Tested By Capt. Bob Smith

With movies like Alexander coming to the screens, a pontoon with a name Excalibur Elite elicits some pretty strong visions to fulfill, yet this model by Avalon has no problem doing so.

Avalon says the Excalibur Elite 25 will treat you and your family to sumptuous pleasures and bountiful amenities as you cruise to your favorite location. They use luxurious marine vinyl, plush cushions and durable materials throughout this craft for long term looks and function.

Layout and Design

The foredeck on the Elite 25 has a bow entry gate with a handy mesh pocket on the back for small items like sun tanning lotions, cell phones and brushes. The bow seating nearly wraps around the entire forward section so you can have lots of friends comfortable at anchor up front. The leather feel and plush design of the Matrix 50 material feels like the seats you find in some top end luxury cars! Avalon even had burlwood accented cup holders that flip down from the seat backs to handle the cold beverages. LED lights are mounted in fixtures along the floor for mood lighting. The JBL speakers on this test boat could really crank out the tunes!

The Console

The helm station has its own touch of elegance with burlwood accents on the wheel and gauge panels. Our boat had a Humminbird 27 Fishing system that monitored speed, depth and other critical components of our travel around the lake. We also had a top end Clarion Marine Stereo AM/FM/CD player driving those JBL speakers. This one was also satellite reception capable.

You won’t have to scramble around on this boat searching for which storage compartment those fenders were stashed in, this helm station has a three fender holder under a cover in the corner. A sink with pump action faucet, covered ice container and courtesy light for illuminating the surrounding area is in the top and side of the helm station. A glove box for wallets and carry-on cooler storage is just below this section. One of the biggest battles on board will be for who gets to drive this boat. Besides being easy to maneuver, the captain’s seat is the best in the house. This seat is a plush, high-backed chair with headrest and flip-up armrests. No saddle sores after a long day of driving this model.

Changing Room

When you are ready to change into your evening party wear, you won’t have to run back to the dock, this boat had a changing station built into the stern section. Almost every party ends up with a bottle of wine being served and the Excalibur Elite 25 is prepared.

Great for Entertaining

They have a wine station built right in complete with a wine bucket and four plastic wine glasses and slots for wine bottles next to the bucket. Stern seating is a C-shaped bench seat and all are built from aluminum frames. With the slightly raised side walls and the rubber mats in the bench storage areas, gear will be drier than they typically get in a roto-molded base.

Our test boat was also outfitted with an optional wake board tower for more fun on the water. Besides the sturdy tower, two monster powerful speakers are added to the sound system. Another feature this tower had was a remote controlled spotlight for picking out the markers at night.

Specs

The Avalon Excalibur Elite 25’s deck measures 25 feet in length overall. The pontoons underneath measure 24 feet long and are 25” in diameter. The Excalibur’s deck width measures 8’6” and she weighs approximately 1976 lbs. with furniture installed. This model is rated to have up to the 150hp outboard we had installed.

Performance

I found this boat had a smooth dry ride even though we got in some choppy water during the helicopter portion of our video. She cruised smoothly at 3000rpms or 16.5mph, burning about 3.6gph for a range of about 151 miles. She had a wide-open-throttle speed of 34.5mph turning 5500rpms burning about 15 gallons per hour.

If you are ready to step up in style and still want the flexibility pontoons offer, the Avalon Excalibur Elite 25 has plenty of luxurious amenities to offer you, and as I found out she has plenty of performance to thrill everybody in the family.

• Top speed for the Avalon Excalibur 25 Elite is 34.5 mph (55.5 kph), burning 15.0 gallons per hour (gph) or 56.78 liters per hour (lph).


• Best cruise for the Avalon Excalibur 25 Elite is 16.5 mph (26.6 kph), and the boat gets 4.65 miles per gallon (mpg) or 1.98 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 151 miles (243.01 kilometers).


• Tested power is 1 x 150-hp Yamaha four-stroke.