Tested by Capt. Dan Maxwell

History

The Aloha Patriot 250, the name makes you want to salute it. After speaking with Tom Cox one of the owners of Waco Aloha I understood the concept of the Patriot 250 and why it’s a limited edition boat. September 11th affected all of us in one-way or another, and we all did what we could to show our concerns as well as our pride. The patriotic family at Waco came up with an idea too, and designed the Patriot 250. Making it a limited edition boat, gives the boat buying American an opportunity to show their pride on the water. Being a veteran myself I consider it an honor to work with such a patriotic company.

Waco Manufacturing has been building pontoon boats in North Little Rock, AR since 1960. I spent a couple days just outside of Hot Springs testing the Patriot 250 and found the boat to be quite unique in her triple tunnel design. This boat has three pontoons that are 26” diameter round tubes made from .100gauge 5052 H34 alloy, filled with expanded poly styrene from bow to stern. This is serious stuff when it comes to flotation. The pontoons have double hand-welded seams, and a reinforced nose cone skid plate with spray deflectors. Wow! talk about a dry boat. And if you damage a bolt on a spray deflector it is easily replaced, which is much better than calling your local welder.

Solid Construction

The transom on the Patriot 250 is all aluminum with reinforced ¼” U channel construction giving the Patriot a maximum horsepower rating of 250 hp. Making this the fastest pontoon boat I’ve ever been on. You don’t usually think speed when you’re talking about pontoon boats however, if you’re trying to out run a storm or just an envious neighbor the Patriot 250 will leave most boats (in her class) in the dust. Or should I say in the rain.

The Patriot’s deck structure has “M” brackets welded to the tubs in 4 different locations, a quarter inch plate is welded to the inside of each tube just aft of the “M” bracket. The entire cross members are ¼ inch thick. This is where the greenwood XL-50, 7-ply. ¾” pressure treated, sanded plywood, tongue–in-groove design seams with aluminum strips inserted are bolted to. The below deck wiring has waterproof, heat shrinkable wire connectors that bring power to the underneath deck docking lights.

Details

The Patriot 250 has an 8-½ foot beam that is covered with custom Infinity 22 oz. carpet for extra durability. The Aloha logo wave design is custom made in the carpet and one of their trade marks. The helm seat is an ergonomic and has a high back design with swing up arms, for a more comfortable ride. There’s also a map storage compartment and a locking swivel base with fore-aft adjustment. The console is an aerodynamic fiberglass design with monogrammed windshield, digital depth finder, cup holder, and tilt steering wheel with Teleflex hydraulic steering. The Patriot 250 also has illuminated rotary switches, fire extinguisher, 12-volt outlet, an 8x10x26 inch lockable glove box with courtesy lights and 4 fender holders.

The standard features list on the Patriot 250 is very impressive and lengthy however there is something that Tom Cox thought was important enough to mention and that is the playpen mooring cover. When you put your boat to bed it should have a cover to protect it from all the elements. The Patriot comes standard with a deluxe aqualon vinyl cover with snaps to hold it in place with four support poles.

I would like to thank the entire Waco aloha family for their patriotism and say job well done with the Aloha Patriot 250. I salute you all!

• Top speed for the Aloha Patriot 250 is 48.9 mph (78.7 kph), burning 27.7 gallons per hour (gph) or 104.84 liters per hour (lph).


• Best cruise for the Aloha Patriot 250 is 23.2 mph (37.3 kph), and the boat gets 2.00 miles per gallon (mpg) or 0.85 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 54 miles (86.9 kilometers).


• Tested power is 1 x 250-hp Mercury ProXB outboard.