In 1988 the late Harry Christensen, president of Advantage Boats, went for a ride on a friend’s pontoon boat. He liked the passenger space, but putt-putting around at no-wake speeds was not acceptable for Christensen, who had raced many inboard classes.
Christensen decided to put a pontoon-boat deck on top of one of his performance catamaran hull designs. The first Advantage Party Cat had canvas sides, but when Christensen unveiled the 26 Party Cat with fiberglass sides molded to the deck in 1988, he revolutionized the marine industry. Since then, Advantage has built a 22-, 27-, 28- and even a 34-foot, twin-engine Party Cat, and a whole bunch of other manufacturers have followed suit. Give credit for the first one where it’s due at www.advantageboats.com.
