History

Tom Cox is a proud manufacturer of high quality pontoon boats. I recently had the opportunity to spend a couple days in Arkansas to see just what he was so proud of. His family started building boats in 1960. They still build them at their plant in North Little Rock, Arkansas today. I met Tom a little further south of Hot Springs and started by testing out the Aloha 220.

Craftsmanship

Tom pointed out some of the things many buyers do not notice. First, they only use 26-inch diameter .100 gauge pontoons for standard equipment. These are some of the thickest and largest on the market. This also accounts for the additional weight carrying capacity his line of pontoons can carry. 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.

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! 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’re bolted on so they will stay. Topping off the wood deck is the Infinity Aloha wave pattern carpet. All the furniture, rails and framework are bolted on or welded together. Now you don’t have to figure out where that loose screw came from!

Cutting across the water did not include taking spray from the bow because they use a unique aerodynamic sweptback compound curve bow. This eliminates the punched in bow look you find on many pontoons after they take a wave on the nose.

Very Accommodating

The chase lounge seats were very plush. The camera crew especially liked the angled forward facing corner seat. It encourages you to sit back and relax. It was complete with oversize cup holders for your favorite beverage even when it’s wrapped in a cooler sleeve. Storage spaces under the lounge and other areas were large and numerous, easily accommodating life vests, skis and other party essential goods. The seats in the cockpit area were just as luxurious. I felt like Captain Kirk commanding the Enterprise sitting in the driver seat! I can safely say that I have not felt the comfort of the captain’s chair Aloha uses on most any boat I have driven! This one has fore and aft slide adjustments. The arms swing up and out of the way when needed. The in-dash digital depth finder was nice, although a little difficult for me to see.

When I wasn’t on camera, I enjoyed the AM/FM/CD. Just about everyone within a mile or so could also with the dual 200 watt power amplified system complete with four 6x9 speakers! I guess that guy fishing near by wasn’t as happy as I was!

When it comes to access and maintenance, the battery and fuel cell were easy to reach through the rear hatch. Waco pre-rigs all their boats for Mercury outboards.

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

Test Results

I tested this pontoon 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 220 reached plane in 4.2 seconds. The difficulty is that it is such a smooth riding vessel, it is hard to see the drop! The 90 hp four-stroke Mercury got us to 20 mph in 4.8 seconds, and we did get a top speed of 25 mph. The best cruise speed seems to be around 3000 rpm, or about 12.5 mph. At this speed, you’ll burn about 6 gallons of gas per hour. The ride was smooth and relaxing throughout the tests. Sound levels were good, and at cruising speed, the level was only 76 dBa and at top speed it reached only 82 dBa.

If you are looking for a peppy boat you can take the family and friends out cruising or fishing on, take a look at Waco’s Aloha 220.

By Capt. Bob Smith

Test Captain

• Top speed for the Aloha 220 (2003-) is 26.8 mph (43.1 kph), burning 8.4 gallons per hour (gph) or 31.79 liters per hour (lph).


• Best cruise for the Aloha 220 (2003-) is 13.0 mph (20.9 kph), and the boat gets 6.02 miles per gallon (mpg) or 2.56 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 163 miles (262.32 kilometers).


• Tested power is 1 x 90-hp Mercury 4-stroke outboard.