hey say it takes only seven seconds to form a detailed opinion upon first meeting someone. While that may seem far-fetched considering all the conclusions we tend to draw when first getting to know a person, we can say for sure we know this to be true when it comes to meeting a pontoon.
The Sanpan 2500 SBC struck us immediately as an uptown girl with champagne tastes. It didn’t take long at all to soak in the details aboard this craft and conclude that this was a high-quality boat set up for performance and comfort. As part of Godfrey’s luxury line, this Sanpan beckoned to us and made us want to venture out onto the water. Our friends at Godfrey assured us we wouldn’t be disappointed and they were right. She’s a beauty.
Something In The Sparkle
The first full second of seven for us was definitely dedicated to taking in the posh-looking exterior. With its shimmering rail skins of metallic navy and pearl white separated by sleek silver curves, this pontoon looks like a million bucks. Something in the curves evoked a clean and quiet ride at high speeds over the water (stay tuned!), but our eyes didn’t linger on the outside for long because we were all eager to board and discover more.
When we stepped onto the boat, we immediately noticed the diamond-stitched bench seat backs in a smooth black vinyl contrasted with ice-white vinyl throughout the rest of the seating. The diamond motif of the stitching seemed perfectly chosen for the setting. The captain and co-captain’s chairs reversed the combination with seat backs of white diamond-stitched vinyl with black for contrast. We liked the look.
Something else that caught our attention was the gloss of fiberglass integrated throughout the boat—definitely not a feature you see on just any pontoon. In particular, we appreciated the wide aft fiberglass gate padded with more of that diamond-stitched vinyl and equipped with a unique closing mechanism.
Walter Ross, director of product management and marketing at Godfrey Pontoon Boats, told us a little about the thought process behind the design of the Sanpan series.
“These models are top-of-the-line, which is why we’ve packed them with standards that seem more like deluxe options along with options that take it to an even higher level,” he said. “We want each pontoon to immediately stand out for its superior design. We’re confident we’ve achieved this and more.”
Luxury That’s Standard
When Ross said Sanpans are packed with standards, he wasn’t kidding.
All Sanpans come standard with ultra-soft-touch vinyl seating, some of the most comfortable seating we’ve found on a pontoon. We immediately felt relaxed when we sat down and wished our ride could last a little longer than planned. The platinum weave flooring was a nice feature, adding just enough texture and color to the boat without overwhelming the other features, and the courtesy lights throughout the boat added a great finishing touch.
The same vinyl that made the seats so comfy also gave the helm console a classy appearance with a soft touch. The black stitched vinyl looked more like a high-quality leather, which just added to the wealth of awesome features at the helm; these included a 12-inch Garmin display with chart plotting and sonar capabilities, labeled digital gauges, USB/USB-C charging ports, wireless phone charging, accent lighting with independent dimming and switching, and even a refrigerated cupholder. We were blown away. This helm has everything.
Diamonds In Every Crevice
As if that weren’t enough, we also found a remote at the helm for the Fusion Apollo Platinum stereo system—also standard. This almost seemed too good to be true. With speakers on the wakeboard tower as well as speakers throughout the boat (and a 10-inch subwoofer behind the captain’s seat), we were able to project music for everyone onboard to hear their favorite jams. Even when we weren’t playing music, we noted the speakers looked great and fit in with the other features of the boat perfectly.
“We want an experience aboard a Sanpan to be one of discovery,” Ross said. “We like to imagine that the more someone looks around the pontoon, the more excited they are by all the great features they find.”
We were having an experience of this very kind. Moving to the stern of the boat, we found a spacious swim platform with polished stainless steel corner castings with convenient popup cleats. Again, standard. And—one of our favorites because it was so unique and innovative—we all commented on the ergonomically curved boarding ladder which would clearly make getting back into the boat so much easier than usual.
Moving outside of the boat, we took note of under deck lights and under water lights, really great features that honestly seemed more like premium options than standards. All in all, we were thoroughly impressed with this boat. Everywhere we turned, we found more reasons to want to stay all day.
Innovation That Shines
While the standards on this boat alone are sufficiently exciting and notable, this test model also had some outstanding options as well.
One of the most striking features onboard has to be the sleek black wakeboard tower with its convenient tow point, which only adds to the high-speed look of the boat and upped its entertainment factor significantly. The corresponding black ski/tow bar was a great upgrade from the stainless-steel version and proved sturdy and well-braced, easily a source of hours of entertainment.
At the helm, we were all excited to discover a total tilt switch function that raises the outboard completely out of the water with a simple double tap at the throttle control. This was so fun and fascinating to watch, we could have played with it all day. This is definitely not your average pontoon.
Just when we thought we’d seen it all, we discovered that this pontoon was also upgraded with a full under-deck skin and lifting strakes as well as Godfrey’s 29-inch iMPACT+ Center Tube Performance Package to reduce drag and improve performance. With that, we knew it was time to take it for a ride and feel the difference for ourselves.
The Sanpan performed even more amazingly than anticipated (which is saying something). Talk about a smooth ride. We could barely feel it moving through the water. It took tight turns easily, creating minimal wake, and somehow managed to bring a feeling of speed and motionlessness at the same time. It was like we were barely skimming the top of the water.
The Yamaha 300 outboard combined with the design and performance features on this boat really delivered, with a 0-20 mph time of just under 5 seconds.
Had we had longer, we would have kept going, cranking up the tunes and relaxing while we breezed over the water and wondered if we were touching the water surface at all or merely hovering above it. The only disappointment of our testing session came when it was time to give the boat back. We all wished we could slip into our swim gear and test out the ski/tow bar or wakeboard tower and enjoy the speed of the boat even more. But they say all good things must come to an end. We’re telling you, one ride wasn’t enough.