Deck Boats Are For The Family With Different Needs

They may want power to pull knee boarders. They may need coolers, loads of storage for snorkeling and fishing gear, and room to move around. A runabout with a fish-and-ski package might do the trick, but with six people aboard and all their gear, things will be tight.

Perhaps that's part of the attraction of deck boats. On lots of other boats, bow riders would have been soaked before they had a chance to take a dip in the spring. It may not sound like much - in fact, some people expect to get wet when boating - but on nippy days in fall or spring, staying dry makes everyone a lot more comfortable.

Throughout the marine industry, a sport-utility boat is the catch phrase used to describe them. The deck boats have evolved from a pontoon boat. People liked the space they could get on a pontoon boat. Being able to carry a lot of people on the boat but they wanted more performance. They wanted to be able to pull a skier, or to pull a tube, or just to go faster.

The room on deck is what makes this genre of boats ideal for families. Some deck boats use a center-console layout, which works well when one person wants to walk to the bow and another wants to be in the stern - at the same time. Some other features that come in handy are the removable, gunwale-mounted cooler that locks in place, the bow table, and the spacious head that doubled as storage.

Deck boats are well suited for dining on calm water. The optional cockpit table sets up in minutes and is large enough to accommodate the cups, plates, napkins and flotsam needed for a decent meal. After lunch it stowed neatly in the floor locker, freeing up deck space.

Some deck boats have other options such as an acrylic windshield, bow filler cushions and a fishing package that features an aerated bait well, a wash-down, a rod locker and a tackle box.

Most deck boats offer optional fishing packages. They come with rod holders, a compass, a fish finder, live well with pump, built-in tackle drawers, a trolling motor plug and two bow fishing seats. The live well, fish finder, rod holders and trolling motor plug are available separately if you don't want seats.

More and more, people are looking for room for parties and picnics. That was the main reason of putting a deck on a performance hull."

Deck boats are not a design gimmick, they are one of the most practical small pleasure boats available today. They are not a slug – they perform like a runabout. They are not overpriced – they cost about the same as other boats the same size. They are not limited to flat-water ponds – they come in all sizes and water condition capabilities.