Dave and Alma Richards didn't set out to buy a pontoon boat. He wanted to fish. She wanted to ski.

They looked at deck boats but concluded that option wouldn't comfortably hold them, their five adult children, five grandchildren and the dog. Further research led them to one of the marine industry's hottest trends: the performance pontoon.

Premier Marina, IncThe Boundary Waters, the flagship of Premier's fleet of luxury pontoons, offers a standard 10-foot floor plan and all kinds of extras.

While traditionalists may sneer at the boxy multihulls, the latest models are large enough to entertain, fast enough to tow a skier and still far cheaper than most conventional boats. Moreover, they continue to sell, even in a declining market.

The Richards settled on a 25-foot Suncatcher with a 150 HP Yamaha motor. It was delivered in May of last year, and the family was so excited they braved the cold to spend the first night on the boat in its slip on Shenango River Lake in Clark, Penn., about an hour from their home. They were the only ones at the marina – and they were thrilled.

"We didn't look at pontoons first," Dave Richards says. "The pontoons I remember were basic platforms with a few lawn chairs and a 10 HP motor."

THE NEW BREED

Today pontoon boats are a huge part of the recreational marine market, and with more performance options, their popularity is growing. Pontoons were second only to bass boats among new outboard boats sold, representing more than 19 percent of new purchases, in 2006, the latest year for which statistics were available from the National Marine Manufacturers Association. That's up from about 12 percent in 1997.

Traditionally, affordability has been one of the pontoon boat's biggest draws. For about a third of the cost of a fiberglass hull, a family could get on the water with a boat that would allow fishing, swimming and simply hanging out. That remains true today. Classic pontoon boats with modest motors are widely available for between $15,000 and $20,000.

"There is still great value under $20,000," says Dale Sargent, regional sales manager for Voyager Marine in Camdenton, Mo.

But the big growth is in more expensive pontoon boats, ranging from $35,000 to $50,000 or more. At the Nashville Boat and Sport Show in January, Premier displayed a double-decker that was 31 feet long with a 10-foot beam feet and sported a 300 HP Suzuki engine. The show price was $95,000.

"The trends we are seeing are nicer, richer, plusher and faster," Sargent says. "The pontoon boat is becoming more of a dual purpose vessel for fishing and cruising."

That's what hooked the Richards. They spent $35,000 for their boat, engine and trailer. They have a portable toilet and a changing room on board, a grill that attaches to the rail and a camping tent that can enclose the entire boat.

Alma Richards loves it.

"We had as many as nine sleeping on the boat one night," she says. "Getting everybody on board is right up our alley."

A PERFORMANCE PONTOON?

Brady Kay, editor of Pontoon & Deck Boat Magazine, said sales started picking up about a decade ago. "People's first image is this slow barge with lawn chairs and such," he says. "The pontoon was the least nautical boat in the industry. It was boxy and square."

It was often derided as a "party barge." But customers wanted more and manufacturers responded. "Owners of classic pontoons would say they wanted the same space but wanted to go 30 to 45 MPH rather than 15 to 20 MPH," says Pete Soles, a Princecraft representative based in Columbia, S.C. "There is a definite trend toward high performance over the last five years."

To get that performance, manufacturers had to make some structural changes. Basic pontoon boat construction involves a large, flat deck attached to a hull with two round aluminum tubes that float the vessel, which are known as sponsons, tubes, logs, pontoons or even simply "toons."

NATIONAL MARINE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATIONChart does not include all outboard categories.

The new high-end models have a third tube down the middle for stability and speed. The extra tube helps the boat handle more load and power. Premier, for example, flattens the bottom of its middle tube, which is wider than the other two, for more buoyancy and lift. The flat 12 inches of "hull" on the middle tube, along with lifting strakes mounted inside the two outer tubes, allow the boat to ride higher and bank tighter.

Dan Reinertson, Premier's dealer services manager in Wyoming, Minn., says these performance pontoons come in lengths up to 36 feet and "bank like a runabout."

The company's promotional video shows a Premier pontoon with its PTX performance package pulling five skiers. Standard features include a 7-foot ski locker with 15 cubic feet of storage, a 53-gallon fuel tank and, on outboards, a ski tow bar.

Premier Marina, Inc.Premier's Explorer will take you to that lucky bay just around the bend, even if it is shallow.Called tri-toons or tri-tubes, the boats have additional structural reinforcements. Princecraft's performance package boasts reinforcement at pressure points such as the nose cone; an under-deck spray shield that keeps waves from hitting under the floor; and lifting strakes for faster running and less resistance.

For luxury, options abound: wet bars, furniture covers, double Bimini tops, removable tables, four-speaker stereo systems with satellite radio, ski and fish lockers, vinyl floors, illuminated drink holders, grill with rail mounts, and inflatable bow beds.

Some high-end models even have optional galleys, complete with an electric sink, refrigerator, microwave and a gas grill. Premier's luxury line uses Berber carpet and has a circular staircase with the optional "sky deck," on the second level.

"You don't need to have a pontoon and a runabout," Kay says. "Now you can do everything on the pontoon boat."

He's watched the magazine's circulation expand with the pontoon boat market. Pontoon & Deck Boat Magazine started 13 years ago as a quarterly. It grew to six issues, then eight, then 11 in 2004. Circulation is about 85,000.

Kay and manufacturers' representatives agree that the market for pontoon boats is one of the marine industry's more stable, even during tough economic times. With so many price points, consumers can spend a lot, or a little.

"Other boats have been dipping but pontoons have kept growing strong," Kay says. "Pontoons are so family friendly and popular."

So popular that the Richards are organizing a gathering of pontooners at Lake Kentucky in Tennessee. Set for Sept. 12-14, the weekend event is billed as a sort of "family reunion" of active members of Pontoon & Deck Boat's online forums. Its genesis was a surprise for Loyd Meeks' 60th birthday party last October in Oklahoma. Dave and Alma Richards and three other couples who met online conspired with Betty Meeks for months, planning for the pontoon brigade to show up at the party.

The Meeks have been married 41 years and are on their fourth pontoon boat, a 22-foot Tracker Regency with a 90 HP mercury four-stroke. They live a few minutes away from Lake Tenkiller; during boat season they get together with five to 10 other families every Sunday, calling themselves "the redneck yacht club." The pontoons tie up together and make the few fiberglass hulls in the fleet anchor a bit away.

"We've owned boats since 1970. We've had every kind of boat made, ski boats, fishing boats," Loyd Meeks says. "We are spoiled with pontoons. It is the only way we will go."

THE NEXT GENERATION

Historically, pontoons have been popular among older boaters – getting in and out of them was easy and the Bimini tops provided ample sun protection. Relatively easy to operate, pontoons are forgiving boats. But Sargent says the demographic is getting younger as manufacturers respond with higher rails and other safety features to attract young families.

"People always think of a pontoon boat as an older person's boat but with so many of our customers that is just not the case," says Andrea Myers, who runs Pontoon Stuff, Inc., a supply company in Indiana, with her husband. She is 30. "It is more of a family boat."

Meeks sees it on Lake Tenkiller, the pontoons with "three logs, big motors and fancy graphics." They are filled with younger folks.

COAST GUARDFigures include all U.S. states and territories. Kay agrees.

The magazine tests new pontoon models every year, and manufacturers have responded to customers' concerns with better "pinch protection" on gates, bigger rails with padding, side braces for the rails and protected toe kicks.

"Little things over the years they've continued to improve on, and it has been interesting to see how far they've come with safety," Kay says. "They were designed more for fishing back then."

Statistics from the Coast Guard's most recent annual safety report also suggests pontoon boats, operated properly, are safer than other vessel types. In 2006, the most recent figures available, 206 pontoon boats were involved in accidents, compared with 2,991 open motorboats and 930 cabin motorboats. Only two of those pontoon boats capsized, but 40 percent of pontoon accidents involved a collision with another vessel.

In 2006, the agency recorded 710 fatalities, including 28 that involved pontoons. Open motorboats accounted for 346 of the deaths, almost half.

But pontoons are not good sea boats , nor are they stable on large, rough bodies of water such as the Great Lakes. A customer of Pontoon Stuff, Inc., which sells pontoon components to rehabbers, had a particularly harrowing experience on Lake Erie.

A 6-foot wave about 100 yards offshore crushed it, tearing the railing off and pulling the seats out. He had recently refurbished the boat with new deck, carpet and furniture.

"It was pretty scary," says Andrea Myers. She and husband James once ventured out into an inlet off Lake Michigan on a choppy day. They turned around and recommend calmer waters.

"It is definitely not meant to be," she says.

PARTY BARGE GROWN UP

One industry website, Yachtcouncil.com, credits Ambrose Weere, a Minnesota farmer, with creating the leisure pontoon boat in 1952 by tying a wooden deck to two aluminum cylinders. He built a few more and easily sold them. Weere's Pontoons continue to be produced today, though the founder died in 1991.

The Myers also have researched the pontoon's early years. Aqua Patio, of Sturgis, Mich., started making galvanized steel pontoon boats in the 1950s. The owner of an auto parts store fabricated a pontoon boat for his family and others saw it and wanted one, launching Kayot Pontoons. Crest Pontoon, still a big name in the market, got its start in Owosso, Mich., in 1957 as Maurell Products.

The first big step in the evolution that led to today's cushy performance pontoons came in the 1960s, when the Harris Flote-Bote came out with deluxe upholstery.

Other big players today include Tracker, Bennington and Godfrey.

Nearly 1 million pontoon boats are out there, according to the Myers' estimates and research. Another 400,000, they say, are in disrepair, stashed in a backyard, shed or under a tree and waiting to be rehabbed.

The Myers started their business on eBay in 1993, supplying components to folks who want to fix up an existing pontoon boat. The next year they started PontoonStuff.com; in 2006 they built a 30,000-square foot warehouse and distribution center in Elkhart, Ind.

Andrea Myers estimates they get 30,000 customers a year, a figure that continues to grow.

"As long as the tubes are okay, we can sell you everything else," she says. "It has become our love, our passion."

REHABILITATION

That's the route Larry Ray of Littlefield, Texas, took. He spent $1,250 on a 28-foot boat damaged by a tropical storm and left exposed to the elements.

At first, his wife Sandy said simply, "No way." About the only salvageable components were the flooring and rails. The top rails were trashed, the seats ruined. The Rays lucked out with the motor, though, which was part of the deal. The 60 HP engine needed only a new impeller, carb cleaning and line flushing.

The rest of the boat needed rebuilding. The Rays bought the shell in May 2006, spending the hot part of the Texas summer on the project. By that fall, the pontoon boat was ready for the water. Larry even built in a live well for fishing.

He figures the have about $5,000 invested in their new favorite pastime.

"I love the room," Larry Ray says. "We love it. My wife can get on one end and me on the other end and that way we don't hurt each other."

They trailer the pontoon to Lake Graham and Lake Eddleman in far west Texas, where they'll spend a full day, often joined by their cocker spaniel, their children and grandchildren. The boat easily seats 12.

"We have a "˜99 fish-and-ski, with a 125 horsepower motor," Larry Ray says. "We don't even take it. We just take the pontoon."

Pamela Coyle is a freelance writer based in Tennessee, whose work has appeared in many publications. She a former editor at The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, where she helped produce the paper's Pulitzer Prize winning coverage of Hurricane Katrina.