Climb aboard a pontoon boat and it’s all about chillin’ on the water. Or if speed’s your thing, that works too. Photo courtesy Moose Landing Marina
Having spent summers growing up on a modest-sized lake, I have a vague recollection of the first pontoon boat that came putt-putting into the cove in front of our camp. It looked sort of like the wooden swim raft the old man built and kept afloat with four 55-gallon drums, arranged two to a side. Spring and fall he’d tow it to deep water and back behind the family row boat. I think the pontoon boat, with its small gas outboard, was probably about as seaworthy and moved about as fast.
Thinking back though, I’d imagine the people aboard were quite pleased about being nautical pioneers. it was the start of the ’60s, after all, and pontoon boats were just then making their way east from the Midwestern lakes where they were born. These early adopters were probably enjoying what at the time was the ultimate sundowner vessel, back in the days when highballs were all the rage.
I mention this because after an adult life spent on the ocean where pontoon boats are a rarity, I was in for quite an awakening when I visited boat shows in Boston and Portland this winter. At the former, vast rows of pontoon boats filled the aisles, while in Portland, a much more intimate collection dominated the Portland Sports Complex. Being of the sailing persuasion, I guess I’d just not paid attention to what has become the vessel of choice for inland waters. Nationwide, more than 50,000 pontoon boats are sold annually. And here in Maine, more than 13,000 were registered in 2023, the most recent stats available.
With Maine’s freshwater lakes, ponds, and rivers top of mind, I was determined to get myself a ’toon tutorial and see what these increasingly lavish party platforms are all about.
My first question? What do you need to know to buy a pontoon boat?
In Portland, at the Moose Landing Marina stand, salesman Russell Charleston said the first things he asks customers are the acreage of their lake or pond, the typical wind conditions, and the number of other boats that will be kicking up a wake. Charleston is owner of Pinkham’s Cove Marine in Belgrade and gets his Starcraft inventory through Moose Landing, in Naples.
A simple two-pontoon boat with a modest-size engine might work just fine on a small lake where you can’t go that fast or where big wakes or wind-driven chop won’t be a factor, he said. And it might be all an older couple needs to enjoy a quiet ride around the shoreline.
Two-pontoon boats have their drawbacks though. They are limited in the size of the engine they can carry and they can have the tendency to nosedive if too many passengers want to sit up front. In the 1980s, builders began to add a third, center tube, which greatly enhances a boat’s stability and performance. Charleston says larger tri-toon Starcrafts can handle up to a 400-hp engine, which is powerful enough for waterskiing and tubing, and can plow through big waves should a summer squall rile open waters. And the center hull has strakes the length of it so the boat jumps up on plane.
The Moose Landing display, like several others, featured multiple models ranging from, say, a basic 16-footer, with a price tag of just over $20,000, to one of the more popular sellers that comes in a number of configurations, including one that sports an overhead arch and aft lounge that folds up to become a bar with four stools. It has lighted drink holders from bow to stern, of course, and is powered by a 300-hp Yamaha. It can be yours for right around $130,000.
Kurt Westcott, a salesman for the Goodhue Boat Company on Sebago Lake, offered more good advice. He tells customers to walk the show and find a layout they like—pedestal seats, wrap-around couches, fishing gear, and lounges are all options—and then find a dealer to work with. Most builders carry a range of models, from entry-level to premium—and will have multiple layouts available, Westcott said.
His company carries Premier boats, with options such as composite or aluminum side panels, instrument packages, high-end sound systems, and the like. Goodhue can also offer multiple outboard engines, if speed is a concern. Westcott said he has whipped along Sebago at 72 miles an hour on a pontoon boat, a personal best.
Seventy-two mph on a pontoon boat? Yikes! What’s next, a boat that can fly? Actually, an old friend, Parker Stair, chief sales and marketing officer at Montara Boats and Helios Marine Group, might have the answer. Montara has developed a range of models with a pontoon-boat deck but a wake-boat hull. He said they are going after the customer who has a pontoon boat for mom and pop, a jon boat for fishing, and a wake boat for the kids and grandkids all on their dock.
The hybrid—call it a monotoon?—can replace the three boats with one. And so, the quest for fun on the water goes on.
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