Winnisquam Marine / New Toon!
 

After 6 seasons of absolute fun and reliability, we finally decided it was time to trade in the old Manitou tri-toon. While 6 years does not make a boat old by any stretch, the more recent luxury advancements made in the performance toon market was just too good to pass up. Once we went to Winnisquam Marine and sat down with their sales rep Ryan, he made the decision easy for us.

We ended up getting a custom floor plan 25.5' Premier Gemini PTX with a 250 Merc Verado on it. It's basically a luxury fishing performance pontoon boat.

This particular floor plan has seats in the stern for fishing. This means I can now fish and land fish in the Stern of the boat rather than the side. My downriggers can also be mounted in the rear atop their optional downrigger mount custom made for Premier Pontoons. The front of the boat has your standard layout of wrap around flexsteel lounge sofas which are very comfortable.

This new boat has pretty much every option available including fly by wire digital controls which are really smooth (we test rode before purchasing). The 250 Verado has a supercharger for lots of low and mid range torque and it is so quiet it's honestly hard to tell when its running !

While I am giving up a little in performance / speed when compared to the Manitou, the fit, finish, options available and sheer luxury of the Premier more than make up the difference.

I would also like to mention the wonderful experience we have had thus far with Ryan and Winnisquam Marine. We had many pricing options to go through and many questions before we decided to make this deal. All through the process Ryan was very professional and very… no, EXTREMELY responsive, and did everything he could to make this a pleasant buying experience.

Once I signed on the dotted line, the service manager contacted me and asked me to bring him my trolling motor and batteries so he could have it all mounted and ready for me for when they dropped the boat off! Both my wife and I agree that they want to build long lasting relationships and not one hit sales. They have succeeded thus far!!

My new boat gets dropped off at my home dock this Sunday!! We can’t wait!!

Wave if you see me!

Dan

Congratulations! You still have some nice time to use it.

Hard to tell if you're excited or not ;)

Welcome to the Premier Club!!

Congrats, I am sure you will continue to have a great experience with Winnisquam, and be very happy with the Premier!

Yeah I know!

I think what we are really excited about was the buying experience with Winnisquam Marine. My first pontoon boat (Manitou) experience was an absolute nightmare to say the least because of the dealer. I won't mention the dealer name because they have since been bought out and are trying to make a new and better reputation for themselves. I wish them all the luck in the world!

Dan

A good sales experience can certainly impact overall product perception. Glad to hear things went well. I've heard lots of good stuff about Winnisquam marine, if I ever decide to buy a new boat they will be one of my stops.

CONGRATS!

Woodsy

I am glad you went Verado. I knew you would not like that pro xs in the long run, thus the suggestion. Ryan and I always joke about his love for the pro xs but after owning both you made the right choice.

We went with the Pro XS based on their recommendation. Though I can't say that I dislike it, I've been on a couple pontoons with the Verado and really liked the smoothness and quietness of them compared to the Pro XS.
I'm very happy with my Premier, I think I would have been happier with a Verado hanging off the back of it.

One of the main reasons I went with the Verado (besides Codemans excellent recommendation) is the fact that my new floor plan is completely open in the stern, there is simply nothing there to muffle any sound. My Manitou had a storage locker in the stern that completely isolated and muffled any engine sound.

After test driving the 300 Verado, I was sold!

Dan

Codeman, where were you when I needed you?? :laugh::laugh:

Always here, pushing verado over optimax and getting Ryan new clients!

I have a new 300 HP Verado and it is the quietest engine out there. I could not ever figure out why Ryan keep pushing the Optimax. No comparison with Verado. I even bought a Tritoon with a dealer that only sells Yamaha. Even though Yamaha has the best overall reputation as being the most reliable, I insisted if I were to buy a boat from them that it had to be a Verado. Even at WOT people sitting in the front of the boat claim that they can not hear the engine. The dealer even can't believe how quiet it is. Every time I go there to get gas the owner will come out and say is your engine running with a smile. Truly amazing.

New Premier purchase
 

First off, I want to welcome Dan and Kathy to the Premier Pontoon family. We have been extremely happy selling Premier and their boats are just amazing!!!

I always do my best to deliver a great product and to have happy boaters on the water...

As far as my love for Optimax as some people mentioned, I have just had a very good experience with them. They have a better power to weight ratio, the maintenance costs less and they consume less fuel. The 200 Optimax runs about the same speed as a 250 Verado and it costs thousands less. My last 2 engines were 225 ProXS Optimax engines and they were great. Codeman had a 250 ProXS that for some reason is a noisy engine compared to the other Optimax engines but it runs very good. The 200 ProXS is our most popular engine and has been extremely reliable and is just a powerhouse. It can be a little noisy when starting and at lower rpms but once your cruising it has a nice sound to it.

The Verado has a bunch of cool features such as the DTS(Digital Throttle and Shift) and is extremely quiet at idle. The supercharger helps it hold a good speed even when the boat is loaded up. We have sold a good amount of Verados this year especially on the larger Premiers as the Optimax only goes up to a 250 hp while the Verado goes up to a 300 as a non race motor.

If both engines were the same price we would sell more Verados. Premier is already an expensive boat and to sell it with an engine that is thousands more it's hard to justify in my mind. Also, you have to go with a larger Verado to get the same speed out of it. If I was to sell a 25 foot Premier with the PTX package I typically go with the 200 ProXS. If it was a Verado I would be recommending the 250 Pro which brings the cost up even more. I'm trying to provide the most boat for the dollar to my customers...

Happy Boating!!!

Ryan Crawford
VP Winnisquam Marine
President NH Marine Trades Association

Your next stop should be at Channel Marine. The Bennington hands down out performs a Premier. I know I have tried them both in the rough conditions

I absolutely love my Harris tri-toon. I will be out in Wolfeboro Bay tomorrow helping to patrol the regatta. My boat can handle any conditions on a rough day.

And the Ford/Chevy debate lives on... :laugh::laugh:
I have a 23' Premier with the 200 Pro XS. 46 MPH on the GPS with clean toons....44 2 weekends ago. Though I think the Verado is quieter and smoother, like Ryan says above, i think you'd need a 250 to match the performance of the 200 Pro XS. He's right about it sipping gas too...and he says I'll thank him when it comes to winterizing, service and maintenance. Ask me about that next spring.
Just a few more weeks left before it comes out of the water. Looking forward to a few more nice rides and some leaf peeping!

Premier Pontoons
 

All triple log pontoons drive very good these days. I took a regular triple round log Premier out for a test drive yesterday in white caps and it did very good. That wasn't even their PTX package which does just awesome. Fortunately for us and Premier I don't have many customers that have driven multiple different brands say that they think another brand rides better than the PTX package that Premier offers. It's all personal preference but when chasedawg was looking at Premier and he told me he felt that Bennington rode better I was very surprised because I'm not used to hearing that, most people just love the ride of the Premier and are amazed at the difference. I know the Bennington also rides very good but it's not a planing hull like Premier and it doesn't have the same flotation as a 36 inch wide u-shaped pontoon.

The majority of the time a person is going to like best what they bought. It's pride in what they own and I understand that. There are many things to consider when buying a boat including quality, layout, ride, performance, brand, dealership and more. It's not only about selling the boat, it's the service afterwards that matters. Combine all these factors and I think it's why we are the number 1 selling 22 foot and larger, pontoon dealership in NH. That's hard to do with such a high-end product but we try to show everyone why Premier holds the greatest value and is worth the extra money. We also work very hard to provide the best service possible.

Whatever someone ends up with I wish them the best and hope that they have happy boating. I just know that when I walk around at boat shows and check out all the different brands that I wouldn't trade having Premier at our dealership for any other brand.

Happy Boating!!!

Ryan Crawford
Winnisquam Marine

Rayn,

Excellent post...... A boats handling is all personal preference... not everyone likes the same qualities, that is way there is room for so many manufactures

I have driven many boats over the years... all have unique characteristics.....

So is this the setup the OP bought. With the fishing style seats. I have not seen one like it around here. Interesting alternative fishing boat.....

http://media.channelblade.com/boat_g...80_image06.jpg

Here It Is!
 

Here's a pic of the back of the new Premier I just got. It also has a full camper cover which I will rarely use except maybe in the very early spring. The front bimini will be taken down during the summer as it is just too much. The seat covers I have and a full helm enclosure should be more than adequate protection for foul weather.

I will be mounting at least 3 downriggers off the back rails using Premiers custom rail mount.

That console in front of the motor is a good sized livewell. There are also rod holders which can't be seen in the pic.

I have a 36 volt 101 lb thrust trolling motor on the front with permanently mounted trolling batteries in the center pontoon that Winnisquam marine hooked up for me. There is an on board charger for these batteries. I just basically plug the side of the boat in to charge.

Hopefully I will be able to get the entire boat rigged for trolling before putting it away in storage for the winter. Till then, I will continue jigging for lakers which has been a blast!!!

Dan

Great looking set-up Dan. Really looking to go in this direction.

Premeir Gemini
 

Can you/is there a way to mount a kicker motor on your rig?

Great looking boat - Wish you tons of luck with her.

Yes, there are a couple of different options to mount a kicker on a pontoon, none of which were very appealing to me hence why I went electric. Here's one example..http://www.powrtran.com/cgi-bin/cart...?parts_id=9729

My electric will push me at 2.2 mph (75% of capacity) for approximately 3 1/2 - 4 hours when somewhat calm. It can go 3 mph at top speed but not for long maybe 1 1/2 hours tops. I have two battery packs so I am good for 7 hours + or -. When its windy forget it, I have to use the big motor. My old Etec was fine trolling for hours on end without issue not sure about the Verado yet but just seems like a shame to put trolling hours on a motor that size!

Dan

Wow. You're right. That is a big chunk of canvas.....:laugh: Beautiful boat though. I hope you have fun with it.....:D

Or just put all that canvas up and go sailing:):D:laugh:

It is a nice pontoon!
 

I said in a previous message ( the Winnisquam Loon post) That I had been on Winnisquam in a 29' Priemer. My son, who works for Winnisqaum told me we were actually on that same 25.5 Premier with the 250 on it.

It was indeed a very smooth and FAST pontoon. Sure beats my 20' 2 log, with the 50HP. LOL

Nice looking setup Dan!

Excellent choice of colors, I have the same on my 235 Solaris. Nothing but great comments every place we've been

wow, she's a beaut dan! of course i'm somewhat partial to black boats myself.. :D

if you need any kind of custom rod holders etc. made up, let me know. a buddy of mine has made several for some other guys i know. he does great work too. congrats on the new barge!

Another home run for the Crawford family. I Just purchased the 24 sunsation
skydeck with the slide that was out front (my 4th boat in 5 years from them :rolleye1: ) Great service Great people you cant go wrong with Winnisqaum Marine:cheers:.

You will like it, the slides are a blast! We had a great time on ours.