CRESTLINER 2585

If you’re looking for the perfect blend of performance and luxury, Crestliner’s 2585 Grand Cayman Tritoon nailed it. Good pontoons start from the water up and Crestliner gives this model the largest tubes in the industry for this size boat with triple 27-inchers. They set the middle tube 2 inches lower for a better rough-water ride, and there are lifting strakes on all sides for maximum lift.

Powered by Mercury’s supercharged 250 hp Verado, our test boat had plenty of power to take advantage of the high-performance hull. We recorded a blazing time to plane of just 2.7 seconds with practically no bowrise and accelerated to 30 mph in just 6.2 seconds. Top speed was 50.4 mph, which is really booking it for a luxury pontoon. One of its unique characteristics is the superb, very flat cornering, which is attributable to the strake design.

Crestliner maximizes cockpit space by purposely making the driver’s console smaller than normal, yet gives captains a great setup with a raised, molded pod for the standard large-screen Lowrance X 135 electronics display and Faria gauge layout. A corresponding pod on the other side is for the fly-bywire Mercury Digital Throttle and Shift (DTS), although we felt it sat just a tad too far forward for optimal placement. The helm seat reclines when the captain needs to take a break, but the armrests stay level – nice touch.

This is one of the prettiest pontoons we’ve seen and one of the reasons is the high-quality paint job and graphics that extend down to the tubes, which are usually ignored. You can get the 2585 Grand Cayman in several different layouts like ours that has twin captain’s recliner chairs in the bow on the starboard side, or even rig it for fishing with two of these chairs in the stern as well. The couches are upholstered in Soft Touch, which lives up to its name. If you are heavily into entertaining, there’s a galley option with a freshwater sink and a gas grill.