LARSON ESCAPE EARNS COVETED SPOT ON BOATING INDUSTRY’S TOP NEW PRODUCTS LIST FOR 2014
Category: npaa
May 2nd, 2014 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified May 2nd, 2014 at 12:00 AM
Little Falls, Minn(May 1, 2014) – Today, Boating Industry announced their annual top products list of industry leading and inventive new products for 2014. And, the Larson Escape is one of these top new products. “We are excited to be recognized and included in Boating Industry’s annual top products listing,” said Rob Parmentier, Larson Boat Group President & CEO. Parmentier went on to say,” we certainly feel the Larson Escape product line should be considered in this group, but great to hear it from your peers and the industry.”
The Larson Escape is a pontoon boat recently released by Larson Boat Group to capture and capitalize on the growing pontoon market segment. Director of Engineering, Ron Sahr said, “We knew to be a player in this well-established pontoon market we would have to be inventive and offer something different.” With a long storied history of designing hull bottoms, we said first and foremost we had to reinvent what the meaning of a pontoon “toon” / sponson meant. The result of this design objective resulted in the exclusive tapered tube technology or TTT.
Whereas traditional pontoons have round toons, that plow through the water. The Larson Escape “toons” plane through the water. This is accomplished by Larson Escape’s exclusive TTT pontoon design and shape. Constructed of heavy duty aluminum, the individual pontoons are welded together to create a running surface similar to that of a small runabout – reverse chines for lift, deadrise for stability, outside hull chamfer for smooth cornering. “It is this running surface that allows for incredible performance, cornering and a sheer thrill out on the water,” commented Sahr.
An added advantage of the exclusive TTT pontoon shape and design is the structural composition of the boat. All Escape models are designed with a 30″ wide top cap span to create a solid deck mounting surface eliminating the need for secondary bracing. Sahr went on to say, “With the increased performance and running characteristics to a traditional v-bottom boat, we too had to improve the racking or flexing from the deck to the pontoons.” Therefore, additional strength is created with an internal stringer system of five or six internal cross bulkheads per tube depending on the boat model.
Objective number 2 was to make a visual impact when a consumer looked at the boat. Larson decided not only could they just focus on what happened below the water, they too had to revisit how the boat looked. “In my 30-plus years of selling boats, people buy boats on how they look,” said Parmentier. “For years, traditional pontoon boats use aluminum fencing to provide safety and security to the passengers inside, but also looked like a box on the water. We knew we had to create a distinctive look or sheer line on the water separating our Escape from all the other pontoons out there,” added Sahr.
“The Larson Escape certainly met the requirements of what we look at at Boating Industry to be considered for our annual Top Products list,” said Jonathan Sweet, Editor in Chief Boating Industry. Sweet added, “Plenty of companies are building pontoons, but what really struck us about the Escape was the research and innovation that went into developing the product.”
To learn more about the complete model line of Larson Escape pontoon boats visit, www.larsonescape.com
About Larson Boat Group:
Larson Boat Group designs, builds and markets 58 models of boats within three brands: Larson, Triumph and Striper. The 100-year-old company sells its boats through dealers located throughout the United States, Canada and worldwide. LBG is a proponent of green manufacturing, building Triumph models with 100 percent recyclable Roplene, and many Larson and select Striper models with VEC® Technology that reduces styrene emissions by up to 90 percent. Larson Boat Group is headquartered in Little Falls, Minn.