Montara’s 2.0 25 came to market in 2024 and captured Boating’s coveted Boat of the Year award. It was a ringer when considering nobody ever melded an aluminum wake-making hull with the living-room comfort of a pontoon boat. And the wake? Riders love it.
We proved that in our testing of the 25 SL on Tellico Lake last October. The boat carries 4,200 pounds of ballast, has surf-tuning tabs, and features a digital touchscreen that offers control of ballast, speed and acceleration for up to 1,000 profiles, should you have that many friends—and with this boat, you probably will.
From the bow, the 25 SL looks like a triple-tube pontoon, but it is actually more akin to a tri-hull runabout. It has a center ski locker one might expect to find on a pontoon, but that’s the end of pontoon comparisons. Our professional riders surfed, wakeboarded and foiled, enjoying long rides in powerful, crisp wakes—something nobody ever expected from an aluminum hull with a pontoonish-looking deck. But there was our guy, enjoying the wake’s powerful push and shredding it for all he was worth.
When the Montara is just cruising, its passengers sit high off the water on the tall hull, affording a better view of the passing scenery or the zigzagging rider. We ran the SL version with a broad stern lounge, leaving just enough room to starboard to access the generous swim platform equipped with a tow pylon and boarding ladder. The stern lounger has a reclining back that swings forward for an aft-facing lounge or swings to center for a back-to-back transom lounge.
The 25 SL has stylish custom-contoured bow and stern corners that stiffen the sleek profile. To combat the single-direction reverse steering, Montara offers a stern thruster that mitigates so seamlessly, it was fun to experiment with it near docks. It will be handy at raft-up parties too.
The Montara 25 SL is the boss of the Montara line, which now includes a 23-footer that sacrifices nothing in terms of wake and comfort while saving space in the garage for those long winter days. We expect some owners to buy a little thicker wetsuits to extend their season and expand their circle of riding friends.
High Points
- Hull is a durable 4 millimeters thick.
- Combines the wake of a wakesports boat with the comfort of a pontoon.
- Electrically actuated power tower lowers quickly for storage.
- New convertible stern lounge adds sunning flexibility.
How We Tested
- Engine: PCM 6.2L DPI 465 hp
- Drive/Prop: V-drive/15.5″ x 15″ 4-blade nibral
- Gear Ratio: 1.72:1 Fuel Load: 104 gal. Water on Board: 0 gal. Crew Weight: 400 lb.
Pricing and Specs
| Price: | $228,060 (with custom trailer) |
| LOA: | 25’7″ |
| Beam: | 8’6″ |
| Draft: | 3’8″ (motor down) |
| Dry Weight: | 6,939 lb. |
| Seat/Weight Capacity: | 16/2,520 lb. |
| Fuel Capacity: | 104 gal. |
Montara Boats – Loudon, Tennessee; montaraboats.com
