If you’ve got the money and you want to entertain whilst on the water, then I’d recommend that you look into some of the more expensive pontoons that come with built-in bars.
Scroll lower down the page to see a selection of photos and ideas that are already released or coming over the next 12 months from the major manufacturers.
However, you might be in the situation where you want to buy your own pontoon boat bar chairs, table, and furniture to go on your existing boat. And why not?
Pontoons are built for entertaining, and having a bar area can be great for parties or just as a place for your friends, family, and kids to relax and have a bit to eat.
Below are a few recommendations you can consider if you want to add an aftermarket bar to your pontoon, followed by some photos of stunning bar set-ups available from the main manufacturers.
Table of Contents
Create a Pontoon Boat Bar Table Area
I am pretty decent at DIY but draw the line and building up a bar area with tables and stools on my own pontoon. What you can do instead is look at a few available products in Amazon in order to make the transition.
Here’s what you could consider purchasing.
My favorite option from the two shown above is the Docktail Boat Bar.
You can see a photo of how it works here. It’s very small but can easily mount in most rod holders. If you don’t have rod holder, then you could also use a different mounting type.
It comes with:
- 1 cutting board insert
- 6 pre-cut bottle slots
- 2 x 1.75 liter, 2 x 1 liter, 2 x 2 liter and 3 x accessory bottle slots
- Stainless steel design
- UV treated for sun resistance
- Folds easily away when not in use
Example Pontoon Bar Set-Ups
Here’s a selection of options that are currently available from some of the leading pontoon manufacturers on the market.
If you have the money and are looking for a boat with great entertainment options, then one of these beauties could be just what you are looking for.
Folding Lounger Bar Set-Up for 2019 on Starcraft
The bar layout shown below is to come soon on the forthcoming Sylvan or Starcraft pontoon boats to be released middle of 2019. It has 4 removable bar stools and folds into a lounger.
According to reports on Facebook, this bar layout is coming soon on new Starcraft and Sylvan pontoons.
According to a post I saw on Facebook it’s still in prototype mode but with a few refinements it will be in production soon. It’s looks awesome, and I just wish I could afford one of the new Starcraft SLS3s!
2018 Sweetwater 2286WB
This awesome Sweetwater 2286WB comes with a 150 hp Evinrude E-Tec engine and costs around $35,000. It’s an awesome machine. And for that price you would expect to see some extras phone in, so how about this pontoon bar set-up?
This pontoon boat bar furniture looks very slick, and you would hope so for the money!
You still won’t get a trailer for your large investment, but who cares when you can serve up drinks and food from this fully integrated bar table with sunken cup holders (see some replacement drop-in cup holders) and sink?
Aqua Patio 240 CB
This is a great bar set-up on this Aqua Patio pontoon. There’s no aftermarket modification with this one, as what you see is one of the many packages you should be able to buy from your boat dealer.
You could almost be in a bar or nightclub with this Aqua Patio set-up.
It’s just like sitting right at home – or even a nightclub or bar! With 4 pontoon boat bar chairs and stools, a built-in grill (view alternate recommendations), table set on a pedestal, serving area, and loads more, you can host the very best parties.
Berkshire & South Bay Layouts
If you are looking for a pontoon boat with a bar, then look no further that the South Bays or Berkshires who both have identical layouts and set-ups as you can see from the stock image shown below.
Berkshire and South Bay boats offer highly luxurious bar table tops and seating.
You’re going to pay a lot for this feature but benefit from some insane levels of luxury including padded bar seats, recessed aluminum cup holders, and loads of storage underneath the bar table top.
2018 Manitou SES Bar Layout
Manitou have a new SES model out for 2018 and new buyers can choose the bar floorplan option. It comes with adjustable height barstools as well as other useful things you would expect such as cup holders, sink, fridge, and grill.
The new Manitou pontoon bar option is going to prove very popular.
It also has blue LED lighting running around the edge of the bar table to make those nights with friends and family feel even more special.
Stylish Bar Table and Chair Set-Up
I am not sure if the bar shown below is in production as it was found via Pinterest. However, it does look pretty cool, so I thought it worth including.
This one looks great, but I am not sure what model and year it’s taken from. If you know please tell me.
It looks like a Berkshire or South Bay, so if you know the exact model and year this bar table and chair set-up is from, then please do get in touch with me so that I can update the references on this page.
2017 Premier Grand Entertainer 260
In my opinion the Premier Grand Entertainer 260 offers the very best bar experience you can find on any pontoon boat right now. Check out this video of the 2017 model.
Should You Buy a Pontoon with a Bar Built-In?
Having a bar on your pontoon is the 64 million dollar question.
Currently my wife and I are thinking about upgrading our existing Bennington pontoon to something a little larger with more features. I want a bar, she wants loads of room to lounge in and a sun deck.
We have been comparing boats for 6 months, and all the nice ones, including attending a couple of boat shows to view all the new models from Harris, Bennington, Avalon and more.
The bottom line is this.
You pretty much get one or the other as most of them use that back area of your boat for either a lounging area or to have a bar table and chairs.
Or if they do use the side of the boat for the bar area, then you will end up giving away a lot of sitting space.
It really comes down to what you will be using more from season to season.
At the end of the day, we think that we will probably end up using the sun deck way more than having an actual bar, so it seems like we won’t be buying a built-in bar model.
I am also not sure how stable those bar stools are if sitting on them while the boats in motion, or for how long they will stay strong. I would also be worried about after a year or two does the novelty wear off.
Is it Worth Fitting a Bar to Your Pontoon Boat?
During my research into this guide I asked a few other pontooners on social media what their thoughts were on adding an aftermarket bar to their pontoon boat or buying with one already installed.
Here’s a selection of the responses that I received back. As you can see I got some very mixed responses so it’s very much a personal thing.
“Bars takes up too much room. Yes, they look nice but the novelty of it soon wears off very quickly. That’s my view, as we just prefer to lounge on our boat.”
“My previous boat was a bar boat and even when we would be parked at a sandbar people would walk by the bar to sit and relax. But high pedestal seats can be a pain in the arse to keep mounted so they don’t move.”
“Pontoon bar tables do take up a lot of room on your boat, but they are nice if the boat is designed correctly. When sat on the bar stools you can swivel around and watch tubers and swimmers in the water.”
“If you even have to ask if something is practical in a pontoon then it’s probably not. Comfy seats and big motors are where you should spend your cash! But having said that, perhaps on smaller lakes, party barges and party decks are more appropriate.”
“We just ordered a Starcraft with a bar after spending several weekends on one last year. It changed what we were looking for as it made a great spot to put food out and a good place for kids or adults to sit.”
“I built a bar on my pontoon about 6 months ago but did end up replacing it with a lounge. I have a 21-foot pontoon, so on a bigger boat it would have worked a lot better.”
“Personally, I would not have a pontoon boat without a bar. I just upgraded to the 2017 Grand Entertainer from Premier and can’t wait to get her out on the water to get the parties started up this season!”
“We use ours all the time but do have plenty of seating for lounging up at the front of the boat. We rarely use the sink however, only when we are cutting up bait for fishing.”
“I’d rather a bar than a sun lounger any day of the week if there was a choice. I do have a sink, but I’d rather have that bar with stools.”
“We absolutely love ours and we always end up the center of the party. The bar top is great for food and games with the kids. We aren’t people who want to lay around on a boat, but instead like to sit upright and a bar accommodates that. I don’t feel like we gave up any seating at all.”
“We thought about it, but decided it took too much space for something we would use very little. I can see it as a waste unless you entertain about 80% or more of the time on your boat.”
“Bars on boats sound like a good idea but you will get more use out of great seating options I believe. Opt for something with a sun deck, bars are way over-rated, and the novelty wears out fast.”
“We have the Avalon Entertainer and love it. But, we don’t really use the bar too much though so probably wouldn’t buy that model again if we were at the beginning of our pontooning journey!”
“Buy a Starcraft! We took the bar model and instead of adding the back bar (it had 2) we had them put half of their lounger in the back. We absolutely love it as do our kids and friends.”
“We struggled in making a decision on what to buy and went with a boat that had a sun lounger instead. For us it was a bad choice as almost no one uses the sun lounger, but I know we would have gotten more use out of the bar.”
Conclusion
We still haven’t upgraded our Bennington, so for now are probably going to use one of the recommended Amazon products I referenced earlier in this guide.
Clearly seating is the key, but I also see that I could sit at the bar while the wife is sunbathing if we did end up upgrading to one of those new models.
So if you are looking to buy a new model with a pontoon boat bar already fitted, then prepare to spend, and spend BIG (and don’t forget to invest in a captain’s seat as that will be where you spend a lot of your time).
You should also really carefully consider whether or not you are going to get the usage from it.
As you can see from the comments in this guide, it’s a very split opinion amongst boat owners so really does come down to whether you want to sacrifice that sitting and lounging space or not.
