Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Some manufacture video state specs like "XX seconds to plane". What does that mean on a pontoon boat?

for most, not much. for performance toons, ones with lifting strakes, it means the time it takes for the boat to ride on top of the water and level out instead of plowing thru it.

Also called, getting "on step" by some...

Planing in the pontoon world is typically reserved for the higher-horsepower engines.
It puts you "up on plane" which means that a large part of the front half of the pontoons are totally out of the water.

It is a smoother, faster ride and it is also a veritable kick in the ass!

Triple-pontoon boats plane much easier than doubles, but you still usually need 150+ horsepower to make it work.

Getting on plane is much like a water skier being pulled through the water until he gets up or on plane. You may also hear that prop will give you a good hole shot (mainly on bass boats) but not so much on top end, meaning the prop will grab the water and get you going in a hurry. Years ago, people would have to props one for top end speed and one for the hole shot. Much like quarter mile racer will have a lower gear ratio to get them out of the hole or starting line faster.