Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Is there any end to the brand names? Every time I see a new pontoon boat, I learn a new brand name exists. Probably because I haven't been paying attention long, but there are a lot. The more I look at them, the more these new pontoon boats remind me of RV's. They seem have a lot in common.

So how many brands are there? Mine is a Veranda. Are there any brands out there to stay away from? Are there any brands known for being the best?

photonfanatic wrote:Are there any brands known for being the best?

Bennington is know as the Cadi of pontoons and this is coming from someone who doesn't own one.

I have a Southbay and I think it's great.

Funny thing about this post, I have never heard of Veranda.

Bennington , though a good quality boat is the result of a tremendously successful branding effort. There are many , many other brands that are every bit as good if not better. And you won't pay the premium for the name on the side. Reminds me of Harley Davidson ....lol

It's not all marketing. I have never seen a Bennington ad on tv, or anywhere else except boating magazines. Even then... they are few and far between. I sure know that marketing isn't what sold me on them. The build quality is spectacular. The furniture is the best in the business. The material are top notch. The layout is sensible and well thought out, the resale value holds very well, and although I haven't used it myself, I hear the customer support is top-notch.

Yes, there are boats that are every bit as good as a Bennie. But is seems like Bennington is the one most boats are compared to.

Tim

I don't think you pay a premium for the name with Bennington. The other high end brands are just as expensive for a comparable boat. I also don't think there furniture is the best of all. not to say it's not just as good, but at all the boat shows I went to last year I got to see the best of the best. The upgraded furniture has come a long way for most brands.

photonfanatic wrote:.....So how many brands are there?

Here is a poll from 2012 (it is a sticky on the main page of the General Forum). I am sure some (brands/manufacturers) have fallen by the way side and some have been added since. If I can count right, it has 64 listed.

A through J Brands
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12542

K through W Brands
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12543

Bennington huh... I'll look them up when its finally time for me to buy a non-fishing boat. My Veranda has 4-fishing seats, and only one "couch". But I'm an avid fisherman, and I love taking people with me. So that was the one for me. But once that one's paid off, I'm probably going to buy a luxury boat that's just for when you want to hang out at the lake, maybe ride jet-skis and such. And not fish. Really I'd like an awesome boat that is a perfect combination, but I've never seen one.

Anyway yeah the Veranda is an all aluminum boat, no wood. That's their whole claim to fame, it seems. But I don't know if this is becoming some kind of industry standard, or if they're one of the few that's doing it.

So there really isn't any brands to avoid? That's kind of rare, in most industries.

Here's the Veranda

most brands now offer a rear fish station on cruise models, and if you get one with a few feet outside the rail at the bow you can fish great off front and back and still have couches with laybacks. best of both worlds with out 4 bass seats taking up all the space. thats a beauty, I've liked every veranda I've seen. although that may be the 4th.

photonfanatic wrote:Are there any brands out there to stay away from?

Absolutely. Do not under any circumstance buy a boat made by Invincible Ironworks, in Biloxi Mississippi. Iron pontoons do not last, and these are made from recycled pot metal, and brand new, barely float. Their 47 foot Dreadnought model is infamous for striking, and sinking a US Coast Guard Cutter (the USS Whistlepig), in the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard guys thought it was a whale. Understand, that a 47 foot iron pontoon weighs about 23,000 pounds, and needed two massive diesels to push it at its top speed of 3.26 knots with a 40 knot trailing wind. The fact that the dealer painted it the same color as the Gulf waters was a possible contributing factor in the collision, which happened in broad daylight. The Coast Guard boat captain, LtCmdr Marcellus "Mack" MacKinnon, was found to be derelict in his duties. He said he was laughing his a$$ off "when the golderned thing struck my boat". Fortunately, there were no fatalities, and the driver of the Dreadnought was convicted of "Aquanautical Disturbance, and Nuisance", and fined $43,286.77 and had to serve 13 days in jail.

Hooper drives the boat chief.

BobG wrote:

photonfanatic wrote:Are there any brands out there to stay away from?

Absolutely. Do not under any circumstance buy a boat made by Invincible Ironworks, in Biloxi Mississippi. Iron pontoons do not last, and these are made from recycled pot metal, and brand new, barely float. Their 47 foot Dreadnought model is infamous for striking, and sinking a US Coast Guard Cutter (the USS Whistlepig), in the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard guys thought it was a whale. Understand, that a 47 foot iron pontoon weighs about 23,000 pounds, and needed two massive diesels to push it at its top speed of 3.26 knots with a 40 knot trailing wind. The fact that the dealer painted it the same color as the Gulf waters was a possible contributing factor in the collision, which happened in broad daylight. The Coast Guard boat captain, LtCmdr Marcellus "Mack" MacKinnon, was found to be derelict in his duties. He said he was laughing his a$$ off "when the golderned thing struck my boat". Fortunately, there were no fatalities, and the driver of the Dreadnought was convicted of "Aquanautical Disturbance, and Nuisance", and fined $43,286.77 and had to serve 13 days in jail.

So in other words no.

photonfanatic wrote:Is there any end to the brand names? Every time I see a new pontoon boat, I learn a new brand name exists. Probably because I haven't been paying attention long, but there are a lot. The more I look at them, the more these new pontoon boats remind me of RV's. They seem have a lot in common.

So how many brands are there? Mine is a Veranda. Are there any brands out there to stay away from? Are there any brands known for being the best?

There are dozens of brands of pontoon boats. And on the front end, they appear to be generic aluminum barges. If you go to a boat show, you'll quickly see the difference in the quality of the welds, the quality of upholstery and some brands offer a full line of options.

The Big Four brands are Bennington, Premier, Manitou and Harris. There are a bunch of other great brands such as Tahoe, Cypress Cay and the Forest River group's different brands. Right now, the only brands experiencing sales increases are Bennington and Forest River's brands.

Another brand that makes some really nice toons is G3 Suncatcher.

Bamaman wrote:

photonfanatic wrote:The Big Four brands are Bennington, Premier, Manitou and Harris. There are a bunch of other great brands such as Tahoe, Cypress Cay and the Forest River group's different brands. Right now, the only brands experiencing sales increases are Bennington and Forest River's brands.

Having owned three of the four mentioned (Manitou SHP, Premier PTX, Bennington ESP) all their top performance / luxury models with big horsepower, I feel the Bennington wins out on overall build quality without a doubt.

The Manitou had great performance hull but their furniture left a lot to be desired as well as some of their build quality. They really didn't keep up with the times as they initially had the market cornered early on when it came to performance pontoons. They were really the only game in town. Their competitors eventually jumped on the performance pontoon bandwagon and eventually surpassed them with build design, technology and options while Manitou stood stale. It looks like their coming back though and made some nice design changes recently. (It's about time!) I wish them well.

The Premier was a good overall boat with decent Flexsteel furniture and decent build quality but I didn't care for their hull design. It rode on top of the water too much and was easily affected by wind especially when docking. Getting parts from them in a timely fashion was near impossible as well.

The Bennington seems to have the best of both worlds, a really good hull design that sits in the water and lifts out when under power and top quality furniture and build quality. They have an excellent dealer network at least here in the Northeast and they carry a fantastic warranty. What little I have needed from them all was handled in a very timely fashion. So far so good!!

Haven't owned a Harris (yet ) so I can't comment on them but from what I have seen and heard it's definitely a nice boat!

Here's a pic of the Benny I got this year....

Happy boating!

Dan