who makes the best handling pontoon boat

[robster]

Ditto.

[robster]

For handling, put me into a Manitou.

But whatever you do, get power steering option on the SeaStar hydraulic steering. It makes tight turns so much quicker and easier.

We agree,we have the power steering on our Manitou Oasis 22 and it makes it so easy when turning to pick up a fallen skier,you can steer with three fingers,the power assisted steering is a wonderful add on, well worth the money

[pond tuuunes]

I wonder how toons like the Manitou would do at high speeds in a little rough water. my toon seems to rock side to side when hitting other wakes. would the side toons being mounted higher than the center exaggerate this?

[Sailbad the Sinner]

Hello all! Let me weigh in here on the best handling thing...We came out of many years of performance boats, we had Baja, Scarabs yada yada. We spent the whole summer of 2011 testing out toona boats. We liked many for different reasons, we narrowed it down to Premier, Bennington,JC Mfg ,and Manitou. We loved the over the top luxury seats of the Premier and that Red and gold was so sharp! We loved the inboard sound on the Bennie, We loved the Explode Shp on the Manitou..but..my Gad, when we tried out the 23 sportoon from JC with the 250Etec, it was like being on a sling shot that cornered like a tilt-a-whirl! All the above boats cornered very well, I know Manitou folks say nobody beats them in the conering dept, but I thought in the real word with comparable power and weight the Manitou, JC, Premier, Playcraft would be so close as to be a draw. We wanted a toona boat that was a like the sport boats we had owned in the past,able to turn fast, accelerate hard and handle big water on lake Michigan ,LOTO,etc but with the room that you buy these boats for. I NEVER thought I would own a 2stroke anything untill we tried out this 250HO Etec, no smoke no noise, good idle, you would think its a 4 stroke..untill you nail it..the hole shot and mid range is crazy! I thought the 250 virado would be top dog ,but not so.we ran 52.5 gps with very light load...but still run 51.3 to 51.8 with 3/4 tank fuel and 3 adults with ''stuff''. I like the u shape toons as they never carry water on top and set the boat a bit higher in the water. Also we like the fiberglass nose that streamlines that pontoon look a bit and we like the way the outboard is kinda tucked in the back not sticking out so far.Merry Christmas All!