Looks like there is a new pontoon manufacturer in the small town of Elkhart IN. Located 6 miles directly west of the Bennington factory. Chance of financial success is low because they are going up against the market leader with nothing special. Reminds me of when Polaris went after the motor cycle market leader. That investment failed but now owning Bennington seems like smart money. Fun to watch.
I'm not sure who you are referring to as there are numerous pontoon builders in the area. Two start ups that I'm aware of are Evotti, started by former Bennington personnel and Alera, started by several Forest River folks. I agree that it could be a challenging time to start such a venture. I'm concerned that the 'high end' market can sustain two more heavy hitters? Time will tell.
We have seen a few Alera's on the water. They are different but not necessarily appealing. Nothing groundbreaking unlike when Barletta hit the scene. One new one that is pretty sharp is Balise pontoons...but they have no real dealer network and hardly any are out there and available...
We have seen a few Alera's on the water. They are different but not necessarily appealing. Nothing groundbreaking unlike when Barletta hit the scene. One new one that is pretty sharp is Balise pontoons...but they have no real dealer network and hardly any are out there and available...
Oh, it’s a thing. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard something similar when talking with someone about summer activities and our tritoon comes up. It’s absolutely a thing with pontoons. O’ the ignorant and un-initiated non-boaters.
As I said originally, I think that going up against the market leader with nothing special is a bad idea. Also a marketing plan consisting of ‘me too but cheaper’ is a tough road. A much smarter idea is to go after a niche with a product having something special. Appeal to a smaller set of people who want something unique. If I where to enter the pontoon market I would focus on experienced pontoon owners. I would create a boat with unique features that a experienced boat owner would recognize.
Experienced pontoon owners can identify problems with current pontoon products if they are presented with something better. One issue is boat covering. It takes to much time to cover a pontoon boat. Many people buy a boat lift just to cover the boat. Others just leave the boat uncovered. A pontoon should designed to be covered in less than 2 minutes. Another issue is protecting occupants from cold wind and hot sun. This is needed because it is impossible to get everyone together on a perfect day. Sitting on a tall open platform exposed to harsh elements is not what people dreamed of when they bought the boat. Finally most furniture layouts will have two or three conversation circles. It would make sense that the person who paid for the boat should be placed in the middle of the biggest conversation circle. This is never the case. Many boats will have only one person within ear shot of the captain on a windy day.
I have seen this cover on a boat at the factory (see photo). It looked heavy duty like the covers that are ratcheted down on a over the road trucks. At the dock one might have to get down low at the four corners of the deck. From the ground access to these corners might be good. Looks like a good trailer boat cover. No one should ever have to crawl under the cover of any pontoon boat.
We have seen a few Alera's on the water. They are different but not necessarily appealing. Nothing groundbreaking unlike when Barletta hit the scene. One new one that is pretty sharp is Balise pontoons...but they have no real dealer network and hardly any are out there and available...
My dealer here in North Carolina sells Balise pontoon boats! We have seen some on Lake Norman and they are very luxurious, high end, and unique!!! I stopped in the showroom before Christmas and the 4 leftover 2025's they had in stock were ALL over $200000!!! https://dyermarine.com/
While I appreciate the attempt to innovate, I am sure I can install my full mooring cover with clips on my boat as quickly as they did. I particularly don't like the ratchet mechanism. I find ratchet straps tedious and finicky.
The best solution I have seen is available only to those wealthy enough to own lakefront property with a covered lift. Touchless Cover
My Malibu wakeboat has a ratcheting cover. Ratchets do make make the covering process faster, but I agree, the guys in this video didn't make it look like it !
