Photo courtesy of StyleCraft Boats
April 22, 2022
By Game & Fish Staff
If you see a StyleCraft pontoon boat cruising by at the local lake, you’re gonna do a double-take.
Certainly not like the pontoon boats you’ve seen for decades, StyleCraft boats slide across the water on fiberglass pontoons, not the typical aluminum. More durable, fuel-efficient and pleasing to the eye than aluminum, the proprietary fiberglass pontoons are designed for everything recreational — from entertaining to fishing.
StyleCraft pontoons are the product of a partnership between two legendary figures in the boating and fishing industries.
StyleCraft’s Billy Chapman Jr. is a well-known outfitter with several luxury fishing operations (Angler's Inn International ), including peacock bass in the Amazon jungle and trophy largemouth bass in Mexico.
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A&M Manufacturing’s John Hemken is an innovative boating pioneer whose fiberglass hull/platform design is behind StyleCraft boats' fuel-efficient, fast-planing, smooth, stable and quiet ride.
The StyleCraft pontoon line includes:
More from StyleCraft: Aluminum has dominated the platform boat industry for years, until now. Move over aluminum, fiberglass pontoon hulls are the way to go for so many reasons.
StyleCraft Boats creates multiple versions of the popular pontoon boat all based on proprietary fiberglass pontoons with a racing hull design. The advantages of fiberglass over aluminum are great for the boat owner.
Starting with the design, StyleCraft Boats uses A&M Manufacturing fiberglass pontoon hulls with a successful track record of a quarter century. The unique design is not round but flat on the bottom.
This produces a very shallow running boat with a draft of eight to 10 inches. The flat bottom pontoon also enhances the boat’s performance. Getting on a plane is much quicker and the boat quietly glides across the water with less friction. As a result, less engine horsepower is needed.
StyleCraft pontoons are constructed from proprietary fiberglass. (Photo courtesy of StyleCraft Boats) Less horsepower means less fuel demands. With today’s gasoline prices increasing daily this is a huge plus.
Ever see an aluminum hull with welding scars that weaken the aluminum, bent fins, creased sides? The durability of fiberglass eliminates these issues.
The fiberglass on a StyleCraft Boat is 1/2-inch thick, with much more body than aluminum with equivalent weight. StyleCraft Boats can take the abuse and mishaps with little to no harm. And should the boat have an accident, the fiberglass can be repaired back to new condition.
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No one enjoys boat maintenance and fiberglass pontoon hulls are extremely user-friendly. The very nature of aluminum causes electrolysis in saltwater which deteriorates from corrosion on the hull surface in a big way.
Not so with fiberglass. StyleCraft even coats the bottom of the pontoons with a special “SharkSkin” paint layer to reduce biological growth of both plants and animals such as algae and barnacles. StyleCraft fiberglass pontoons always look clean, sleek and higher end. So, what’s it going to be? The smart choice is fiberglass pontoon hulls from StyleCraft Boats for that next boat purchase.
