PHOTOS: (FROM TOP) COURTESY MANITOU PONTOON BOATS, COURTESY YAMAHA MOTOR CORPORATION
THIS DESIGN, COUPLED WITH STRATEGIC PLACEMENT
AND SHAPE OF THE LIFTING STRAKES AND
SPRAY RAILS, GIVES FLAT CORNERING AND STRONG
ACCELERATION ALONG WITH TOP SPEED.
MORE
POWERPontoon builders
have adapted
construction to
handle big, pow-
erful outboards
on the transom.nonstepped ’toon. Play-
Craft’s pontoons are not
round, like many others.
They are U-shaped with
added lifting strakes to
boost speed and o er
turning and handling
similar to V-bottom
hulls.POWER
AUTHORITY
All builders clearly
recognize the recent
recharging of the horse-
power race. Manitou’s
Van Wagenen notes
that “outboards con-
tinue to get larger andmore powerful, and at
Manitou, we’re working
on stronger and better
materials and designs to
hold up to the increased
weight, torque and pow-
er, as well as increased
potential speeds.”
PlayCraft’s Dorris
takes a conservative
approach: He notes
that while 400, 500 and
larger-horsepower en-
gines will become more
commonplace in the
near future, PlayCraft is
testing all boats — and
has been for a long time
— with full decking,
furniture, arches, etc., toensure that models will
perform well in real-
world conditions. “If a
customer demands an
extreme setup, such as
triple engines, we will
do that only on a much
larger — 30-plus-foot-
long minimum — hull
package,” he adds.
So, will 100 mph
pontoons soon be com-
monplace at your local
lake? “We have pretty
much approached the
wall as far as speed-
enhancing performance
designs are concerned,”
says South Bay’s Greg
Barsoda.Despite rapidly in-
creasing horsepower
and torque from larger
engines, boat manufac-
turers thankfully recog-
nize the need for a safe
and sane approach to
design for speed, as op-
posed to chasing every
last mile per hour with
no respect for what can
happen if the design, ex-
ecution and setup aren’t
spot-on. So, get ready to
enjoy some speed on the
water, in a boat that’s not
designed in a “speed at all
costs” manner. Finally,
here’s some heavy metal
that’s music to our ears.BOATINGMAG.COM | JULY/AUGUST 2018 | 85