sept-2017

230 231 Champagne Metals is North America’s fastest growing distributor and processor of aluminum coil and sheet products. To learn more about The 84 Line or our 111", 100" and 80" C-T-L lines, contact us at: 888.266.1131 or champagnemetals.com is proud to announce its 4th wide line: 84 THE LINE Champagne Metals 4-17 ad.qxp_Layout 1 5/11/17 8:20 PM Page 1 with an 8 ½- foot-wide deck with floatation de- vices instead of a V-hull, where that V-hull is nat- urally intended to bank, there’s a straight stability, edge to edge, with the pontoon that doesn’t exist with most other vessels of that size.” And while a common perception of pontoon boating might formerly have been one of slow, lazy days on calm lake water, Christy states em- phatically that “pontoon boats of today, are not your grandfather’s pontoon. The average horse power that would go on a pontoon was, maybe, 40 to 60 horsepower. It’s not uncommon to put 250-300 horsepower engines on pontoons today. We have product for 2018 that we tested– it’s a 50 mile an hour boat. So, we’ve closed the gap in performance, and what’s perceived as per- formance, for a pontoon. As far as where they’re used: lakes, rivers, intercoastal water – all of it. We’ve seen tremendous growth in the last hand- ful of years in the use of saltwater applications in the industry, so we offer saltwater packages for use in salt and brackish water areas. So, what was perceived in the past of what a pontoon couldn’t do– those barriers are being shattered.” Roominess, stability, and now, greater speeds, all add up to a boat that can go anywhere and do many things.“The difference with a pontoon is that ver- satility,”Christy declares.“It can be on a small lake or pond,where you’re puttering around and maybe doing some fishing and relaxing, or it can be a 55 or 65 mile-an-hour boat that’s pulling people doing various water sports.And that’s why people are tak- ing their old fishing and fiberglass boats and trad- ing them in for one pontoon that can do all of it.” Going forward, Christy believes that the current trend of continuous performance improvements PREFERRED VENDOR n Champagne Metals www.champagnemetals.com MISTY HARBOR BOATS will result in the manufacture of bigger, faster boats. “For us, that means bigger hull construc- tion, whether that be for twin engines, or for different performance packages - to be able to meet the consumers’ desires for that bigger, faster performing product.” At Misty Harbor Boats, responding to the con- sumer’s desire is the company’s prime directive, as well as its greatest takeaway. “We are a custom- er-focused company, looking to provide a great value product to improve people’s lives,” says Christy. “What we talk about regularly is that we’re doing something for people to enjoy, and not a lot of people get to do that. To be able to pro- vide that is something that we cherish and take a great responsibility for. It’s something that we pride ourselves on.”