Aqua Patio AP 250 XP: High-Performance Pontoon

Three pontoons and 350 horsepower mean you have triple the fun.

By Lenny Rudow

November 9, 2014

My hair is being whipped back against my scalp, my hat flew off over 300 yards ago, and my shirt is flapping like a flag in a hurricane—I’m doing 60 MPH, on a pontoon boat. Sixty might be tame in a car, but on an open boat, this is fast. Really fast. Especially when the boat you’re on is a pontoon.

Look Ma, no hat—it blew off 300 yards ago.

The Aqua Patio AP 250 XP I tested was powered by 350 raging Yamarabian horses. Push down the throttle, and 4,658 pounds of aluminum and fiberglass jump to life underfoot. Yes, both aluminum and fiberglass. Most pontoons are build out of aluminum with roto-molded poly furniture and wood-cored decks. But Aqua Patio does things different with the AP 250 XP, instead molding the furniture, console (with elevated platform) and other major parts out of fiberglass. This not only gives the boat a better look: it has more heft, too, which allows Aqua Patio to pile on the horsepower.

The AP 250 XP is based on the far more mellow Aqua Patio 250 Express, one of several models that share the same Aqua Patio 250 footprint. But some construction features for this iteration needed beefing up to accommodate the large stable of horses. Cross channels are bolted to saddle brackets on 16” centers, the underside of the deck is skinned, and lifting strakes are added to the pontoons, which are up-sized from the usual 25” to 27”.

The Aqua Patio 250 XP shares the same basic platform as the 250 WB and the 250 Express - along with some serious modifications.

Net result? The boat felt 100-percent solid underfoot, even as we charged through a nasty wind-driven chop. The tri-toon rig also enhances handling as compared to standard ‘toons, though I did find it necessary to back off on the throttles a bit when cranking the wheel into hard turns. Otherwise, the outward-banking G-forces felt a bit extreme—which I suppose shouldn’t have been surprising, considering how fast I was going.

Specifications
Length	26'10"
Beam	8'6"
Draft	2'1"
Deadrise	NA
Displacement	4,658 lbs
Fuel capacity	46 gal.

With the throttle pulled back, the AP 250 XP is also easy to appreciate in a more mellow atmosphere. The helm chair swiveled and reclined, and was thoroughly comfy. Dittos for the lounges. I particularly like the way Aqua Patio designed in stowage under each and every seat and even seat backs, although the aft-facing seat back compartment popped open due to wind, at speeds over 50 MPH. If this were my boat, I’d add a strap or a strip of Velcro to hold it in place during drag races.

Our test boat also had the Xtreme wakeboard tower, along with board racks. Watersports enthusiasts will find this a must-have, along with the booming Sony Amphitheater sound system with sub-woofer and amplifier. Less necessary is the 12-v blender for the wet bar, but c’mon—if you’re going to get a 60 MPH pontoon boat, why not spring for the blender, too?

All in all, this is one kick-butt pontoon boat. Maybe the kickiest-buttiest I’ve ever run.

If you want to see this speed demon in action, watch our Aqua Patio AP 250 XP Video Boat Review.

Other choices: You’re kidding me, right? If you want to match this one, you’ll have to go custom. But you can see more of this one, and a few other similar boats in Performance Pontoon Boats Video: The Need for Speed.

For more information, visit Aqua Patio.

See Aqua Patio 250 listings.

Written by: Lenny Rudow

With over two decades of experience in marine journalism, Lenny Rudow has contributed to publications including YachtWorld, boats.com, Boating Magazine, Marlin Magazine, Boating World, Saltwater Sportsman, Texas Fish & Game, and many others. Lenny is a graduate of the Westlawn School of Yacht Design, and he has won numerous BWI and OWAA writing awards.