Quick Take: 500R-Powered Avalon A Thrill-And-Joy Machine
The owner of WMF Watercraft and Marine, an Avalon Pontoon Boats dealer with locations in Delaware and Florida, Bill Forenski is a performance-minded pontoon perfectionist. Forenski isn’t satisfied with anything that leaves his dealership without knowing it couldn’t possibly run better. And so when he informed TNT Custom Marine’s John Tomlinson and I that an Avalon 27 Excalibur Elite pontoon boat that had just wowed us in a short test session needed a bit more fine-tuning, I had to swallow a laugh.
A multi-time offshore racing world champion, TNT Custom Marine’s John Tomlinson had a ball this morning driving a new 27-foot Avalon tri-toon powered by dual Mercury Racing 500R outboard engines featuring Joystick Outboard Piloting. Photo by Matt Trulio copyright speedonthewater.com.
“We didn’t have a lot of set-up time,” Forenski explained. “We still think it could run a little bit better. It’s not quite ‘there’ yet.”
Some 20 minutes earlier, Tomlinson had pulled back the throttles on the 27-footer and let it glide to a stop. We’d just experienced our first 75-mph pontoon blast and the ride was remarkably stable and smooth. There was no unnecessary drama, just plain old fun in one- to two-foot seas near Biscayne, Fla.
The 27-footer was loaded with useful and pampering features. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
“This is the fastest pontoon boat I’ve ever driven, but you know what I like about it most?” Tomlinson said. “When you’re running 40 mph it feels like you’re running 20 mph. The ride is just so smooth and solid. And it handles great.”
The Avalon pontoon was one of a half-dozen or so demo-by-appointment boats this week produced by Mercury Racing at Grove Harbour Marina in Coconut Grove. The Fond du Lac, Wis., company started the demo event during the 2023 Miami International Boat Show and brought it back this year.
Of all the boats at the docks, the Avalon interested me most. Two reasons: First, I had never ridden in a pontoon boat with 1,000-hp on its transom, and that seemed like an experience any self-respecting go-fast boating writer should have. Second, it was the first boat to be equipped with 500R outboards that also were equipped with Joystick Outboard Piloting, or JOP as the Mercury folks like to call it.
Throttles commanding 1,000 hp on a pontoon boat and Joystick Outboard Piloting were two major points of interest for Tomlinson and Trulio.
As long as it is safe and reliable, I’m up for anything that makes boating easier and the JOP system has proven itself in other outboard engine applications. For his part, Tomlinson started the morning skeptical—as the owner of a marine service center he’s seen his share of issues with such systems during the years—and left the water a believer after using JOP to bring the 27-footer to the dock. (For the record, the system cannot be operated above idle speed.)
“I think they have it right,” he said. “It’s sensitive, but it doesn’t overreact like some of earlier joystick-type systems did years ago. It works great.”
We departed soon after our test session—Tomlinson had to get back to work at TNT and I was itching to write this quick review.
Why the urgency?
Plain and simple, the Avalon 2750 Excalibur Windshield tri-toon outfitted with Mercury Racing 500R outboards is a thrill-and-joy machine.
(From left) John Tomlinson enjoyed a photo-op with fellow former Powerboat magazine test driver Bob Teague, Avalon marketing manager Miranda Doan and WMF Watercraft and Marine owner Bill Forenski.
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