The Middle Child Of Our Industry

As a middle child between two sisters, I can confirm the “middle child syndrome” is real. For those who grew up as the only child in the home who aren’t exactly sure what I’m referring to, the middle child syndrome is the belief that middle children are excluded, ignored, or even outright neglected because of their birth order. I don’t plan on turning this into a therapy session, considering I had a great childhood and I have no complaints about being in the middle.

Instead I prefer to focus on an observation I noticed after spending my summer traveling the country to see firsthand what the top manufacturers have been up to. It’s hard to contribute to this issue’s “What’s New Roundup” if you don’t get out there to see what’s new, right?

From brand-new models to truly innovative features, you’ll be amazed at what you’ll see at the boat shows around the country come January. But before you get to those pages to discover the latest buzz in the industry, I have an observation to share. Blame it on the countless rental car miles, late night keyboard workouts from hotel rooms and hours spent editing photos during flights, but I noticed something that really stood out about the 2025 product offerings. I hadn’t really made the middle child syndrome connection before, but I think mid-level pontoons don’t receive enough love from any of us.

The focus from the manufacturer or dealer is usually placed squarely on the higher-end models and rightfully so. The more bells and whistles, the more it catches our attention at the boat shows, dealer showrooms or even in this publication. Face it, high-end luxury and performance models are like the big brother in the family who gets all of the attention. He’s the cool older bro who always draws a crowd wherever he goes. Then there’s the little baby sister, or the entry-level models, who play a significant role in getting new boaters interested in boating. Everyone makes time for the little cutie in the family. These value-driven models deserve some attention and that’s why a lot of our focus is on them as well. In these economic times it’s nice to see just how much boat you can really get while sticking to your budget.

So that just leaves the middle child—or, in this case, the mid-level pontoon. Even though mid-level pontoons are steady for the boat industry, they don’t seem to get the same attention for whatever reason. They’re kind of like vanilla ice cream in the way that they never need to be heavily promoted. While Berry Burst Sprinkle Explosion gets all the attention, vanilla ice cream continues to outsell all other ice cream flavors by far.

Compared to value-driven and high-end luxury models, mid-level boats don’t need a lot of extra attention. It’s similar to the way straight A students from steady families tend to go unnoticed, while dropout kids and teen moms get reality show paychecks. As a society we don’t want to focus on the steady.

But moving forward, our goal as a magazine is to give equal love to the entry-, mid- and high-end model pontoons and deck boats in an attempt to not show favoritism across these lines of boats. While mid-level boats might not be as fast as big brother or as budget-friendly as little sister, dealers are selling tons of them each year and that’s just one reason why you should never overlook them. Now, which middle children out there could use a hug?

Brady L. Kay,
Pontoon & Deck Boat Editor