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.
