I'm sure many of us have seen pontoon boats on local lakes, dams, rivers and streams. They're very popular for family entertainment. However, they're usually relatively slow movers. I've certainly never seen one perform like this!
That's a South Bay Pontoon 900 Sport series boat, with a third, central pontoon for stability, powered by a Mercury Racing 525EFI engine - the same unit that's won several offshore world championships. It certainly makes that thing zoom across the water, despite the drag of three pontoons in the water and the aerodynamic inefficiency of its big hull - but it apparently consumes no less than 40 gallons (over 150 liters) of fuel per hour in doing so. That makes even my pickup truck look economical by comparison!
Peter
Kinda hard to keep the burgers on the grill at that speed... :-)
ReplyDeleteThe only advantage is that when you're burning 40 gallons/hour and going what looks to be at least 45 or 50 mph, it doesn't take you very much of an hour to get around a lake that size.
ReplyDeleteAs a friend is fond of saying, "given enough thrust, pigs can fly".
No matter how economical it is, try driving your pickup across a lake.
ReplyDeleteWhat leisurely boating?
ReplyDeleteThere are 90 mile an hour pontoon boats out there. Check out some of the videos taken at Lake of the Ozarks.
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