Dedication to Performance
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Did we set out to reinvent the pontoon? Not necessarily. But, with the development of our patented V-Toon Technology®, we did manage to cut a significant wake through the boating industry. While some pontoon manufacturers choose to focus on static influences like buoyancy and stability in calm water, we choose to train our efforts on the dynamics that determine a boat's performance while in motion. As a result, not only do pontoon boaters now have a far superior hull design offering greater acceleration, higher top end speeds, and increased stability; but v-hull boaters have another option to choose from as well.
This Is Not Your Grandfather's Pontoon. Or Your Father's, For That Matter.
Our patented V-Toon® Technology is more than just a third tube bolted to the deck. The V-Toon represents a decade of research and development into deciphering what the optimal position, shape, diameter, and differential needs to be in order to deliver an exceptional experience on the water. The results are undeniable. It's performance is unforgettable.
Our Patented Center Tube Design
V-Toon® Technology was engineered to optimize performance beginning with the size and position of its center tube. The 27" tube, positioned 1.25" lower than the 23" diameter outside tubes, results in a 5.25" differential between the bottom of the center tube and the bottom of the outside tubes. It is this precise positioning, in combination with strategically engineered and placed positive angle lifting strakes, that results in the exact degree of deadrise and water displacement needed to simulate the standard v-hull. Extensive research confirmed that an inch higher or an inch lower will detrimentally affect ride quality, stability, acceleration, speed and handling. Our patent assures that no other pontoon boat can give you the same results day in and day out, under all water conditions, and at any speed.
Lifting Strake Design
Much of the critical engineering in a performance three tube hull is in the balance of precise hull geometry and strategically designed and placed lifting strakes. Like reverse angle chines on a monohull, negative angle lifting strakes can increase lift but have negative impacts on ride quality by increasing slamming loads. Conversely, positive angle lifting strakes provide the needed planing surface, deliver a smooth ride and enhance the nimble reflexes of a V-Toon. Inferring that strakes are detrimental to performance when placed on the outside of the lateral tubes may be true on our competitors boats, which are less agile and less predictable at higher speeds, but not ours. When you need to get back to a downed skier, want to get to a fishing hole first, or need to outrun the weather, you need the speed and agility only found on a V-Toon hull.
Maybe Your Next V-Hull Should Be a Pontoon?
How can we possibly compare the performance of a traditional v-hull boat with that of a pontoon? It's all in the details. The precise deadrise and strake combination on our V-Toon hulls allow them to heel, or bank into a turn to provide passengers with a more comfortable and safer ride. When heeling, centrifugal forces are directed downward through the hull, making it easier for passengers and gear to remain in place. As speeds increase, the natural ability of the hull to heel into turns becomes increasingly important, not only for comfort, but safety. So, if a pontoon can deliver equal performance, comfort, and safety, along with more space and amenities than a traditional v-hull, the choice is obvious.
What Is Deadrise?
Acting much like a shield, the angle of the hulls surface, or deadrise, acts to soften the ride by deflecting energy created by wakes and waves. The deadrise also effects how the boat responds in a turn – does it heel into or slide over it. Manitou engineers are pros at finding the optimal deadrise angle and have applied this technology to all our three tube boats.
What Is Dynamic Lift?
Boats are designed to float. But, once it begins to accelerate, forces dynamically increase between the surface of the hull and the water. With the right amount of speed and angle of surface, a boat will plane, or lift to the top of the water.
What Is Stability?
By dovetailing optimal deadrise with dynamic lift, Manitou provides a confidence-inspiring platform when coupled with large engines. No other pontoon boat manufacturer can deliver the soft ride, great acceleration, and unwavering stability at any speed like Manitou can.
Traditional Triple Tube vs. V-Toon. One Increases Floatation, the Other Enhances Performance.
Adding a third tube to a pontoon will make the boat more stable and buoyant on the water. But it does very little, if anything at all, to improve handling or performance.
Theirs.
Our competition uses a wider center tube on their boats, along with a variety of strakes. This has been successful at getting their boats to bank at slow speeds, but handle erratically at planing speeds. The lateral forces exerted on a hull during a turn, overcomes the boats ability to bank. This causes uncontrollable heeling to the outside. Without a v-shaped hull, pontoons have very little deadrise, and are hard to handle. They will also deliver a jarring ride. To correct the lack of deadrise, some of our competitors have added reverse chines or negative angled lifting strakes. Which has only made matters worse.
Ours.
Without question, our boats handle more like a hard-chined, v-bottom monohull than any other pontoon in the industry. Our insistence on identifying the precise deadrise and strake combination has led us to engineer a hull that heels into a turn like a race-car on a banked track. Centrifugal forces push downward through the hull, making it easier for passengers and gear to remain in place. And, as speeds increase, the natural ability of a hull to heel becomes increasingly important, not only for comfort, but safety. And, at the end of the day, the safety of your family and friends is most important of all.
At Manitou, we didn't lower our expectations to meet traditional pontoon performance standards, instead we raised our performance standards to meet our own expectations and in the process raised the expectations of an entire industry. Better hole shots, quicker to plane, higher top end speeds, unrivaled handling and increased stability in rough waters are all hallmarks of the Manitou performance minded V-toon hull. No empty promises, just pure performance unanticipated from a pontoon boat.
The Sport Handling Package (SHP) is designed to deliver maximum performance on boats featuring 150 - 300 HP engines. Positive angle lifting strakes on all three tubes provide better stability at higher speeds and when cruising through turbulent water. We've sealed the performance transom on the SHP to provide quicker planning and added power assisted steering as a standard feature for unrivaled control and effortless maneuverability across the water.
- Wide Positive Angle Lifting Strakes on all 3 Tubes
- Teleflex SeaStar® Power Assist Steering
- Barracuda Nosecones
- Integrated Sealed Performance Transom
- 300 Maximum HP
The VP features many of the same V-toon hull characteristics of the SHP, such as optimal deadrise for peak maneuverability and positive angle strakes. The VP is simply designed for boats that operate at less aggressive speeds and lower horsepower. The VP provides the performance you expect from our V-Toon hull at a surprisingly competitive value.
- Positive Angle Lifting Strakes on Center Tube
- Teleflex SeaStar® Hydraulic Steering
- Standard Nosecones with Welded Side Keels
- Integrated Sealed Performance Transom
- 150 Maximum HP
