16 Pontoon^ & Deck Boat February^2019
ELUX Marine charges into Minneapolis
Temperatures outside may have been cool at the Minneapolis Boat Show in January, but inside ELUX Marine delivered
a welcomed boost to the boating industry with its introduction of the 100 percent electric luxury fiberglass pontoon.
Chief Design Officer Bart Jones — along with Howard Root who serves as the chief executive officer — is bringing a new
concept to pontooning.
“Trouble-free means no gas to fill, no oil to change, no ignition to fail, no engine to winterize and best of all, no
emissions to pollute,” says Jones.
Based in Minnesota, ELUX electric luxury pontoon is powered by a 72-volt, 420-amp lithium battery pack, secured in an
aluminum battery case, for over 10 hours of pontoon cruising on a single charge. Look for a full review in PDB once the
waters thaw. 952-657-2586 | http://www.eluxmarine.comMercury Campus Expands
Only eight months after breaking ground, Mercury
Marine officially opened a new state-of-the-art expansion
last fall at its global headquarters in Fond du Lac,
Wis. The two-story NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness)
Technical Center adds close to 20,000 additional square
feet to the more than 2.5 million square-foot campus.
This $10M investment to Mercury’s global headquarters
gives the company the largest and most expansive
testing facility in the marine industry. In total, Mercury
has invested more than $1B globally in expansion and
R&D since 2008.
NVH is the engineering practice of studying noise,
vibration and harshness characteristics; these are
integral to the boating experience, ensuring the quietest
and most peaceful engine for the consumer. The new
technical center houses two marine-specific hemi-
anechoic chambers, structural dynamic testing bays,
listening rooms, offices and workspaces.
http://www.mercurymarine.comSurf Boss Is Here
Montara Boats has cracked the code on how to blend
the the plushness of a pontoon with the performance of
a surf boat and has officially released the industry's first
and only pontoon you can surf behind.
Since announcing its Surf Boss surfing pontoon
in mid-October, Montara has welcomed 27 dealers to
its retail network and has more than 23 additional
dealerships pending. Montara’s patent-pending Surf
Boss has struck a positive cord with boaters and retailers.
“We’ve already sold four Surf Bosses,” said Aaron Fell,
CEO of Breakwater Marine in Surrey, BC. “This may be
the most amazing product I’ve seen in the past decade.
People love being able to make everyone in the family
happy. The comfort of a pontoon combined with surfing
and wake sports fun makes total sense.”
Offering three sizes, Montara’s production is focused
on bringing the 25-foot version to market first, followed
by 23- and 21-foot versions. Standard equipment for
the collection includes a 409hp PCM inboard engine,
Zero Off GPS speed control, a surf tab system and a
5,000-pound ballast system. Plush amenities include
jumbo transom loungers with fore/aft viewing, a full-size
head, dual swiveling captain’s chairs, Rockford Fosgate
premium audio system, dual Bimini tops, LED lighting,
USB chargers and full digital controls.
952-445-5700 | http://www.montaraboats.comFrom The Bow |
No Wake Zone