How do You Toon?
Incase you haven’t noticed, pontoon boats are everywhere. Recently, pontoon sales in North America have absolutely exploded. From 2016 to 2017 Pontoons rose 9.4%; the largest growth in the boating industry. From what we’re seeing, the growth from 2017 to 2018 should be even more dramatic. The main reason for this sudden growth is mostly attributed to the performance innovations manufacturers are making to pontoons, most notable of which being the addition of a third-pontoon While the classic 2-tube pontoon boat is still great for cruising shorelines, catching sunsets and the odd fish, they fall short in being the do-it-all family cottage boat. Cottagers would often have a boat specifically for water sports and a pontoon for everything else. With the emergence of performance pontoons, cottagers are now able to consolidate their dock into one boat.
The third pontoon does many things; most importantly it adds running surface to the boat which when equipped with a decently high-powered engine, allows the pontoon to plane. When the boat planes, you can achieve higher speeds and with that additional pontoon in the center, the boat now has an axis to turn on, simulating the traditional v-hull boats most of us associate with water sports and high-speed performance. With traditional 2-log pontoons not only does the boat stay planted in the water but the lack of turning axis forces the boat to make flat turn which equates to a difficult boat to drive and a lackluster tube ride.
Allot of performance pontoons brands have different methods of achieving improved handling. Of course, higher horsepower helps and hydraulic steering becomes necessary with a beefier engine but brands have gotten very creative in how they approach building a performance pontoon. Harris Pontoons do it by dropping their center-tube down a little bit (amount depends on the model) effectively giving the boat a turning-axis. Crest Pontoons increase the diameter of the center-tube by an inch giving the boat a turning-axis as well as increasing the running surface of the tube, giving the boat a large in-water footprint and added stability.
Town & Country Marine has the largest selection of in-stock pontoon boats in Ontario so no matter how you toon your boat, we’ve got something that’ll suit your boating needs. Don’t know what’s the right option for you? Just ask “The Pontoon Pros.”
Sources: Reagan Haynes; Trade Only Today (2017)