Few pontoon builders are more responsible for changing the image of these pleasure platforms than Manitou. For years, buying a pontoon was the ego-depleting equivalent of trading in your sports car for a minivan. For its 30th anniversary, Manitou and Tangent teamed up to design the new X-Plode XT 23 SRS.
Pontoons have gone from flat tops to purple Mohawks, and Manitou upped its edginess for 2016 with an all-new fiberglass upper that serves as a rail-free blank canvas to splash a little attitude on. For rigidity, it’s double-walled, and rails, which can sometimes rattle against the fence like a bag of bones, are absent. The bow gate — something unique for a pontoon — is made of solid billet aluminum adding even more personality to this uniquely designed craft.