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The Incredible Expandable Island ‘Toon

The world's first expandable pontoon boat offers easy trailering and storage.

The Incredible Expandable Island ‘Toon

The pontoon boat models from Island Boats retract to a 7’4” beam for trailering and storage, and expand to ten feet wide once on the water.

A father-son brainstorming session a year ago has resulted in the world’s first expandable pontoon boat. Island Boats’ 18 and 22 foot models carry a beam of 7’ 4” for trailering and expand to a traditional 10 feet wide once launched.

“My father and I were discussing better ways to fit a pontoon boat on a trailer,” explained Island Boat President Tim Poppell when I asked who came up with the idea for an expandable/retractable pontoon boat. As owners of the popular Float-On brand boat trailers, the Vero Beach Florida-based father-son team have a special interest in making boat towing easier – and can act on ideas that appear practical.

“It suddenly dawned on dad that you make the pontoons adjustable — to be able to be moved closer together while trailering. The next thought was to make the entire boat retractable for easier trailering and storage, and expandable once on the water.”

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The result is the two-model Island Boats line-up that is in production now, following a favorable introduction at the Miami International Boat Show earlier this year, where the design won an NMMA innovation award. The Island 180 and Island 220 models use an electric-powered, patent-pending R&E Slide mechanism to expand and retract, a process that takes about a minute and a half, according to Poppell. He said that for a 180 model boat, motor and custom trailer package, the price will start at about $35,000. You can see photos of the innovative pontoon boats and get more information at islandboats.com.

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