A Legend-ary pontoon ride

Nancy White has four children, 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. To transport the entire family to her camp on Lake Panache, she needed a big boat.

The Legend pontoon she purchased last spring does the trick.“I wanted something more for the family,” she said. “I wanted comfort, and something that was easy to keep clean.”

The fact that it’s “more leisurely” than the other boats the White’s have owned makes it an ideal choice for enjoying the lake with young children and older adults.

“My husband and I are in our 70s, so it’s easier to get on and off,” she said. “Opposed to stepping down into a boat, you step onto a boat.”

White said it’s much more comfortable, “from a senior’s point of view.”

Jamie Dewar, a general manager of Duhamel and Dewar — Legend Boats, said there is “a growing market” for pontoons.
“The last few years have really been booming,” he said. “I think the perception of what a pontoon is, and who uses it, has changed.”

Because of their shape and size, Dewar said pontoon boats are safe options for young families, spacious enough for fishing and with the right motor, they can even be used for water sports. He said more people are using them for social reasons too, since it’s easy to pack a group of people onto the flat floors of a pontoon.

“All the stuff you can do on the other boats, you can do on a pontoon, and a whole lot more,” Dewar said.

Those who want the “cottage lifestyle,” without the cottage bills, can often find it on a pontoon.

Kim Edgington, marketing co-coordinator at Legend, said the local manufacturers have been making boats for 25 years. During that time, they have designed several features that are now “standard” in the industry.

The “converta-bench,” a bench that can be easily made into a deck, offers boaters more options and more room in their watercrafts, and the “SmartDeck” can transform into a change room, lounging deck or fishing station in a matter of seconds.

Edgington said these innovations were “revolutionary” at the time they were invented. As a result of their quality products service, Edgington said the Whitefish-based shop sells thousands of boats a year, and has dealers from coast to coast.

Even though they’ve grown to a national level, the family-owned business has remained rooted in Greater Sudbury. Their catalogues are done “in house,” and include photos of people from the area. Shoppers are even able to test boats before they buy them on the Vermillion River, which runs behind the shop.

For more information, visit www.legendboats.com.