Tested By Capt. Bob Smith

Avalon is a new name in the pontoon market this year. This year they are delivering a wide-body, feature rich traditional pontoon with tall railings for safety, a super 10-foot bimini and a super durable Matrix Marine 50 vinyl covering that feels like leather and withstands the elements.

Forward

The bow entry gate on this model has a handy mesh pocket on the back for tossing in loose items like suntan lotions, brushes or cell phones so you can find them quickly. Each front corner station on my test boat had two cup holders and a rod holder built into the tops. You can store some of your tackle under this pod so you don’t have to keep the tackle box under your feet while looking for the big fish. The aluminum seat bases on the bow seats can store a lot more gear. A power connection is in the front corner of the starboard seat.

Each seat is designed like the ones you find on fine bass rigs with swivel bases, folding backrests and mesh pockets on the backs. The port side bench in the bow section has a cleverly concealed livewell in the aft section and more storage in the forward section for the team fishing up front.

Behind the Wheel

The helm on this model has a comfort station that included a handy pump action faucet and sink. Just below this is a push button light for safer moving around in low light and at the bottom is an area to store the water bottles and a carry-on cooler. The helm on our model had a comfortable tilt sport wheel. To the left of the wheel was a pop-out cup holder for your coffee in the morning or cold beverages while fishing. The stereo is also mounted over on the left side of the wheel. The helm had rich looking gold bezeled gauges arranged across the panel with a Humminbird Matrix 27 Fishing System keeping watch on our trip and showing where the fish were below us. Rocker switches control the power to all the accessories on board.

Side entry gates also have the handy mesh pockets on the backs of them. If you want to take a dip, pull the storable swim ladder from under the bench and clip it in the side entry gate on the starboard side. I think this is a great idea since you’re not anywhere near the propeller, even though it should not be turning when someone is in the water nearby. Our boat even had a wine locker on board. This wine locker has a bucket and four glasses as well as cut outs for the wine bottles.

Transom Features

The stern bench wraps around from the port entry gate to the stern walkthrough. Portable cupholders slip into the bench seats so you can have them wherever you need them. The hinged seats are mounted to aluminum frames. When you want to serve snacks a handy storable snack table can be mounted at the bench seats. The stern casting deck has its own livewell on the port side. The corner pods have a single cupholder and rod holder in each as well as tackle storage below. Tackle organizers in the seat bases keep the lures ready for quick change.

Specs

The Fish and Fun 20 measures 20 feet long and has a beam width of 8 feet 6 inches. She weighs in at approximately 1,650lbs. with furniture installed and carries up to 36 gallons of fuel for a long day of fun in the sun. This model is rated to have up to a 90-hp strapped on the stern and can carry up to nine people.

Performance

I found her typical cruising speed to be around 3500 rpm traveling 11.8 mph with a fuel burn of about 2.1 gph. This will give you about 183 miles on a full tank of fuel. Wide- open-throttle speed was 17 mph at 5000 rpm which will still take you 121 miles on a full tank.

If you want to head out for a day of fun in the sun and can’t decide whether just to soak it up or to wet a line, the Fish and Fun 20 can handle both. Be sure to check it out at your local dealer.

• Top speed for the Avalon Somerset 20 is 17.0 mph (27.4 kph), burning 4.5 gallons per hour (gph) or 17.03 liters per hour (lph).


• Best cruise for the Avalon Somerset 20 is 11.8 mph (19 kph), and the boat gets 5.65 miles per gallon (mpg) or 2.4 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 183 miles (294.51 kilometers).


• Tested power is 1 x 60-hp Yamaha four-stroke.