Manitou 25 LX

Every industry has seen some new advancement in design, materials, or technology come along and rock the boat, and pontoon boating has seen its fair share in recent years.

However, one company has done more to disrupt the pontoon industry than any other — Manitou Pontoons.

Manitou has been building high-quality pontoons since the company began in Lansing, Michigan, in 1985. And with the appearance of its SHP hull design in 2005, the company made some serious waves.

Built on a three-tube foundation Manitou calls its V-Toon design, the patented SHP hull creates a V-hull shape similar to a fiberglass runabout by dropping the center tube 5.25 inches lower and adding carefully positioned lifting strakes to each tube.

The result is a high-performance hull with quicker planing, a smooth, dry ride, and superior handling that will make you forget you’re driving a pontoon boat — even in rough water.

Attracting attention

Today, Manitou is still disrupting the pontoon industry. With the release of its 2021 LX model, Manitou combined the best luxury and performance features from the previous X-Plode and Legacy models into one beautiful boat.

Available in 23-, 25- and 27-foot configurations, the Manitou LX line is built on the SHP hull for exceptional performance and handling. The higher strength and rigidity of the SHP hull also allows customers to order a little ole pontoon boat with up to 800 hp, which can push the boats well over 65 mph.

You heard right, 65 mph. In a pontoon boat.

At a media event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, I got to see some of the new Manitou lineup, including the new 25-foot LX. Parked at the waterfront, the 25 LX attracted more attention than any other boat.

With the LX models, Manitou has kept some of the bright colors and graphics options for customers looking for the flashy, eye-catching presence of the X-Plode. This particular 25 LX featured white walls with bright orange graphics, orange interior seating pods, white and orange upholstery and antique silver powder-coated aluminum trim.

It’s a hard boat to overlook.

Step onboard

Our 25 LX test boat was built on Manitou’s RFX floorplan, which features high-back bucket seats for the captain and copilot, forward and aft lounge seats, and an optional filler seat used to add seating at the bow.

Manitou now offers three streamlined options packages that make it easy to configure your boat: The Limited, Premium and Platinum package. The Limited package includes nice touches like a huge storage space in the center tube, LED seat and table bases, and exterior lighting.

The Premium package adds more, including color-matched seat and accent options. Our test boat came with the Platinum package, which also includes an electrically actuated sport tower and a 12-foot Bimini top.

Stepping aboard the Manitou 25 LX, the exemplary fit and finish and great use of space are immediately obvious. The boat has storage everywhere under hinged seating, and plenty of cupholders are placed throughout the boat.

There are no switches or buttons at the helm. Instead, a 7-inch Garmin touch screen provides all functions and readouts, including lighting controls and engine instrumentation. A JL Audio system with LED lighted speakers is standard.

The 25 LX also includes the optional Mercury joystick control, making it easy to maneuver the pontoon in any condition or even tight quarters.

Ahead of the copilot’s chair, a hidden privacy enclosure is standard and folds out for changing clothes. An optional entertainment table can be ordered in its place.

Two monster Mercury 300XL Verado engines were perched on the single-billet aluminum transom of our test boat, which is standard on all SHP hulls and helps provide the strength needed to contain these beasts.

Through its paces

After touring the 25 LX, it only seemed right to take the boat for a test ride. The weather was beautiful and Lake Winnebago was mostly flat, but there were enough other boats stirring up the water to provide some good-sized wakes to cross.

As we left the dock, other pontoon and V-hulled boaters waved, yelled questions, and even followed the bright orange 25 LX while taking pictures.

Once out on Lake Winnebago’s open water, the captain shoved the throttles forward. The boat leapt out of the water with little to no bow rise, effortlessly climbing to a comfortable cruise at 25-30 mph. We throttled up to 45 mph, easily sliding across any wakes we encountered without the need to hang on for dear life.

Slowing the Manitou 25 LX to 35 mph, the captain whipped the wheel hard to starboard and the SHP hull dug into the turn like a V-hulled boat. There was no skipping or bucking, just a stable, dry turn that never felt uncomfortable or out of control.

Turning back, we headed toward Oshkosh as a small plane flew overhead, following our path while they also headed in. As we cruised directly below, the captain threw the throttles wide open and the big Verados roared to life.

Looking over at the dash, the Garmin touch screen clocked us at 64 mph as we perfectly kept pace with the aircraft. As the plane banked toward its destination, the captain slowed the 25 LX back to cruising speed and headed for home.

However, before we could reach the mouth of the Fox River, the captain looked over and smiled.

“Wanna go again?” he asked.

“Is that a trick question?” I replied, and the 2021 Manitou 25 LX took off across the lake like a rocket.