Executive Editor Brady L. Kay
Editorial Staff Nicole Richens, Heather Magda Serrano, Roy Sparks, Ryan Beaty, Iris Corbett, M.J. Hansen
Editorial Correspondents
Dan Armitage, Sky Smith
Advertising Director
Jason Huff, jhuff@pdbmagazine.com
Advertising Executives
Greg Larsen, glarsen@pdbmagazine.com
Robin Witbeck, rwitbeck@pdbmagazine.com
Marketing Director Stephanie Woods
Administration Assistant Brooklyn Stewart
Circulation Director Chuck Harris
Lead Designer Lavon Horne
Production Jim Donovan
www.harrispublishing.com/pontoon-deck-boat
Publisher Brady L. Kay
Executive Editor Brady L. Kay
Production Manager Janet Chase
Circulation Manager Chuck Harris
Controller Clayton Ward
Production Janet Chase
Founder Darryl W. Harris
President Jason Harris
Vice President Chuck Harris
Vice President Ryan Harris
Treasurer Clayton Ward
Secretary Janet Chase
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Also publishers of Great Lakes Boating magazine and Diesel Tech magazine.
There is one other holiday that I truly look forward to but it’s kind of bittersweet: Labor Day weekend. This September holiday sadly signals the end of boating season for most boaters including myself, yet I still enjoy celebrating it. The best part about this three-day weekend is the rest of my September is extremely busy with the new model boat tests and fall boat shows so in reality it’s my last good weekend to be on the water with my family before the weather turns.
A paddle is hiding inside each issue of PDB and the names of the first readers to find it are printed in an upcoming magazine! In our July issue the paddle is on page 23 (shown in the photo on the left) near the leg of the driver. Here are the readers who spotted it first:
Jimmy Baker, Lake Harding, Ga.
Danny Criner, North Chesterfield, Va.
Richard Burchill, Budd Lake, N.J.
Frank Gunther, Lawrenceville, Ga.
Mike Gilly, Pascagoula, Miss.
Terry & Kathy Smith, Lake Bruin, La.
Todd Weaver Weldon, Ill.
Dave Groner, Vacaville, Calif.
for any pontoon boat
for any pontoon boat
Move sideways, diagonally, or rotate in place
Easy DIY installation • $5,695 for the complete kit
As it happens, Bravada has been hard at work designing a pontoon boat. Clearly flowing with Bravada DNA, the Obsidian pontoon will truly stand out on the water.
PDB magazine had a chance to sit down with Giancarlo Espinosa, the Chief Design Officer for Atlatl Group (Bravada’s parent company). Espinosa does everything from high-concept designs to assisting on the floor, and he was able to give us the full scoop on the new Bravada Obsidian.
On BoarD
On BoarD
I use my spare time in the winter to gather new and creative food and recipe ideas, shop sales for holiday and party decorations, and assemble theme ideas that look fun for hosting family and friends on the water. In addition, I take stock of my supplies to ensure we have the necessary items for entertaining, so we are always prepared with minimal effort to board the boat once the warming sunshine arrives in May.
I like to think of our pontoon as a floating living room and find joy in extending invitations to folks to join us for a day of relaxation and cruising. We always provide guests the updated weather predictions and a heads-up on items to bring, but as the host, we make sure there is always an ample supply of extra towels, sunscreen and straw hats for those in need.
We recently caught up with some pontoon owners who all know a thing or two about improving their boats themselves. Check out the awesome renovations they’ve done!
for Your Boat
Corinthian Marine offers some of the finest marine flooring available on the market. Their extensive fabrication experience makes it so their products stand apart in the marine flooring segment. Be sure to browse through their options if you want to upgrade the flooring on your pontoon or deck boat. You’ll have one of the best walks on the water.
MSRP: $2 – $7.40/square foot
(www.corinthianmarine.com)
When the “dragonflies are buzzing” bass start looking skyward for food, according to Northland Tackle pro Travis Peterson. As in many waters across North America this time of year, the dragonfly hatch is underway, frogs thrive and weeds are reaching their peak growth in his home waters of Minnesota. Where lakes vary from moderately fertile mesotrophic to more lived-in, weedier eutrophic varieties, the emergent vegetation is infused with largemouth bass. To catch them, Peterson fishes fake frogs in conventional lily pad fields, as well as wild rice, bullrushes and reeds. Faux frogs elicit explosions in shallower coontail and milfoil as well, places where the angler concentrates his surface presentations atop waters four feet or less in depth in late summer.
Within these jungles, he focuses energy on “anything different.” In pads, that means pockets and places where submerged vegetation comingles with the surface weeds. He never passes on clumps of mixed weed types. Dense clusters of pads often produce, too.
Anchoring
Combo
By Brady L. Kay
Our PDB Tested section is compiled of pontoon and deck boats, new products, gear, tools, aftermarket accessories and more. Simply put, if it can be tested and it applies to our favorite type of boating, you’ll find it in this section. And the one thing each review has in common is they were all tested and evaluated by one or more of our qualified PDB staff members.
- PORTABLE20/20
- FUNCTION48/50
- DURABILITY10/10
- DESIGN10/10
- PRICE7/10
However, if the boat spends time unattended at a marina – and especially when it’s in storage regardless of the time of year, I do worry about it getting swiped. I take extra precautions to keep it safe, but I’ve never considered investing in some type of a tracking system in case it was stolen over the fear of long-term contracts or prices I couldn’t justify.
We enjoy relaxing on our pontoon while tied up at the local floating restaurant bar. It’s actually the only restaurant/bar on our lake; Army Corps of Engineer flood control lakes are like that. The Army doesn’t allow private parties to own lake shore property, but we are lucky that the only marina we have has a floating restaurant bar.
The bar brings in live music and we boat owners can tie up in a few slips provided and listen to the music. If we get there early enough, we can get a good slip (seat) for the band and have food and drink from the restaurant so we can enjoy the show.
Awhile back we were docked about six slips down from the spot that the Lake Patrol has reserved for their boat. The officers tied up their boat and came ashore. As they were walking towards the bar area, they stopped by a boat that was a couple slips away, talked to the people on board, and promptly pulled out what looked like a ticket book and either gave them a ticket or a warning, I never heard which.
