Company History

Waco Manufacturing, Inc. has been selling high quality pontoon boats for more than 42 years now. Waco was one of the first to build aluminum pontoon boats and is the oldest pontoon builder in the South. This year’s stable of pontoons is no different. Tom Cox showed off three of his newest models to me in Mount Ida, Arkansas recently. His family started building boats in 1960. They still build them at their plant in North Little Rock, Arkansas today. Tom’s company packs many features into each platform and expects them to deliver you high quality boating time for many years after the sale.

Construction

Before we get into the fun things that are easy to see, let me point out a few things you don’t usually see on a pontoon. First, they only use 26-inch diameter .100 gauge pontoons for standard equipment. All welds are hand welded to insure quality. These are some of the thickest and largest pontoons on the market. This also accounts for the additional weight carrying capacity his line of pontoons can handle. Another benefit is they allow the hull to sit further out of the water giving an additional boost in speed regardless of the size of the outboard you choose. Waco uses bow to stern foam floatation delivering maximum flotation.



I know speed is not something you usually think about in a pontoon, but when a storm suddenly approaches as it did on test day, it sure felt like it made a difference! With speed and agility, I was able to slide the 250 Sundeck into a slip that only had about one foot of extra space to work with! Another difference is in the deck. Standard decks are tongue and grooved wood. Underneath is an additional aluminum under skin for added protection. If you choose, you can upgrade to an all aluminum deck. These decks are not screwed on like most; they are bolted on so they will stay. All wiring butt connectors are heat shrink-wrapped to prevent shorting from water.

The Complete Package

The package is considered salt water ready with all stainless and aluminum metals used. Topping off the wood deck is the Infinity Aloha wave pattern carpet. All the furniture, rails and framework are bolted on or welded together. When the occasional wave tries to come over the deck, the unique aerodynamic sweptback compound curve bow will turn the wave away. This eliminates the punched in bow look you find on many pontoons after they take a wave on the nose.



The plush seating on this boat was very nice and comfortable. You can stretch out on the forward seats and really relax in style. There are plenty of cup holders for the beverages and underneath the seats you find tons of storage. Cockpit seating is just as nice and includes plenty of shade from the eight by eight sundeck above. Although the kids will be tempted to try to ride up there, please do not operate the boat with someone on the sundeck.



The Captain’s chair gives you the feel of driving a luxury liner more than a pontoon boat. This seat has an adjustable slide fore and aft, flip up arm rests and ergonomic design for long-range comfort and the adjustable steering wheel gives you plenty of legroom. Also located in the cockpit area is a refreshment center including a 36-quart Igloo Ice Chest. This model comes pre-rigged for electronics and includes a digital depth finder that is easy to monitor. The stereo system is better than my system at home! The AM/FM/CD is packed with dual 200 watt amplifiers and the boat is delivered with four 6x9 speakers for your listening enjoyment. A sturdy aluminum ladder leads to the sundeck, and for safety a short rail surrounds the carpeted sundeck to remind you of where the edge is.



Getting to the battery or the fuel cell was simple on this boat. The hatch to them includes a hydraulic piston like the one you find on the hatch of most cars. Now you are less likely to drop the hatch on your head when the boat moves. Waco pre-rigs all their boats for Mercury outboards.



With all this, there are really only a few things for options. A short list of eight items such as a zip-in camping enclosure, Sea Star hydraulic steering, sink, remote spotlight, drop change room and a few others are it!



On the WaterI tested Aloha 250 Sundeck on a relatively calm day after a little storm passed through. Determining plane on a pontoon is not the easiest thing to do, but it appears the Aloha 250 Sundeck planed in 3.4 seconds. The difficulty is that it is such a smooth riding vessel, it is hard to see the drop! The powerful 150 hp XR6 Mercury got us to 30 mph in 12.1 seconds. We did get a top speed of 34 mph at 4800 rpm. The best cruise speed seems to be around 2500 rpm, or about 14.6 mph. At this speed, you will burn about 4.6 gallons of gas per hour. At best cruise you’ll get about 70 miles on a tank of gas and at top speed you probably will go about 42 miles before filling the tank again. The ride was smooth and relaxing throughout the tests. Sound levels were comfortable. At cruise, the level was only 83 dBa and at top speed it reached 93 dBa.



If you are looking for a peppy boat you can take the family and friends out for a day of fun or just want to have lots of room for your favorite fishing hole, you should take a look at the Aloha 250 Sundeck from Waco Manufacturing.

By Capt. Bob Smith

Test Captain

• Top speed for the Aloha 250 Sundeck (2003-) is 34.0 mph (54.7 kph), burning 17.5 gallons per hour (gph) or 66.24 liters per hour (lph).


• Best cruise for the Aloha 250 Sundeck (2003-) is 14.6 mph (23.5 kph), and the boat gets 3.23 miles per gallon (mpg) or 1.37 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 70 miles (112.65 kilometers).


• Tested power is 1 x 150-hp Mercury XR6 outboard.