efore Jim and Carolyn Dorris drastically changed the perception, pontoons in their region were primarily known as the utility/pleasure craft you used to view the Lake of the Ozark boat races, not the vessel for participating in them. The evolution of the modern-day pontoon boat began in 1952 when a Minnesota farmer fabricated two pontoons from steel oil drums welded end-to-end, with a rudimentary upswept nosecone on the front of each pontoon, topped with a plywood deck and surrounded by a two-by-four wood railing.

Since then there have been countless advancements, but there is no way one can write the history of pontoon performance without first including who many in the industry believe to be pontoon’s ultimate power couple.

PlayCraft Boats was founded nearly 50 years ago by Jim and his wife Carolyn, and the brand has been synonymous with performance for decades. The couple, along with their children—and eventually their grandchildren—have continued to battle it out on the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri each year as part of the region’s annual Shootout Boat Races, while building on the iconic PlayCraft name.

Since the first Shootout in 1989, the spirit of the race has swelled, bringing more boaters and fans into the thrill of the race. The Shootout’s first home was the Shooters 21 Restaurant and Marina on the 21-mile marker. From the beginning there were classes for competitors of all kinds and within each class, all were welcome with amateurs challenging professionals. Anyone could vie for the bragging rights of being “the fastest boat on the lake,” and Jim and Carolyn saw this as their opportunity.

Why Not Pontoons?
Nearly 50 years ago, like everyone else at the time, PlayCraft was building what Jim describes as a mom and pop, or granddad type pontoon that was common in the early 70s. With the water getting rougher on the Lake of the Ozarks, the manufacturer had already decided to go to three pontoon logs when one day Jim had a thought come to his mind as he was out boating with his family and watching go-fast boats race by.

“I was sitting there thinking, ‘Why can’t pontoons do this?’” recalls Jim. “We need to step it up a little.”

After working closely with his shop manager Lonnie Rodden, the Hydrotoon was developed that included lifting strakes that would eventually evolve into its Rac-R-Fins that are used today.

In What Boat?
“The Shooters 21 Shootout was big on the Lake of the Ozarks and I told Carolyn I was thinking about entering a pontoon and she asked me if I was kidding,” remembers Jim.

He was not kidding and he built a pontoon for the race and was eager to run. However, when Jim and Carolyn drove up to enter the race, the event staff assumed they were in the wrong area and asked the couple to leave.

“Jim told them he was there to run and when they asked him, ‘In what?’ I was so embarrassed,” recalls Carolyn. “They couldn’t believe a pontoon was going to enter.”

Jim dropped Carolyn off on another boat and entered the Ozark Shootout race in 1994 with a newly-engineered Hydrotoon, despite some odd looks and a few laughs.

Carrying a small-block 350 Mercury, extra cross members and lifting strakes welded to the tubes to help lift the boat, the pontoon Jim ran that day went 46.8 mph and stole a lot of attention away from other performance boats while earning him the respect of others.

Industry Evolution
“I ran 46 miles per hour that day at the Shootout in 1994 and that basically started go-fast pontoons,” states Jim. “That was the event that changed the pontoon industry and look where it is today. It’s nothing to take a 28-foot boat, put twin 450hp engines in the back and run at 80 plus miles per hour. But at PlayCraft, our boats are not just for going fast, but the maneuverability of our boats is unbelievable too.”

Need For Speed
It didn’t take Jim and the PlayCraft team long to set and break multiple pontoon speed records year after year with even faster production models being developed. It was in 2001 at Mercury’s Lake X in Florida that Jim set the record with an unheard-of speed of 81 mph, and PlayCraft was the first pontoon manufacturer to reach the 100 mph mark and that was achieved at the 2010 Shootout.

The Shootout in 1994 was only the beginning as Jim and Carolyn continued to push the limits. After years of asking, they were finally able to drag race at Shooters 21 like the larger boats do. This meant pontoon boats were now being fully accepted at the annual Ozark race and Jim and Carolyn would be going head-to-head in a public drag race.

“I was so nervous because I wanted to beat him so badly,” recalls Carolyn.

Added Jim with a smile, “You know darn well everyone watching wanted Carolyn to beat me so I gave her the fastest boat and she beat me by a couple of miles per hour.”

“It’s all about the driver, honey,” quickly jabs Carolyn. “We got a lot of attention that day.”

George Denny, who has been the official Shootout photographer from the beginning and has been using PlayCraft’s photo boat to shoot the races for years, can still recall the first time pontoons were allowed to enter the drag races.

“Carolyn Dorris beat Jim Dorris and that was the thrill of her life,” says George.

The Shootout soon became a Dorris family tradition as their sons began competing each year with them and eventually their grandchildren joined in on the racing as well.

“The whole family is involved in it and that’s what I like the most about it,” says Jim. “It’s an exciting time.”

PlayCraft Boats
www.playcraftboats.com

Shootout
www.lakeoftheozarksshootout.com