I’m guilty of teasing the price of a $300K pontoon on the cover in an attempt to grab a little attention. I’ve been testing boats long enough to remember when an $80K pontoon didn’t seem possible, so forgive me if I get a little excited when a twin engine beauty shows up to our test. Yes, for most budgets a pontoon in this price range is in the dream boat category, but don’t be too quick to dismiss these high-end boats.

If you solely flip through the pages (or scroll through the digital version on VERTIQUL) and just look at the prices as tested on the boats we reviewed, you could be missing out. Often these boats are loaded with every bell and whistle imaginable so the prices with the maximum sized outboard(s) could look a little intimidating and cause your wallet to shriek. But before you move on to the next review, keep in mind that taking fewer options or going with a slightly smaller outboard engine could drastically drop the price, possibly to within your budget.

Also keep in mind that like other products in our country, pontoons seem to be a little more expensive than they were just a couple of years ago. The high demand for boats isn’t helping, but supply shortages and alarming material increases for these builders have added to the price of boats as the new prices basically mirror the rest of the rate hikes we’ve all been experiencing.

Manufacturers are in a tough spot as they are expected to increase the number of standard features and offer innovative new boats, while being pressured to keep dealer prices down. Good luck, right?

Simply put, the price of a new pontoon or deck boat in 2022 is going to be higher generally compared to prices a few years back, but a lot of those increases have nothing to do with the manufacturers but are rather a reflection of our current economy.

However, after seeing first-hand the 2022 models the good news is the boats are also getting better too. We saw some truly innovative features this year as boats are getting more versatile and a lot faster as well.

It’s an exciting time of year as boat-buying season is officially underway, and regardless of which boat shows are cancelled and which ones remain, our annual Shootout issue will give you an in-depth look at what to expect this year. Even if you prefer a printed magazine, you really owe it to yourself to go online and try the VERTIQUL version of this issue. Why? For starters, all of our videos are linked with the written reviews so everything is easily accessible in one location. Plus when you click on our video it won’t take you off the main site, but instead you stay with the review that you were reading about. Kind of cool, huh?

Of course, you can still not only find all the new Shootout videos for 2022 on our website at www.pdbmagazine.com, but you’ll also find past Shootout videos as well as new videos from our Pontoon TV series on our page too. With photos, reviews, statistics and videos on our industry’s top boats, we want to arm you with the resources you need to help you make the best boat-buying decision of your life.