Bringing Generations Together With the Waketoon

What do you get when you combine two of the fastest growing segments in boating? The Avalon Waketoon! Combining all the elements that made pontoons popular – space, comfort, increased power, and extra amenities – with the ability to surf behind the boat led to an NMMA Innovation Award at the recent Minneapolis Boat Show and lots of headlines after. The waketoon does not use ballast to accomplish its surf wake, providing many benefits including time savings and limiting the transportation of invasive species.

Jim Wolf is the President and CEO of Avalon & Tahoe Manufacturing. Jim grew up boating on lakes big and small throughout Michigan and still enjoys many of those same bodies of water today.

Jim has grown Avalon from 70 employees to over 400 while increasing sales revenue almost 20x since purchasing the company in 2002. Jim and I spoke about growing up as a boater, how he ended up at Avalon, and some of the key engineering innovations behind the waketoon. Enjoy!