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Initially seen as a bit of an ugly duckling due to its unflattering aesthetics, the pontoon boat has since won over hundreds of thousands of boaters thanks to its obvious advantages. What's more, the concept has evolved and the range has multiplied.
The modern pontoon boat comes from Minnesota
The concept itself dates back to the dawn of time, and can be traced back to primitive rafts. However, the invention of the modern pontoon boat as we know it is generally attributed to Minnesotan Ambrose Weeres in 1951. By attaching a wooden deck to two steel barrels, he created a boat called the Empress.
It was a simple but sturdy platform with a completely flat deck, making it easier to use for fishing. Convinced that this conceptwould appeal to others, Ambrose Weeres founded the Weeres Industry Corporation in 1952. A good idea, since within the first year he received some forty orders, proving that he was right. Ambrose Weeres' success soon attracted other builders, who first took up the same idea before evolving the concept further. In the late '50s, steel barrels were gradually replaced by aluminum tubes to lighten boats, and in the '60s, Harris FloteBote (who created the Harris brand) began to install comfortable furniture and seating.
This was really the beginning of the pontoon boat as we know it today, as vintage after vintage came with more and more equipment, including refrigerators, changing rooms, bars, radios and even cabins.
Tri-toons in the 80s
The 1980s also saw the appearance of models with a third log in the center. Tri-toons offered more lift and better handling on the water. This was also the period when pontoons began to be fitted with larger engines.
Today, pontoons with 2 x 450 hp can exceed 70 mph (60 knots), a concept which is still a little extreme, but which shows that the small, unstable and not very skilful pontoon on the water is a thing of the past.
