2004 Princecraft Versailles Pontoon      You know pontoon boats have really been gaining in popularity in the past few years, and that's largely among a group of boaters who want to get out on the water and take along with them a few extra passengers. Well this week, on power profiles, we're going to check out a top of the line pontoon boat from a manufacturer in question, who's been building boats for 50 years.      Although starting out in the business of making more traditional v-hull boats, Princecraft realized early that there was a market for deck and pontoon boats and created a full line of product.

 Our test boat was the Versailles 26, one of the largest in Princecraft's Versailles line of ten luxury pontoon boats.   At 26 feet, 4 inches in length with an 8 1/2 foot beam, the Versailles 26 provides all the room any recreational boater might need, with a legal carrying capacity for 20 people.
     To add to passenger convenience, forward of the helm is an icebox and sink, with an easily refillable portable water tank. Because the Versailles is meant for more than just short cruises, standard equipment includes a bimini top that's easily stowed away when not in use. To help in trailering or passing under low clearance bridges, the top also folds down quickly and easily. Aft on the port side, is a large pop up enclosure which provides privacy when changing into or out of swim gear, and as a factory installed option, can also come with a head, holding tank and pump out.
     But a pontoon boat's main claim to fame is the seating, and in total, this Versailles offers 23 feet of rotocast seating, with plenty of it forward. An easily removable bench provides access to the walk through forward gate, which like all three on board are lift-and-lock designs. There's plenty of room on the carpeted forward deck and molded pods on either side hold navigational and the halogen docking lights.
With a seating capacity for 20, one of the Versailles 26's main claims to fame is its room, but with that room, you don't need to give up comfort, because it's the small things that Princecraft has done: like the extra padding in the seats, the built in recliners, and even the moveable cup holders that make your passengers' ride truly an enjoyable one.
     And the ride aboard the Versailles 26 will be enjoyable for the skipper, too. The helm seat features an adjustable headrest, a fore-and-aft slider, a swivel adjust, and a recliner for relaxing when you're stopped out on the water. And for on-board tunes, there's a weather protected AM/FM stereo with a CD player.
Our test boat was powered with a 75hp 4-stroke Mercury engine. The maximum allowable power on this boat is 115hp, so we were anxious to see how this Versailles performed with this economical environmentally-friendly power.
Coming out of the hole, the 75hp Merc brought the Versailles to life and up onto plane in just over 4 seconds, and continued to quickly accelerate easily to over 20mph in these relatively calm water conditions. Running in a bit of rougher water, mainly from our own camera boat, the 26 felt very tight and stable with no discernable bad habits or rattles.
     For a v-hull driver operating a pontoon boat for the first time, turns at speed will feel a tad unusual, because a pontoon boat will roll to the outside, rather than lean into the turn. The Versailles performed well in the turns, as you would expect from a quality product, with a nice and comfortable lean when turning in either direction.
     I mentioned earlier that the Versailles performed better than I thought it would with the economical Merc 75hp, and my GPS helped prove that out. The Versailles had a quick and fuel-efficient cruise of just over 14mph at 4,000 rpm, and she touched 22mph at wide-open throttle at 6,000 rpm.
I found the Versailles 26 to be a great pontoon boat. It's luxurious, it's enormous, and for a 26 footer, it handles surprisingly well. The only thing that I found it lacking, were nineteen friends to enjoy it with me.

*taken from a transcript of our Power Profile on PowerBoat TV 2004 Episode 2