Premier Custom 40-footer
Premier took a family ideal and turned it into a one-of-a-kind entertainment platform - a 40-foot custom pontoon boat.
January 1, 2006
The framework for Premier's largest pontoon boat ever came from a simple family idea ' a
father and son spending time together. A snapshot of a father and son playing video games, with a
beautiful lake backdrop. From there, the image grew, and grew, from a double-deck floor plan to
having a fully furnished head, an out-of-this-world entertainment system, and wraparound seating to
handle a full-fledged lake party. Before it was all said and done, that simple idea had become
Premier's most unique, and expensive, pontoon to date.
And that's why you're here on the top deck of a $200,000 pontoon, boating on a billionaire's toy and breathing in hearty doses of fresh Montana air as Premier's flagship of custom design cruises around Whitefish Lake. All around you are mountains. The snow melted off the tops of these peaks only weeks ago, even though it's already early summer, and you're greeted on your trip to Big Sky country with some of the most breathtaking scenery on the planet. A half-hour ride from Whitefish Lake is Glacier National Park, which you can spot on a clear day through the mountain gaps from Whitefish. Glacier doesn't suffer the kind of traffic that the Yellowstones and Yosemites do, and yet its glass-water lakes, glacier passes and ice-cool rivers are second to none. Cruising Whitefish Lake, you see that the mountains surrounding the valley are lined with ski slopes for wintertime recreation. This place truly is nature's playground.
Whitefish is situated about 20 miles north of Flathead Lake, a much larger body of water, and the recreational center of attention for the Kalispell community in this Montana valley. Whitefish is a little quieter, which is how its residents like it. The shoreline is home to billionaires, Internet moguls and even NFL Pro Bowl quarterbacks (during the summertime). One of those entrepreneurs just happens to have an affinity for family boating, and came to the local Premier dealer with a unique idea.
He envisioned a pontoon boat where you could play video games, host parties and maybe even overnight on it. Simple ideas, yet when put together, ideas that don't exactly go hand in hand on a pontoon boat. For one thing, putting a video game station on board creates a whole set of logistical challenges, not the least of which is storage and keeping the electronics away from the elements. Then, there's the fact that pontoon boats aren't often considered to be overnighting crafts.
But Premier is no stranger to custom jobs or special requests. The pontoon dealer builds five to 10 'custom' boats each year for customers with specific boating needs. Some involve simply rearranging deck layouts and furniture. Others are more in-depth with materials and electronics. And then there's this 40-foot-long, 12-foot-wide boat.
Bigger than some houseboats, just getting it to Whitefish Lake meant creating a custom trailer (worth $7,000) to tote this 13,000-pound boat from Minnesota to Montana, and the delivery needed a police escort through town. To power this 40-foot megaton, you need some pretty powerful engines. But not too powerful. Premier engineers could have put on twin 8.0L engines and nearly sunk the boat, but instead opted for capable 5.0L MerCruiser V8 Bravo IIs. You can feel the power beneath the boat as you accelerate to full throttle on Whitefish Lake. The engines manage a top speed of 29.2 mph, not as fast as trial runs back in Minnesota (Premier claims speeds near 34 mph), but understandable considering Whitefish Lake is 5,000 feet above sea level. Obviously, you're not on this boat to make 50-mph runs around the lake.
The 40-footer runs on three tubes, with a generator in the third tube powering the boat's assorted gadgets. The engines may have a lot of work cut out for them, but you don't suffer too much in the steering. Granted, your turns are wider than most toons, but it's not too bad, and as the cool mountain breeze hits you with each change of direction, you start to enjoy the 40-footer's pace.
On any full-size pontoon, you're doing pretty well having a changing room with portable head. Premier built a bathroom with head, shower, sink, vanity mirror and even cabinet space. It's got more room than what you would expect in a cruiser head.
The entertainment center costs more than most pontoon boats. A custom design was needed to bring together an entertainment system with satellite radio, iPod integration (a new feature for Premier's line this year), DVD and X-Box capabilities. You fiddle with the XM radio stations and find a set of U2 to listen to as you go through the rest of the boat.
Four X-Boxes (with wireless capabilities) are hooked up under the console. This means 16 people (X-Box allows for four players with each station) can be playing video games anywhere on the boat. Four Sharp Aquos wireless screens provide the means to do that. There are 10 speakers all together ' seven below, three up top ' and five power outlets.
Each lounge serves a specific purpose. The bow lounge is massive ' you could seat more than a dozen comfortably. The forward cockpit lounge is designed with a large table to host guests for dinner parties. The aft cockpit lounge wraps around like seating for a poker table. All are plush and exact
to Premier's standards. The 'poker' lounge could serve for card games and the X-Box battles the pontoon was planned for. If lounge seating isn't your ideal, then you can choose to sit at one of the two Flexsteel chairs, or man the helm with its comfy captain's chair.
Although you may not have a $200,000 base price in mind, many of the same amenities on this one-of-a-kind pontoon are offered on Premier's lineup (minus the $30,000 entertainment system). Although all boating dreams aren't the same, they all often start with a simple theme ' family.
The Verdict
A unique boat that boasts many memorable features, most notably an astonishing entertainment center. There's plenty of seating for socializing, and the restroom is enormous. Pricing is definitely high-end, but who's complaining when you can customize the boat to your liking?
LOA 40'
Beam 12'
Weight 13,000 lbs.
Fuel 106 gal.
Top Speed 29.2 mph
(w/twin 260-hp, 5.0L MerCruisers)
0-30 mph 8 seconds*
Decibels @ Idle 62 dB-A
Decibels @ 20 mph 79 dB-A
Decibels @ WOT 88 dB-A
Price As Tested $215,000
(w/twin 260-hp, 5.0L MerCruisers)
Hull Warranty Lifetime
NMMA Certified? Yes
*Data provided by Premier
Premier
26612 Fallbrook Ave.
Wyoming, MN 55092
(651) 462-2880
www.pontoons.com
And that's why you're here on the top deck of a $200,000 pontoon, boating on a billionaire's toy and breathing in hearty doses of fresh Montana air as Premier's flagship of custom design cruises around Whitefish Lake. All around you are mountains. The snow melted off the tops of these peaks only weeks ago, even though it's already early summer, and you're greeted on your trip to Big Sky country with some of the most breathtaking scenery on the planet. A half-hour ride from Whitefish Lake is Glacier National Park, which you can spot on a clear day through the mountain gaps from Whitefish. Glacier doesn't suffer the kind of traffic that the Yellowstones and Yosemites do, and yet its glass-water lakes, glacier passes and ice-cool rivers are second to none. Cruising Whitefish Lake, you see that the mountains surrounding the valley are lined with ski slopes for wintertime recreation. This place truly is nature's playground.
Whitefish is situated about 20 miles north of Flathead Lake, a much larger body of water, and the recreational center of attention for the Kalispell community in this Montana valley. Whitefish is a little quieter, which is how its residents like it. The shoreline is home to billionaires, Internet moguls and even NFL Pro Bowl quarterbacks (during the summertime). One of those entrepreneurs just happens to have an affinity for family boating, and came to the local Premier dealer with a unique idea.
He envisioned a pontoon boat where you could play video games, host parties and maybe even overnight on it. Simple ideas, yet when put together, ideas that don't exactly go hand in hand on a pontoon boat. For one thing, putting a video game station on board creates a whole set of logistical challenges, not the least of which is storage and keeping the electronics away from the elements. Then, there's the fact that pontoon boats aren't often considered to be overnighting crafts.
But Premier is no stranger to custom jobs or special requests. The pontoon dealer builds five to 10 'custom' boats each year for customers with specific boating needs. Some involve simply rearranging deck layouts and furniture. Others are more in-depth with materials and electronics. And then there's this 40-foot-long, 12-foot-wide boat.
Bigger than some houseboats, just getting it to Whitefish Lake meant creating a custom trailer (worth $7,000) to tote this 13,000-pound boat from Minnesota to Montana, and the delivery needed a police escort through town. To power this 40-foot megaton, you need some pretty powerful engines. But not too powerful. Premier engineers could have put on twin 8.0L engines and nearly sunk the boat, but instead opted for capable 5.0L MerCruiser V8 Bravo IIs. You can feel the power beneath the boat as you accelerate to full throttle on Whitefish Lake. The engines manage a top speed of 29.2 mph, not as fast as trial runs back in Minnesota (Premier claims speeds near 34 mph), but understandable considering Whitefish Lake is 5,000 feet above sea level. Obviously, you're not on this boat to make 50-mph runs around the lake.
The 40-footer runs on three tubes, with a generator in the third tube powering the boat's assorted gadgets. The engines may have a lot of work cut out for them, but you don't suffer too much in the steering. Granted, your turns are wider than most toons, but it's not too bad, and as the cool mountain breeze hits you with each change of direction, you start to enjoy the 40-footer's pace.
On any full-size pontoon, you're doing pretty well having a changing room with portable head. Premier built a bathroom with head, shower, sink, vanity mirror and even cabinet space. It's got more room than what you would expect in a cruiser head.
The entertainment center costs more than most pontoon boats. A custom design was needed to bring together an entertainment system with satellite radio, iPod integration (a new feature for Premier's line this year), DVD and X-Box capabilities. You fiddle with the XM radio stations and find a set of U2 to listen to as you go through the rest of the boat.
Four X-Boxes (with wireless capabilities) are hooked up under the console. This means 16 people (X-Box allows for four players with each station) can be playing video games anywhere on the boat. Four Sharp Aquos wireless screens provide the means to do that. There are 10 speakers all together ' seven below, three up top ' and five power outlets.
Each lounge serves a specific purpose. The bow lounge is massive ' you could seat more than a dozen comfortably. The forward cockpit lounge is designed with a large table to host guests for dinner parties. The aft cockpit lounge wraps around like seating for a poker table. All are plush and exact
to Premier's standards. The 'poker' lounge could serve for card games and the X-Box battles the pontoon was planned for. If lounge seating isn't your ideal, then you can choose to sit at one of the two Flexsteel chairs, or man the helm with its comfy captain's chair.
Although you may not have a $200,000 base price in mind, many of the same amenities on this one-of-a-kind pontoon are offered on Premier's lineup (minus the $30,000 entertainment system). Although all boating dreams aren't the same, they all often start with a simple theme ' family.
The Verdict
A unique boat that boasts many memorable features, most notably an astonishing entertainment center. There's plenty of seating for socializing, and the restroom is enormous. Pricing is definitely high-end, but who's complaining when you can customize the boat to your liking?
LOA 40'
Beam 12'
Weight 13,000 lbs.
Fuel 106 gal.
Top Speed 29.2 mph
(w/twin 260-hp, 5.0L MerCruisers)
0-30 mph 8 seconds*
Decibels @ Idle 62 dB-A
Decibels @ 20 mph 79 dB-A
Decibels @ WOT 88 dB-A
Price As Tested $215,000
(w/twin 260-hp, 5.0L MerCruisers)
Hull Warranty Lifetime
NMMA Certified? Yes
*Data provided by Premier
Premier
26612 Fallbrook Ave.
Wyoming, MN 55092
(651) 462-2880
www.pontoons.com
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