There are very few things in this world that will create the same excitement as a pontoon flying by at over 50 miles per hour. You have to leave any trepidation behind as you slide into the helm chair as a driver for the annual McKainer Barrel Race.
What started out as in informal just-for-fun race at the PDB Shootout has turned into a coveted title for many manufacturers. Not only do they hand pick the boat they want to race in each division, some actually make the drivers try out and practice. But there are certainly worse ways to make a living than spending time on lake while on the clock, right?
It wouldn’t be fair to write this story without covering the weather which led to water conditions that were less than desirable. This year, the race was held at Lake Monroe near Bloomington, Ind. It turns out central Indiana in the fall can be cold. By mid-afternoon it was 30 degrees with heavy wind.
How the Barrel Race works is that the course is set up around 2 p.m. while the race doesn’t officially start until 4 p.m. This allows new drivers or anyone who wants to practice to run the course. At four, everyone at the dock loads up in boats and heads out to the starting point. After everyone’s done practicing, the boats in the first class line up and let each driver run through the course twice.
For this barrel race, named in honor of beloved PDB contributor Dan McKain who passed away in 2008, we have each pontoon boat run the course individually. Six people in the staff boat are equipped with stop watches and one person has the radar gun (more for our curiosity than anything else). One person does a quick roll call after each race and records all the times from the six stop watches. After everyone has gone, the six times of only the fastest run are averaged.
This year there were manufacturers that had competed before including Berkshire, Manitou, PlayCraft, Premier and South Bay. New to the race were Cypress Cay, Harris FloteBote and Lowe.
135-150hp Class
The first division was the 135-150hp class. The majority of the boats are brought to be tested at the Shootout, but some are brought only for this race. That’s completely allowed as long as it’s a recognized production model that a consumer could buy. Building a boat specifically for the McKainer Barrel Race is not allowed. This division ended up going to Premier with a time of 58:11 seconds, followed up by Manitou with 59:27 and Lowe at 1:09:97. Tim Menne drove for Premier, Dave Curtis for Manitou and Jamie Brown for Lowe. These guys push the throttle forward as fast as they can and then their hand leaves it completely. In other words, they never let up until they were well past the finish line. It’s essentially flying on water.
175-200hp Class
The second division was the 175-200hp. Premier was the victor again with Menne driving and coming in at 59:01. PlayCraft, driven by Terry Kuchenberg, came in second with a time of 59:18. Manitou rounded out the top three with a time of 1:00:86 again with Dave Curtis driving.
225+ Class
The most popular division was the 225+ hp. Manitou was the winner of this class with a time of 53:77. This was the fastest time of the day. Curtis flew by with the majority of the pontoons out of the water. Second place went to Premier (Menne was still behind the wheel) with a time of 57:79 and PlayCraft, driven by Kuchenberg, came in third with a time of 57:93. Every time was double checked because they were so close.
I/O Class
Last, but certainly not least, was the I/O division. We only had two competitors that brought boats for this category, PlayCraft and Cypress Cay. The PlayCraft boat was driven by Jim Dorris, the president and founder of PlayCraft Boats. He truly is a living legend and as humble as can be. He took this class with a time of 57:05. Cypress Cay came in second with Mark Wyrick behind the throttle with a time of 1:01:08.
The Barrel Race really is a high point of the Shootout. The PDB staff greatly appreciates everyone who took time and energy to participate. It is a competition, but the atmosphere is still fun and relaxed with no bad sportsmanship, but it is a great opportunity to set yourself apart from the competition.
Participants
Outboard 135-150hp
Boat: Premier 200 Sunstation
Engine: Evinrude E-TEC 150
Driver: Tim Menne
0-20 mph: 4.1 seconds
Top Speed: 43 mph
Best Avg. Run: 58.11
Boat: Manitou 20 Aurora VP
Engine: Evinrude E-TEC 150
Driver: Dave Curtis
0-20 mph: 4.9 seconds
Top Speed: 44 mph
Best Avg. Run: 59.27
Boat: Lowe X214
Engine: Mercury 150
Driver: Jamie Brown
0-20 mph: 5.7 seconds
Top Speed: 42 mph
Best Avg. Run: 1:09.97
Outboard 175-200hp Class
Boat: Premier 220 Sunstation
Engine: Evinrude E-TEC 200
Driver: Tim Menne
0-20 mph: 3.9 seconds
Top Speed: 44 mph
Best Avg. Run: 59.01
Boat: PlayCraft 2300 PowerToon
Engine: Mercury 200 OptiMax
Driver: Terry Kuchenberg
0-20 mph: 4.9 seconds
Top Speed: 44 mph
Best Avg. Run: 59.18
Boat: Manitou 22 Oasis
Engine: Evinrude E-TEC 200
Driver: Dave Curtis
0-20 mph: 4.8 seconds
Top Speed: 45 mph
Best Avg. Run: 1:00.86
Outboard 225hp+ Class
Boat: Manitou 22 Oasis Angler SHP
Engine: Evinrude E-TEC 250
Driver: Dave Curtis
0-20 mph: 4.0 seconds
Top Speed: 52 mph
Best Avg. Run: 53.78
Boat: Premier 251 Castaway
Engine: Evinrude E-TEC 300
Driver: Tim Menne
0-20 mph: 4.4 seconds
Top Speed: 49 mph
Best Avg. Run: 57.79
Boat: PlayCraft PowerToon 2500
Engine: Mercury 300 L Verado PRO
Driver: Terry Kuchenberg
0-20 mph: 4.7 seconds
Top Speed: 50 mph
Best Avg. Run: 57.93
Boat: Harris FloteBote 250 Grand Mariner SL
Engine: Mercury 300 Verado
Driver: Don Mason
0-20 mph: 4.5 seconds
Top Speed: 49 mph
Best Avg. Run: 1:00.50
Boat: Berkshire 250 Sport BP3
Engine: Yamaha 250 SHO
Driver: Ryan Cuberstone
0-20 mph: 4.6 seconds
Top Speed: 47 mph
Best Avg. Run: 1:06.08
Boat: Lowe X230
Engine: Mercury 250 PRO X
Driver: Ryan Huntely
0-20 mph: 4.9 seconds
Top Speed: 47 mph
Best Avg. Run: 1:06.63
Boat: South Bay 925 Sport
Engine: Mercury 300 Verado
Driver: Greg Barsoda
0-20 mph: 5.3 seconds
Top Speed: 46 mph
Best Avg. Run: 1:09.21
I/O Class
Boat: PlayCraft 2700 Extreme
Engine: 8.2 HO MerCruiser
Driver: Jim Dorris
0-20 mph: 5.1 seconds
Top Speed: 56 mph
Best Avg. Run: 57.05
Boat: Cypress Cay Cayman SLE 230
Engine: MerCruiser 350 MAG
Driver: Mark Wyrick
0-20 mph: 5.0 seconds
Top Speed: 48 mph
Best Avg. Run: 1:01.08
