Island Boats

General information

Island Boats, Inc. was officially established in January, 2014 in Vero Beach, FL, though the company owners have been in the marine industry for more than 50 years combined as owners and executive managers of Float-On Boat Trailers.

Over the years, the popular pontoon boat has proven challenging for boat owners in the area of trailering/hauling/towing and storage.

In 2013, a vision was born as the Poppells, owner and hands-on product developers for Float-On were once again seeking to assist pontoon owners with their trailering/hauling and boat storage challenges. Instead of trying to once again work magic on a wide berth with all of its related visibility and bulk problems, they instead envisioned a totally new and revolutionary pontoon boat DESIGN.

The Poppell's all-new boat concept incorporates a truly revolutionary floor design that RETRACTS and EXPANDS on command, dubbed the "R & E Slide." This PATENTED and totally unique concept allows the whole pontoon boat to retract to a narrower towing position of 7’ 6” wide, all in under a minute and a half, allowing it to be transported on a more standard trailer and stored in a garage. However, when it's time to entertain or get underway, the floor expands the boat to 10’ wide in one easy, seamless motion, creating the most expansive pontoon boats by total square footage in their size class and category!

While the Poppells were developing this concept, they retained an experienced 40-year naval architect and marine engineer, Jeff Seyler, to further refine their vision. Seyler has been involved in the launch of 100 boats in his career.

As the engineering development and patented design emerged, Ralph and Tim researched and chose a brand name that they believe reflects the leisure and fun pontoon lifestyle and captures its usage perfectly: Island Boats!