The pontoon boat choices in Muskoka and the market in general have been limited. The stodgy old two log pontoon with a small four stroke engine was considered a old fogies boat. New pontoon design technological advances have definitely changed the game! You can still cruise the shorelines at 10 to 20 kilometers or race the wind with your hair on fire! Your family can tube, wakeboard, cruise, fish and party on some really slick high performance pontoons market ready right now . Available colours, graphic packages and interior layouts can really offer eye popping appeal.
The thinking was the old pontoon boat was for quiet waters and slow quiet boating down the shorelines. The old pontoon boat was ideal for the older folks to board as pontoons floors are generally at the same height as most docks and pontoons are extremely stable. No having to climb over the upholstery or step down awkwardly into the interior.
Boaters in Muskoka have been buying the available family bow riders from Stingray Boats, Four Winns Boats and Monterey Boats along with some other recognized brands for a couple of decades. The bow rider does many family activities well but bow riders do have some drawbacks. One of the biggest issues are seating in that passengers are placed in fixed seating positions with the changing of seating positions not being necessarily the easiest chore when underway and fishing. The ever popular sundeck package on a bow rider which is the number on seating choice does also cause some restrictive access to the swim platform. The major boat companies have tried to address this issue through rear entry configurations. The bow rider interior does not work well for fishing as the seating positioning is all wrong. Lack of floor space in the cockpit and bow areas also is a problem as well as all that nice upholstery.
What was needed was a re think of the pontoon log. First came the three log system which did decrease problems with bow diving but the three log system still could not get a pontoon onto plane and therefore not great performance qualities. Next came attempts to get the pontoon boat up and out the water using traditional lifting strakes and modified running surfaces. Better but still not there and did not handle well. Back to the drawing boards.
The problems of lift and handling have been solved and in a major way. Manitou Pontoons has perhaps the best pontoon performance system a patented design called SHP (sport handling package). A unique center pontoon construction utilizing a special larger center pontoon with pontoon lifting technology and nose cone designs. The results have been spectacular! Unbelievable hole shots, speeds that have not been previously available and these pontoons handle and turn. Another benefit is that now we have a pontoon that is rough water capable opening up new water bodies to pontooning. Add to that available swim platforms, wakeboard towers, sound systems, ski pylons and that open space...wow! I had the opportunity just a short time ago to try a Manitou 22 Xplode with a 250 Mercury Optimax. Top end speed was a blistering 57 MPH and this boat turned so hard it would throw you out of your seat! Instantaneous on plane performance.
I will be doing some additional testing this fall and let you know more about this exciting technological pontoon design breakthrough.
great article~
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