Barletta Lusso UE Pontoon Boat Sets High Standards With Price Well Over $100K

Depending on who you ask, what makes an optimal watercraft can be a lot of things. However, some vessels speak for themselves. In the spirit of American Month here on autoevolution, our writers are busy bringing you some of the best that the land of the red, white, and blue has to offer.

Now, what you’re looking at is known as the Lusso pontoon boat from none other than Barletta Pontoon Boats. Never heard of Barletta? Not a problem. They’re a pontoon boating team that was started up by Bill Fenech, a gentleman with over 30 years of RV experience. After years of going strong, according to Boating Industry, Winnebago stepped in and agreed to buy Barletta for almost $300 million.

As for the Lusso, this is the “Refined Luxury” class and is meant to brandish a blend of luxury and top shelf building techniques. As it stands, the Lusso is available in three main models, the Quad-Lounge, the Ultra-Lounge, and Ultra-Entertainer, each with an array of floorplans meant to fit specific needs and lifestyles. Overall, nine floorplans are offered, but to make things easier to understand, I'll be focusing on the one and only Entertainer floorplan featured on the manufacturer’s website, the L25UE.

What makes this model so special is hidden in its name, Entertainer. So, what to expect? Well, a whole bunch of entertainment opportunities. I mean, just look at the floorplan; it has a friggin bar area setup suitable for four people to sit around and have a drink and mingle.

At the front of the Entertainer, two lounging areas are set up to bring a relaxing feel to the boat. A full walk-through deck splits this lounge area and all subsequent spaces towards aft. Behind the forward lounges, to one side you’ll find the helm, while across, the previously mentioned bar is seen.

Behind the helm, a dinette table is available and can be accessed by the captain, but also by the guests lounging aft. This last lounge also features back-to-back seating and while some guests are having a bite to eat, the ones seated aft are enjoying the view.

While you may think there’s nothing to see behind a boat other than its wake, Barletta isn’t just about sitting around and having a drink, after all, it’s called the Entertainer, and with that, water-loving entertainment is the name of the game. So, at the rear of this pontoon, wakeboarding and waterskiing rigs can be mounted while the swim deck takes care of any soggy feet.

Worried about power to carry around up to 14 people all at once? Don't be as this sucker can be equipped with up to 450 hp. Sadly, the manufacturer’s website makes no mention as to how fast you’ll be able to fly, but a general rule of thumb is that the lighter the vessel or load, the faster you’ll go.

Now a vessel like this is built around comfort, so expect Biminis, cup holders, sound systems, cooler boxes, and a smorgasbord of other features all aimed at giving you the best experience around. Countless storage options allow you to use this boat for different activities too. Bring along some fishing rods and tackle and do a bit of catch and release.

How good of an experience can you expect from Barletta products? Well, think about it for a second. Why would Winnebago Industries buy a company that isn’t at the top of its game? According to Boating Industry, Barletta has quite an impressive backorder log and growth has been on the up and up.

So how much is this sort of lifestyle going to run you? Well, it depends on a few factors. The first is that you’ll have to go through a dealership to get a Lusso. Secondly, it matters a lot what sort of features the model includes, but I was able to find Barletta Lusso boats starting at around $100,000 (€84,561 at current exchange rates). How high that price is projected, depends on your lifestyle.