Sylvan S5 Extreme

Twin 250’s on a pontoon? You bet! Everything great about Sylvan’s S5 Extreme just got twice as good

By Craig Ritchie
Sylvan Marine has been on quite a roll over the past few years. From humble beginnings in the 1940’s when the company established itself as one of the first boat manufacturers to specialize in building pontoon boats, Sylvan has continually raised the bar on both comfort and performance.
While virtually all builders have added features, amenities and plush upholstery to their pontoon offerings over the years, Sylvan remains the nameplate most people associated with all-out performance. The company raised a lot of eyebrows when it became one of the first pontoon makers to offer a ski tow pylon on the back of its boats, and configure them to accept higher horsepower engines. But the quantum leap came in 2010 when Sylvan unleashed its Revolutionary Planing Technology, or RPT tube system. Where traditional pontoon tubes are round in profile, RPT tubes use a unique V-shaped bottom section, complete with chines. The effect on performance is startling – rather than plow through the water RPT tubes plane above it, giving the boat huge improvements in lift, handling, fuel economy and overall performance. And, most of all, making it a whole lot more fun to drive.
Then with its 2014 model year Sylvan introduced its groundbreaking S-Series. The “S” stands for “Sport,” and it took pontoon boat design to a whole new level with its thrilling ride and spectacular interior, with seating for up to 14 people. An elegant, sculpted fiberglass console and transom design gave the S-Series a fresh, distinctive look, complete with premium upholstery with playful accent piping. After test-driving the prototype in the summer of 2013, even I wrote “It will be a long time before anyone tops this.”
Well, it turns out it wouldn’t be that long at all. And it wouldn’t be just anyone – it would be Sylvan themselves.

The bow in the S5 Extreme features a pair of loungers with a third entry gate between them, and a removable, pedestal-mounted table with two integral beverage holders to the centre. The forward-facing seat backs for each lounger offer a convenient (and comfortable) flipdown arm rest. On the floor between the bow loungers, an aluminum base accepts a removable, pedestal-mount table.
Because our test boat included a third center pontoon tube, a long hatch in the floor beside the helm provides access to a substantial storage locker, perfect for bulky gear like water skis.
But I wasn’t so much interested in taking a turn out back on the skis as finding out what the twin-engine S5 Extreme could do. The prototype S5 I drove back in 2013 ran like a champ with a single 250 horsepower outboard, so I couldn’t wait to see how this one ran with a combined 500 ponies on the transom.
Let’s start by stating the obvious – planing time is pretty much instantaneous. Sylvan’s RPT tubes are designed to bring the boat up on top of the water quickly, and their effect is only magnified by the combined thrust of the twin Yamaha F250’s when you shove that throttle down. Even with the extra weight of the second engine on the transom, the S5 Extreme runs great right out of the hole, and it doesn’t take a lot of trim adjustment before the boat settles into a comfortable cruising attitude.
Acceleration is, as you would expect, also pretty much instantaneous. With one eye out front and the other on the speedometer, 0-to-30 mph happens faster than you expect, and a breath later you’re north of 50 mph.
While Sylvan’s RPT tubes are known for their ability to get the boat up on plane fast and deliver rocket-like acceleration, their V-bottom profile also yields incredible handling. This is where the turning knob on that stainless steel steering wheel really comes into play, providing much greater control than would be possible with a standard wheel. Attempting lock turns at 50 mph is usually an invitation to trouble in any boat, but with the RPT tubes and 500 ponies pushing for all they were worth, the big Sylvan simply whipped its nose around and went where ever it was pointed. What an incredible feeling!! Carving tight figure-eights into the lake’s calm surface was super-easy, the S5 gracefully leaning into turns like a performance V-hull, with no plowing, dogging or sliding at all. It was just incredible.
On the day of my sea trial I had 11 boats to drive. Somehow, in spite of that heavy schedule, I managed to get back out on the S5 Extreme for two additional runs. It really was that much fun.