. I said all that to say my dock cover is 24' the gsr is 24'9 over all, is that a problem?  I welcome any thought on any of the above.
 
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For the dock length - It does leave you susceptible to damage from other boaters and more weathering on the hind end. I know from experience as I accidently grazed a swim deck from a runabout. No damage to either of us, but I did leave a note and phone # as he was my neighbor in the slip, accidents do happen. If you have a covered dock, most covered docks do not have eves troughs so all the water from rain will drain into whatever is sticking out. So a light rain could pool a bunch of water into/onto your pontoon.
 
Dock length would probably depend on how deep the water is at the Lake end. I have a 24' on a 30' pier but have room at the shore end to play. I also have a lift.  Are you putting the boat on a lift ?
 
Get as big a boat and motor as budget allows. When you own a bigger/faster toon, you will gain friends and family .....  :D


Oh, and I bet the grand kids will want to visit more often ..... bringing friends .....  ;)
 
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I figure it's a personal dock, not community.  If so you can always extend the roof out with cantilever type extensions or perhaps an awning to cover a couple of feet.  I would appreciate the 24' and not worry about the 9".  When you get all those new friends/family have them help you with the dock.  
 
Thanks for all your replies.  I will try and answer the questions asked.  Yes it is a personal dock, which btw I just had redone 2 years ago so I probably won't extend the roof.  The SSRX we are building will have the extended aft deck and a cover for the motor.  Don't think there is much possibility of another boat hitting it as we are parell to the shore line and back in a cove.  Yes it will be on an existing lift.  I currently have a Bennington pontoon on it so I will have to get an additional bunk added.  Are flat or v bunks preferred?  True story; our grands had never done any tubing, not 5 minutes into their first ride they want me to go faster.  As you know an older 90 2 stroke, although a great motor, will only go so fast.  Thanks again!  This forum has always been a great source of ideas/information.  Btw where do you all store your anchors.  I will have a small box one.
 
Sounds like any of those boats you are considering are winners.  


Normally (I'd say more than 85% of the time)  it's just the wife and I out on the boat but I wouldn't consider going smaller (length) or go smaller on the motor.  The 2250 with the sps platform and a 150 is a proven performer for us at just under 40mph at just over 5600.  The sps setup rides great and with the 150 watersports can be done without a problem.  In the 3 summers we've had the boat I'll admit the "big mable" tube has only been used a couple of times when family and friends come over.....but it's nice to know that you CAN when you want to.


The gsr2250 overall deck length is just over 24 foot (like you mentioned) from bow to extended stern but we haven't had a problem at our docks.  Granted they are covered with a lift and are 26 foot from the center walkway to the end of the roof line.  Does our boat get wet with that setup? Only if it rains and blows pretty hard the motor and part of the swim platform might get a little wet.


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The bow also goes over the toon tips.....makes it nice for docking and walking out the front.


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Two of our anchors get stored in the starboard side bow cooler....it has a drain in the bottom.  The other 2 anchors (sand and med. danforth) are stored under the rear port lounger behind the fuel water separator filter. 
 
Thanks for the information Indian Lake Bum.  Sharp looking toon.  What are your thoughts on power steering?  I just had a shoulder replacement 2 months ago.
 
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Sorry I didn't understand the part about the covered pier . Now that I see a picture I get it . Disregard my first post.
 
If I had to spec a lift, I think I would set it up just like a trailer would be, with three bunks for three toons.  As for the anchors, I acquired some case crates from the local Coke driver, the kind used to carry the nonreturnable 16oz.  I have pictures in my gallery.  They are an open web design and allow for airflow and drainage.  I screwed them down in the bow and stern under seat area, right by the gate.
 
View attachment 368This is our lift setup. Don't worry about what isn't under the roof, it'll be fine. My vote is SPS and 150.
 
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We have hydraulic steering (not power assist) and although the boat steers pretty easy it does take a little more effort than the power steering in your car.  The biggest thing that I noticed going from regular cable steering on our old pontoon with a 50HP to the hydraulic with the 150 is that it seems to take a few more turns of the wheel  to go from lock to lock.  The cable was a little over 3 turns and the hydraulic is more like 5.  The wife didn't like to drive the old boat but will drive the new one and has no problems turning it around.  I'm sure power assist would be an improvement over what we currently have but I'm satisfied with it....maybe on the next one.


Here's a video of us docking last spring and you can see what I mean about how many turns it takes for lock to lock steering.

 
You made that look effortless, and I'm not talking about the hydraulic steering.  I'm talking about the docking!  Thanks for posting this. I've been contemplating upgrading to hydraulic steering for a couple years, but I keep thinking PADS will set in so I might as well save the cash for the next boat, but when I think of all the good times we've had on our current boat, I don't think I could ever sell her. It would be like selling all the memories of the kids growing up on the boat...


Oh, and when I first saw the title of this thread, I was a bit surprised until I put my reading glasses on and saw it said "dock"...
 
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Oh, and when I first saw the title of this thread, I was a bit surprised until I put my reading glasses on and saw it said "dock"...


 


You're killin me Kay!!! 
 
Go with the power assist. Having had boats with all three (cable, regular hydraulic, power assist) the power assist is night and day difference over hydraulic.
 
lakeliving said:
Go with the power assist. Having had boats with all three (cable, regular hydraulic, power assist) the power assist is night and day difference over hydraulic.
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I agree!
 
Mike31406 said:
Thanks for the information Indian Lake Bum.  Sharp looking toon.  What are your thoughts on power steering?  I just had a shoulder replacement 2 months ago.
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I highly recommend the Power Assist Steering. You will not regret it. I had to have mine installed by the dealer as my recently traded-in F200 Yamaha did not come with it. I had never had a boat with power steering and the difference is incredible. You will maximize the SPS performance package by adding the power assist. Goldnrod24 wrote some great posts about adding power assist with a set-up like yours last summer.
 
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I've never driven a pontoon without power steering, so I can't weigh in on the difference it makes. All I can say is that driving is effortless with it!
 
Cable steering is effortless. As long as the motor is off.
 
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Would love to have a longer dock for Benny unfortunately the depth of the Man- Made Lake makes it difficult :)  
 
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