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Executive Editor Brady L. Kay
Assistant Editor Rebecca Blackson
Editorial Staff Nicole Richens, Roy Sparks
Editorial Correspondents
Dan Armitage, Sky Smith
Advertising Executives
Greg Larsen, glarsen@pdbmagazine.com
Kevin Malcom, kevin@pdbmagazine.com
Taylor Bowen, taylor@pdbmagazine.com
Circulation Director Chuck Harris
Lead Designer Lavon Horne
To subscribe, go to:
www.harrispublishing.com/pontoon-deck-boat
Publisher Brady L. Kay
Executive Editor Brady L. Kay
Circulation Manager Chuck Harris
Controller Clayton Ward
Founder Darryl W. Harris
President Jason Harris
Vice President Chuck Harris
Vice President Ryan Harris
Treasurer Clayton Ward
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Copyright 2024 by Harris Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission is strictly prohibited.
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Harris Publishing, Inc.
520 Park Ave., Idaho Falls, ID 83402
(800) 638-0135 • Fax (208) 522-5241
www.pdbmagazine.com
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The report is a summary of statistics on the recreational boating industry in the United States and presents detailed data for boat registrations, boat engine and accessory sales, expenditures, and the retail and pre-owned markets. It also features an in-depth look at the import/export marketplace focusing on product categories, trade partners, and regional analysis.
![BB: Better Boater](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2024/03/better-boater.webp)
A big-time believer in helping children connect with nature by teaching them how to fish is Dan Armitage, a long-time presenter of the Kids’ Fishing Fun program at boat shows across the country. Having spent his lifetime fishing, Dan also taught his son how to fish and recently wrote a beautifully accessible how-to book for kids titled Let’s Learn to Fish!
![NWZ NWZ typographic title in bold blue letters](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2024/02/pdb_2024-nwz_typogrpahy.webp)
![Joystick Steering For Single-Engines](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2024/03/pdb-april-2024-nwz-fig-01.jpg)
Joystick Steering for Single-Engine Vessels eliminates the need for boaters to use both hands to throttle, shift and steer during low-speed maneuvers such as docking. Not only is one-handed operation more convenient, but the precision control that the steering system provides will give users greater confidence in situations where maneuvering a single outboard can be more challenging than a multi-engine configuration. (www.mercurymarine.com)
![Forty-five years in the making, today’s JC TriToon soars over the water as one of unequalled technology and comfort in the world of pontoons. Let JC TriToon introduce you to extraordinary boating!](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2023/01/pdb-february-2023-ad-jctritoon-fig-01.png)
![Suzuki boat engine attached to a boat on the water](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2023/01/pdb-february-2023-ad-jctritoon-fig-03.jpg)
![Suzuki Marine & JL Audio link](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2022/02/pdb-march-2022-jctritoon-fig-02-1.png)
e-mail: sales@jcpontoon.com
Always wear a personal flotation device while boating and read your owner’s manual.
![Forty-five years in the making, today’s JC TriToon soars over the water as one of unequalled technology and comfort in the world of pontoons. Let JC TriToon introduce you to extraordinary boating!](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2023/01/pdb-february-2023-ad-jctritoon-fig-01.png)
![Suzuki boat engine attached to a boat on the water](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2023/01/pdb-february-2023-ad-jctritoon-fig-03.jpg)
![Forty-five years in the making, today’s JC TriToon soars over the water as one of unequalled technology and comfort in the world of pontoons. Let JC TriToon introduce you to extraordinary boating!](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2023/01/pdb-february-2023-ad-jctritoon-fig-01.png)
![Suzuki boat engine attached to a boat on the water](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2023/01/pdb-february-2023-ad-jctritoon-fig-03.jpg)
![Suzuki Marine & JL Audio link](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2022/02/pdb-march-2022-jctritoon-fig-02-1.png)
e-mail: sales@jcpontoon.com
Always wear a personal flotation device while boating and read your owner’s manual.
Over the last several decades, Brian and Sherry have owned a myriad of different boats—an entire fleet if they’d kept them all. Recalling Campbell boats, fishing boats, a Biesemeyer flatbottom, a Howard speed boat that could go 100 mph, and a Southwind deck boat, Brian admits, “We’ve owned a lot of boats.”
![fish that has been caught](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2024/03/pdb-april-2024-seeing-feature.jpg)
![Seeing is Believing title](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2024/03/pdb-april-2024-seeing-title.webp)
Forward-facing sonar (FFS), otherwise known as live sonar, has become a hot topic and is an incredible tool to allow anglers of all abilities to evolve as fisheries change. It enables anglers to understand more about fish behavior than ever before by providing them with the ability to see how fish react to their baits in real time.
Live sonar from brands such as Garmin, Humminbird, Lowrance, Raymarine and Simrad provides a dramatically different view than that offered by a fish finder or scanning sonar. With forward-facing sonar, the view is dynamic. You can see gamefish, bait and lures moving in real time and in resolution that rivals that of ultrasound imaging.
![Our 10 Roundup department heading](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2022/04/our-10-roundup.png)
![Angler Qwest 818 XRE Cruise L](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2024/03/pdb-april-2024-models-fig-01.jpg)
Extend comfort to all of your passengers with forward and mid-ship lounges and a padded chaise seat at the front of the helm. The XRE Fish has four pedestal fishing seats, one in each corner; all are removable so anglers have the option to open up the deck for fishing from the stern and the bow, or both.
![Fast Forward title](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2024/03/pdb-april-2024-fast-title.webp)
![Fast Forward title](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2024/03/pdb-april-2024-fast-title.webp)
For the perfect wake and wave specific to each individual rider, the Watersports Control system allows you to customize separate settings and speed preferences for 21 specific profiles, as well as personalize the boat’s speed and trim to create the optimal wake. With an adjustable angle of thrust, you can draw the stern lower into the water and fine-tune your surfing wake on the fly. Switch to Tow Mode to automatically accelerate your pre-set engine speed and adjust for your tow load. The intuitive engine system will quickly compensate when your skier turns sharply, and keep your engine at the set rpm.
Before getting out on the water, Tao first explained he originally co-founded the company in Hong Kong after he realized there weren’t any electric boats in his area.
24 Navigator
Even the Sport Bimini (that is rated for up to 55 mph so you can keep it open while underway) incorporates a unique style line that matches up perfectly with the color stripe on the exterior wall for a continuous look. Every Explore model comes standard with a gas-assisted, easy-to-use Sport Bimini that offers 12 feet of coverage.
![plugging a USB cord into a device](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2024/03/pdb-april-2024-white-fig-02.jpg)
![putting a phone in a jacket pocket](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2024/03/pdb-april-2024-white-fig-03.jpg)
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On the day I went out to take my photos it was actually 50 degrees with overcast skies. I slipped the heated vest on, started pushing buttons and the next thing I knew I was pleasantly warm. There is a lighted push button to indicate the settings, but otherwise it just looks like a comfortable vest. It really is the perfect layering tool for spring and late fall boating.
![close up of fishing rod](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2024/03/pdb-april-2024-toadfish-fig-02.jpg)
![person fishing wearing a long white sleeve shirt](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2024/03/pdb-april-2024-toadfish-fig-03.jpg)
We recently tested the 2000 Carbon Sealed System reel that is paired with the 6-foot, 8-inch medium light rod and instantly loved the ergonomic handle design with soft-touch rubber inlays. ToadFish is patenting its comfort control grips so really that’s all you need to know about how unique it is.
![Tackle Box logo with fishing lure](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2022/11/tackle-box-logo.png)
Considering that this is a boating publication, we’ll concentrate on the former with regard to the tools you want to consider having aboard as you seek your finned quarry, basic angling accessories that may have been forgotten, broken, overlooked or otherwise fallen out of mind or by the wayside during the off season.
![](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2022/01/pontoon-jan-22-rollercoaster-quote1.png)
![Sky Smith Headshot](https://digital.pdbmagazine.com/assets/2022/04/pontoon-may-22-sky-smith.jpg)
Like your house, when you store a vehicle (boats, cars or even aircraft) you run the risk of pest infestation. I once bought a Cessna aircraft that was stored in a hangar for a number of years. The engine intake system was a mouse apartment complex. Then there was the aircraft I was asked to try and sell, which was a mouse habitat. The owner had poured a full bottle of High Karate aftershave (guess that dates me) throughout the interior in an attempt to mask the smell. You couldn’t even get in the plane.
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