Pontoons surge in popularity – and price

Pontoons these days offer better engineering, improved fuel efficiency, increased speed and space and all-around versatility. And that all comes at a higher cost of course. Some pontoon manufacturers are trying to mitigate sticker shock by offering different levels of pontoon lines that target different price points, from entry-level to high luxury. Others, such as Anthem Marine and Avalon, are offering pontoons with features such as surfable wakes. Whatever the sales strategy is, it seems to be working. The pontoon segment led the industry out of the last recession, and the NMMA says sales of freshwater fishing boats and pontoons accounted for 50% percent of all new powerboats sold in 2020. For the month of June, 2020, pontoon sales were up 23%, by July they were up 53%, and in August they were up 44% YoY. And Stratview Research estimates that the pontoon boat market will reach $2.5 billion by 2025. In this episode of Boating Industry Insider Content Director David Gee speaks with serial boat building entrepreneur Mark Overbye about the pontoon segment, the category’s popularity, where some of the high costs come from and what the future looks like for the segment.