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

The post 2025 Montara 25 SL appeared first on Wakeboarding Mag.

In The Fly, a scientist tested his ­molecular transporter with a fly in the chamber, and the scrambled result was the source of horror. But the engineers at Montara decided that putting a water­sports boat and a pontoon boat through a similar genetic scramble would work. And it did, beautifully, resulting in the Montara 2.0 23 CWDH—a 23-foot, 6,000-pound wakesports boat with an aluminum hull and the capacity to carry 3,000 pounds of ballast to shape fantastic surf wakes.

From the rub rail up, you’d think it was a pontoon boat complete with apparent acres of comfortable lounges, with an optional convertible aft sun pad designed to let loungers face forward or aft to monitor the surfing arena. The 23-footer seems to have enough deck space to hold a dance recital.

From the rub rails down, it’s an all-welded aluminum hull shaped to make epic wakes for surfing or wakeboarding. The PCM 6.0-liter V-drive in our test boat powered the rider up quickly, and the wake-shaping ballast and tabs carved a steep wake with a crisp edge and a powerful swell to drive the surfer. Our professional rider even foiled on the wake for miles, effortlessly swooping around in the swells.

The dashboard is kitted with a digital touchscreen panel that manages all wake profiles. Tactile switches are also included for a few of the most used things, such as navigation lights, the horn and more.

Our tester had a Bimini top that raised and lowered at the touch of a button on the dash, handy for compact storage, as did the engine compartment cover ­beneath the spacious aft lounge. 

One cool option on this well-equipped boat is the stern thruster that not only mitigates the task of steering in reverse, but also helps nudge the boat to or from a pier or dock. Its battery system is charged with an onboard charger. 

When you first see this cool new wakeboat, your first thought is pontoon. But when you see it carve an epic wake while transporting your boating buddies in lounge-lizard luxury, an entirely new paradigm in wakesports enters your world.

High Points

• The 2.0 23 complements Montara’s 2.0 25, awarded ­Boating’s 2024 Boat of the Year.
• Premium audio includes Boston Acoustics speakers and optional  sub and amp.
• Optional stern thruster impressed us.

How We Tested

• Engine: PCM 6.0L 409 hp
• Drive/Prop: V-drive
• Gear Ratio: 1.72:1 Fuel Load: 40 gal. Water on Board: 0 gal. Crew Weight: 700 lb.

Pricing and Specs

The post 2025 Montara 2.0 23 CWDH appeared first on Wakeboarding Mag.

Editor’s Note: Our sibling brand, Boating, awards the most coveted prize in the boatbuilding industry, Boat of the Year. The first step towards earning that award is being named as a BOTY Category Winner. For 2023, the Watersports Category award goes to Montara Boats for the Surf Boss 2.0. The following article explains the reasons Montara was so honored.

The Montara Surf Boss 2.0 is one the most innovative boats we have ever tested, seamlessly blending the very best of a V-drive towboat with the attributes of a pontoon boat.

Let’s be clear: this is not some sort of compromise. The Surf Boss 2.0 is not a, “pontoon boat that also provides wakesurf waves and wakeboarding wakes.” It’s not a pontoon boat at all.

The Surf Boss 2.0 runs on a monohull bottom that’s optimized to create the kinds of wakes and waves that expert watersports enthusiasts can enjoy to the fullest. This hull was developed by a team that’s been designing and building—and riding behind—watersports boats for years. All of that combined experience was brought to bear in rendering the Surf Boss 2.0’s hull shape.

Pro wake athletes agree with our assessment. Gunner Daft, who was unaffiliated when we hired him to test this boat with us, was blown away by the wakes and waves delivered by the Surf Boss 2.0. Daft went on to sign with Montara. And, subsequently, Montara garnered the endorsement of legend, Scott Byerly, even developing a “Byerly Edition” of the boat. Visit the Instagram accounts of Byerly and Daft to see this boat’s watersports prowess.

And, though as stated, this boat is not a pontoon, it delivers the sociability of one. The wide-open deck is loaded with sofas and seating and the ability to swallow a whole crew of people and give elbow room and comfort to them all.  Innovations such as the massive storage area that Montara calls, “the basement,” are just so much icing on the cake.

There’s more: Innovation alone isn’t enough. To win a category, the boat must be built to a high standard and meet ABYC standards, as well as the discerning eye of our editors, each of whom possesses decades of experience evaluating boats for a living. The Montara Surf Boss 2.0 ticked all these boxes.

You can learn more details about this boat’s layout, features and construction by reading our boat test or by visiting the Montara Website.

To sum it up, Montara’s Surf Boss 2.0 delivers the best attributes of two very popular boat categories with little discernible compromise.

Congratulations as the 2023 Watersports Category Winner, Montara!

The post Boat of the Year Watersports Category Winner: Montara Surf Boss 2.0 appeared first on Wakeboarding Mag.

What do these pros have to say about the collaboration? Read on!

On Instagram, Scott Byerly, quoted from among numerous posts about Montara and his 25 Surf Boss 2.0, “Happy to be a part of the @montaraboats family.”

Byerly is credited with the invention of tricks including the classic “Pete Rose”. He developed his own line of progressive products from Wakeboards, Bindings, Wakesurfers, and Wakeskates, which have become universally admired and sought after within the wakeboarding community. Over the years, Scott has amassed a long list of accomplishments from competition, free riding, and several iconic wakeboard movies. Scott is also recognized for his role as a mentor and teacher for younger riders. He continually seeks new ways to push himself and the sport forward, and is praised for his dedication to his craft.

We caught up to Gunner Daft, and he shared his thoughts with us about Montara.

“Super stoked to have signed with Montara boats! The vision this company has is something I truly believe in. Combining the luxuries and comfortability of a high-end pontoon boat with the performance and capabilities of a top-of-the-line wakeboard boat truly is the best of both worlds. Excited to be apart of the Montara Boats family and looking forward to what the future holds!“

At a young age, Daft began to enter local and regional competitions and quickly made a name for himself in the wakeboarding world. He has competed in numerous prestigious events such as Wake Games, the Pro Wakeboard Tour, and Wakeboard World Championships, gaining recognition not only for his thrilling maneuvers but also for his poise and sportsmanship.

Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg is truly enthusiastic of his collaboration with Montara Boats, if his Instagram is any indication. “Checking out the new boat. Pumped to be working with @montaraboats ?? can’t wait to get out on the water with the family.”

Stenberg is a legendary freestyle motocross rider who has revolutionized the sport with his incredible talent and intense style. Born and raised in California, Twitch got his start in motocross at a young age and quickly developed a passion for the discipline.

Stenberg is widely recognized as one of freestyle motocross’s most dynamic and innovative riders. With numerous championships and accolades to his name, Twitch has cemented his place as a trailblazer and leader in the sport. He is renowned for his uncanny ability to execute impossible-looking tricks and aerial maneuvers.

For more information, visit montaraboats.com.

The post Montara Boats Partners With Three Watersports Pros appeared first on Wakeboarding Mag.

It’s rare for a new boat model from a young company to impress the editorial staff at Boating. We test some 100 boats per year. That said, Montara’s Surf Boss 2.0 wowed us as truly innovative.

First off, make no mistake that this is an all-out wakesports boat. Its bottom—crafted in aluminum—and onboard ballast and shaping systems create wakes and waves that will please the most advanced riders. In fact, we hired a pro rider to help us test this boat, and in this video, you will see for yourself the level of thrill that Montara’s Surf Boss 2.0 can deliver. A wake tower is standard, as is a full-featured fiberglass helm, raised 5 inches and complete with a 12-inch touchscreen. Proprietary software ensures that beginners and experts can both create great wakes and waves.

In addition, this boat offers a deck layout that rivals the space and comfort of a luxury pontoon. Offering seating for 16 (its 23-foot  sister model seats 14), the 25-foot model we tested sported luxuriously upholstered seating, complete with draining stowage within. Two layouts are available, both with the ability to walk right through the boat from transom to bow. A unique feature is the “basement,” a huge, walk-in stowage area in the bow deck. See it in the video.

The Montara Surf Boss is truly two boats in one, and absolutely in a class of its own.

Learn more about the Montara Surf Boss 2.0 here.

The post 2023 Montara Surf Boss 2.0 appeared first on Wakeboarding Mag.