We’d like to recognize those who helped with our Shootout this year. A lot goes on behind the scenes of our annual boat test and there are plenty who helped make our event a success and deserve a little recognition.

Thanks—Boatmate & Thanks—BumperMate

For starters I want to put a spotlight on our two event sponsors: BoatMate Trailers and BumperMate USA. BoatMate has sponsored our event for the past five years now and we truly appreciate their support. The trailer manufacturer specializes in high-quality marine trailers that are ideal for these luxury pontoon boats we test. The quality and attention to detail that go into each and every trailer are truly impressive.

BumperMate USA was a new sponsor for us and there were plenty of pontoons that could have used its fender holders that are practical and keep fenders within reach at all times.

Thanks—Geist Marina

Next, a big thanks to Geist Marina in Indianapolis, Ind., who has hosted our test for the past four years. What can we say? We love the people here as well as the marina. We typically move our test to different locations from year to year, but this marina is such a great fit we keep coming back. Nicole Buell, director of marina operations, and Marina Manager Rick Rogers made sure our needs were met at this full-service marina that offers a variety of rentals including pontoon boats. Also, the food at Wolfies is worth the trip alone.

Thanks—Hurricane

Taking photos and videoing during our test is a lot easier when you have a designated photo boat to shoot from and thanks to Hurricane we did. The Hurricane FunDeck is a hybrid with pontoon-like comfort up top with a fiberglass V-hull below. Our video crew had plenty of room to spread out while chasing down boats to capture the fun of each model on the water.

Thanks—Engines

We’d also like to thank the engine manufacturers Honda, MerCruiser, Mercury, Suzuki and Yamaha for offering technical support, as well as the boat dealers and manufacturers who provided the boats for us to test. Without your support, our test wouldn’t be possible.

Thanks—Staff

Finally a quick shout-out to my hard-working crew. Despite what you might think, there really is a lot of hard work that goes into test week. Each member of our testing crew worked hard to contribute to this issue and again, I can’t thank them enough.

Tech Test Driver
Malcolm “Goofy” Sohm

Consumer Testers Terry Sohm and Chloe O’Laughlin