Pontoon boat weight is one of the biggest factors many people overlook when purchasing a pontoon. When searching for the best pontoon boat for you, there is more to it than a fancy deck and a nice speed. As a buyer, you should consider boat weight every time.
How much does a pontoon boat weigh?
On average, pontoon boat weight is around 2,600 pounds, including the motor, and can hold another 2000 pounds of gear and guests. A pontoon trailer is about 1,200 pounds of weight. In short, total pontoon weight averages well over 5,000 pounds.
Add all that up and boat’s weight increases rapidly.
Ever since I was a child I wanted to have a boat. So, once I got the opportunity to buy my own boat, I took it. However, a lot of research and learning took part in the process before signing on the dotted line. Many different factors that I had to consider included:
- Style of the pontoon boat.
- Length of the pontoon.
- How many people I was going to bring on the pontoon.
- The speed of the pontoon boat.
- Year of the pontoon boat.
- Price of the pontoon boat.
And lastly, I had to consider the overall weight of the pontoon boat. The reason being, shortly after you purchase a pontoon, you are going to want to add some additions. One of these additions was a pontoon boat trailer.
The reality is, if you plan to take your boat from your driveway to the water, you will need a trailer! With that in mind, it is important to look at the weight when buying your pontoon, so you are better prepared for handling it later down the line.
Before we take a look at some important aspects of pontoon boat weight let’s look at some examples.
Examples of Pontoon Boat Weight (In Pounds)
| Lowe Boats |
Basic Hull Dry Weight (lbs) |
Max Person Capacity (lbs) | Max Weight Capacity (lbs) |
Total Weight (lbs) |
| Retreat 270 Extended WT | 3530 | 1949 | 2763 | 6293 |
| Retreat 250 WT | 2715 | 1701 | 2363 | 5078 |
| SS270 Extended Walk Thru | 3281 | 2063 | 2877 | 6158 |
| SS250 Extended Walk Thru | 2336 | 1881 | 2543 | 4879 |
| SF234 | 1840 | 1746 | 2408 | 4248 |
| SF232 | 2136 | 1635 | 2297 | 4433 |
| Ultra 202 Fish & Cruise | 1792 | 1491 | 2214 | 4006 |
| Ultra 200 Cruise | 1780 | 1496 | 2219 | 3999 |
| Ultra 162 Fish & Cruise | 1629 | 1181 | 1640 | 3269 |
| SD224 | 2180 | 1660 | 2404 | 4584 |
| Sun Tracker Boats | Basic Hull Dry Weight (lbs) | Max Person Capacity (lbs) | Max Weight Capacity (lbs) | Total Weight (lbs) |
| Party Barge 18 DLX | 1495 | 1220 | 1750 | 3245 |
| Party Barge 20 DLX | 1695 | 1370 | 1900 | 3595 |
| Party Barge 22 XP3 | 2885 | 1600 | 2400 | 5285 |
| Party Barge 22 RF DLX | 2000 | 1500 | 2200 | 4200 |
| Party Barge 24 XP3 | 3159 | 1900 | 2800 | 5959 |
| Bass Buggy 16 DLX | 1175 | 1150 | 1600 | 2775 |
| Bass Buggy 18 DLX | 1420 | 1200 | 1775 | 3195 |
| Fishing Barge 22 XP3 | 2680 | 1575 | 2350 | 5030 |
| SportFish 22 XP3 | 3250 | 1500 | 2300 | 5550 |
| Avalon Boats | Basic Hull Dry Weight (lbs) | Max Person Capacity (lbs) | Max Weight Capacity (lbs) | Total Weight (lbs) |
| Excalibur | 5000 | 2230 | 3190 | 8190 |
| Ambassador Windshiels | 4600 | 1950 | 2900 | 7500 |
| Catalina Platinum Cruise | 2450 | 1770 | 2430 | 4880 |
| Catalina Entertainer | 2650 | 2015 | 2675 | 5325 |
| LSZ Cruize/Elite | 2250 | 1845 | 2505 | 4755 |
| LSZ Fish | 2050 | 1600 | 2260 | 4310 |
| LS Quad Lounge | 2000 | 1450 | 2000 | 4000 |
| GS Cruize | 2450 | 1770 | 2430 | 4880 |
| Venture CRB/QL | 1750 | 1250 | 1805 | 3555 |
| Venture Fish | 1600 | 1050 | 1575 | 3175 |
| Tahoe Boats | Basic Hull Dry Weight (lbs) | Max Person Capacity (lbs) | Max Weight Capacity (lbs) | Total Weight (lbs) |
| Cascade Platinum Cruise | 2450 | 1770 | 2430 | 4880 |
| Cascade Platinum Quad Lounge | 2650 | 2015 | 2675 | 5325 |
| LTZ Cruise | 2250 | 1845 | 2505 | 4755 |
| LTZ Quad Lounge | 2250 | 1845 | 2505 | 4755 |
| Cascade Rear J Lounge | 2650 | 2015 | 2675 | 5325 |
| Cascade Entertainer | 2650 | 2015 | 2675 | 5325 |
| GT Quad Lounge | 2450 | 1770 | 2430 | 4880 |
| Vision Funship | 4830 | 2220 | 3290 | 8120 |
| Sport CRB / QL | 1750 | 1250 | 1805 | 3555 |
| Cascade Fish | 2450 | 1770 | 2430 | 4880 |
| Starcraft Boats | Basic Hull Dry Weight (lbs) | Max Person Capacity (lbs) | Max Weight Capacity (lbs) | Total Weight (lbs) |
| MX 23 C DC | 2425 | 2145 | 1775 | 4200 |
| MX 25 L | 2542 | 2310 | 1940 | 4482 |
| SLS 1 | 2055 | 1815 | 1500 | 3555 |
| SLS 5 DC | 2971 | 2310 | 2590 | 5561 |
| CX 21 C | 1850 | 1650 | 1410 | 3260 |
| CX 23 CP | 2100 | 1980 | 1650 | 3750 |
| FX Fish 21 FD4 | 1850 | 1650 | 1410 | 3260 |
| EX 22 C SG | 2100 | 1815 | 1500 | 3600 |
| EXS 5 | 2471 | 2145 | 1775 | 4246 |
| EX 22 CF | 2100 | 1815 | 1500 | 3600 |
| Ranger Boats | Basic Hull Dry Weight (lbs) | Max Person Capacity (lbs) | Max Weight Capacity (lbs) | Total Weight (lbs) |
| 223FC | 3104 | 1537 | 2300 | 5404 |
| 220FC | 2120 | 1460 | 2130 | 4250 |
| 223F | 2639 | 1545 | 2300 | 4939 |
| 220F | 2320 | 1388 | 2050 | 4370 |
| 200C | 2380 | 1350 | 1890 | 4270 |
| 220C | 2360 | 1438 | 2100 | 4460 |
| 223C | 2360 | 1500 | 2300 | 4660 |
| 243C | 3106 | 1950 | 2800 | 5906 |
| Harris Boats | Basic Hull Dry Weight (lbs) | Max Person Capacity (lbs) | Max Weight Capacity (lbs) | Total Weight (lbs) |
| Crowne DL 250 | 4294 | 3021 | 3721 | 8015 |
| Crowne SL 250 Twin Engine | 4640 | 3021 | 3721 | 8361 |
| V270 | 5590 | 2964 | 3664 | 9254 |
| Grand Mariner 230 | 3906 | 2676 | 3376 | 7282 |
| Grand Mariner SEL 250 | 5580 | 2935 | 3635 | 9215 |
| Solstice DC 230 | 3675 | 2834 | 3534 | 7209 |
| Solstice RD 260 | 4986 | 2902 | 3602 | 8588 |
| Sunliner 210 | 2503 | 2463 | 3163 | 5666 |
| Sunliner 250 | 3316 | 2953 | 3653 | 6969 |
| Cruiser LX 200 | 1780 | 1496 | 2196 | 3976 |
The Importance of Boat Weight
I knew from the start that weight was important to me! Considering that I wanted to bring my wife and daughter on board, I knew I had to keep that in mind.
If it’s a relaxing Saturday evening, we tend to invite friends as well. Therefore, weight is something I had to consider if I also planned on bringing food, a slide, and other items.
To begin the process, you have to become familiar with the three primary capacities:
- Dry weight – this is the amount the weight with an empty gas tank.
- Full Weight – The total weight of the pontoon with a full gas tank, people, items, and furniture.
- Tow Weight – The boat and trailer’s weight combined.
NOTE: The tow weight is primarily important for you to know for the sake of your car. Towing a 2,200-pound boat and a trailer with a Honda Civic with a 4-cylinder four-door is not too promising.
Other than this, there are a few reasons why a pontoon weight is important to know. Considering the fact that you will be towing it, you want to know if your truck can safely handle towing a 2,000 pounds machine and a trailer.
Another reason why it is vital to know your pontoon’s boat weight is for performance and safety. By knowing the total capacity that your pontoon can handle you can average out how much your pontoon can tow and how much gas it will drink in the process.
With that, you can also average out the speed of the pontoon. Of course, the fewer people and items on the boat the faster it will operate.
Lastly and most importantly, knowing your total pontoon’s boat weight means never going over the vessel’s safety rating!
General Rule of Weight
This is only supposed to be used as an average weight scale. It is important that you find out and memorize the ideal total weight of your pontoon.
However, if you are struggling to find out the overall weight, consider the general rule: for every foot, most pontoons weigh 100 pounds. This is a good weigh to determine the weight of your pontoon with furniture.
Gasoline Weight Pounds
Other than being costly for a pontoon boat, gasoline also weighs a lot. In fact, your full gas tank weighs as much as a human. Gasoline weighs about 6.2 pounds per gallon.
Therefore, if you have a 25-gallon tank, the overall weight is 155 pounds added to your pontoon.
Knowing Your Tow Weight Capacity
Like I said before, if you ever plan on getting in the water, unless your boat is docked, you will need a trailer.
Now that you have an idea about your overall pontoon’s weight, it is time to figure out how to tow it. This is not a hard process, only a bit of knowledge is required!
To begin, the overall weight of a pontoon boat trailer is 1,200 pounds. If you add that to your total pontoon’s weight of 2,200 pounds, your sum total is 3,600 pounds. This number is extremely important!
If you plan to tow your pontoon boat to a nearby lake or the ocean, it is really important to know your vehicle’s towing capacity. If this is your first time, to be on the safe side, ensure that your vehicle can tow well above the total weight of the pontoon and trailer – 3,600 pounds in this case.
Maximize Safety
For safety purposes make sure of the following when towing your boat:
- Overall great grip and traction on your vehicle’s tires.
- Healthy brakes on your vehicle.
- Great grip and traction on your pontoon’s trailer tires.
- Brake wire your trailer to your car.
- Use a vehicle that offers 2,500 pounds more than you are towing.
- Drive slow and careful.
- Take wide turns.
- Centralize the weight when possible, and keep any additional weight in the center of the pontoon boat.
- Match weight from side to side with passengers.
- Use a counterbalance from the bow of the pontoon to the stern. Adding an extra battery in the front means there should be equal weight in the back with another item.
Other Pontoon Weight Aspects To Keep In Mind
On the last note, keep in mind that the more additions you add to your pontoon boat the more it will weigh. When I wanted to add a couple of specs to my pontoon boat I had to consider the overall weight it was already at.
Adding a double Bimini top could mean another 100 pounds. Adding a barbeque, fishing equipment, more seats, cooler full of food, and potential pontoon bathroom adds to the overall weight of your pontoon boat.
If you know you are going to spec-out your pontoon, it is important to keep in mind you may be doing it at the cost of passenger weight.
Pontoon Weight Conclusion
When I first started this process, I knew it was like learning a new sport. I wanted to become knowledgeable about owning a pontoon. Everything from how to get your boating license, to the many fun things you can do on a pontoon, and even pontoon events to join, I had a passion for it.
Therefore, it is important for anyone that is considering getting a pontoon to think of it as a major purchase a goal. Ultimately, you are buying a watercraft that weighs thousands of pounds. Learning how to use it is important!
If you are considering getting a pontoon boat, knowing the pontoon weight is a must. The paperwork should have it, or the dealer you are buying it from should know. The 100 per foot rule is only an estimate, but eventually, you will have to know the main pontoon weight.
Knowing the main pontoon weight will remove a lot of guessing, minimize headaches, and help you understand how to tow your boat.