Avalon is known for making high end and luxurious pontoon boats and even by their standards, the Excalibur is a top of the line pontoon boat.

What Is it

Avalon makes several versions of their Excalibur model which include:

  • The Avalon Excalibur Elite Windshield
  • The Avalon Excalibur LTD Elite Windshield
  • The Avalon Excalibur Quad Lounger Windshield
  • The Avalon Excalibur LTD Quad Lounge Windshield

These are all variations on the same basic model. The differences come in overall length of the boat plus floor plans and amenities. They’re designed for cruising and entertaining with an eye towards luxury and performance more so than some of their other models which may also fit the bill but not with so many high end features and a price tag to match.

Key Features

The features available on the Avalon Excalibur are what set it head and shoulders above a lot of the competition. Here are a few, including some of the notable options you can have equipped. Keep in mind, many of these can greatly increase the base price. 

  • Optional twin engine capability
  • Waveglider Triple 27″ Pontoons with High Performance Lifting Fins and Aluminum Waveshield
  • Extended rear deck
  • Solid welded, custom-painted aluminum walls
  • RGB Exterior Accent Lights and rub rail lights
  • Ski tow bar and stainless steel telescoping ladder
  • Full mooring cover
  • High back reclining driver’s chair with self-leveling arms
  • Full deck teak vinyl flooring
  • Large Greywood Rectangle table with USB charging port
  • Decorative Bronze or Pewter Seat Frame Cladding
  • Suspension seating for a smooth, comfortable ride
  • Lifetime Aluminum Seat Frames with Flow-Through Ventilation
  • Dual Commander Fiberglass Helmstands with Full Windshield
  • Upholstered automotive style stitched trim
  • Joystick controls
  • Black pearlwood dash panel
  • Touchscreen Dash with detailed information Center, light controls, and High Power Stereo
  • Garmin 743XSV Color Fishfinder / Depth Finder / GPS
  • USB Input and Charge
  • Fusion RA-770 Stereo
  • 6 Fusion SG RGB Lit Speakers and Fusion 6 Channel Amp
  • 2 – 12 Volt Power Points
  • Seastar Hydraulic tilt steering
  • Exclusive Matrix 50 Soft Touch Seat Vinyl
  • Upgradeable 150 gallon fuel tank
  • Sink and pull out refrigerator

Specs

  • 25 or 27 foot length
  • 8’5” beam
  • 27” pontoon diameter
  • Dry weight of 4,600 to 5,000 lbs
  • Maximum of 14 to 16 passengers or 1,950 to 2,345 lbs
  • Maximum total weight of 2,900 to 3,160 lbs
  • Maximum HP of 350 to 450
  • 58 gallon fuel capacity

Pros

  • This is one of the nicest if not the nicest pontoons you will ever set foot on. Everything, and I mean everything, on this boat looks great. Avalon put time and money into making this one of the most beautiful boats on the market and it shows. 
  • If you’ve never been on a pontoon with dual, 450 hp outboard engines before then you haven’t experienced the high end of pontoon power. Is it expensive? You bet. But it will also tear up the water like no other pontoon out there, which is pretty impressive. This definitely offers the speed you’ll want for having fun tubing or skiing in conjunction with the luxury interior. There are faster boats out there for sure, but not many that look or feel this nice.
  • The custom wall panels are not a necessity, they can give you the sort of standard deal, but if you want your pontoon to match your car, your house or, hell, Iron Man, you can have Avalon custom make your boat to match whatever your heart desires. 
  • Options are vast and impressive. There are probably upwards of 60 or more choices you can make to customize your boat and really make it your own. 
  • I wouldn’t normally bring up the seating as a specific pro all on its own but if you ever get a chance to even try one of these boats at a boat show or something, hop on board and have a seat. If no one’s looking,go ahead and lay down. This is so comfortable, it’s great.

Cons

  • It has to be said that this boat is just inaccessible for most boaters. With the base starting at $142,000 and others getting up to a quarter of a million dollars and even more, this is not a boat for the casual boater. That means it’s cool to look at but most of us won’t ever get a chance to enjoy it.
  • The sheer number of options can become overwhelming and I’ve mentioned this with other boats before. The higher end something is the more options you’re going to want but at some point it gets out of hand. With 60+ different ways to customize your boat it’s easy to not just lose track of what you may want or need, it’s also easy to not even know what some options are. When Avalon writes in their literature that you can get certain brand name features, you may have no idea what those are or why you’d want them. Sometimes less is more, as they say.
  • Customer service from Avalon is reportedly a little hit and miss. Some issues you might not have a problem with but I’ve heard the word “nightmare” used when describing trying to get other issues handled.
  • At high speeds you may find that it takes a bit of finessing to get your Excalibur to stop porpoising in the water. So while having powerful engines is fun for hitting speeds, you need to learn how to use them properly or it can be a really bumpy ride.

Price

The Excalibur starts at a base price of $142,780 and can go up from there based on features that you wish to include. Options can add some considerable numbers to the overall cost to nearly $350,000. Your best bet may be to search out a private seller where you can get a model maybe a year or two old that’s at a much better price.

What You Need to Know

This is a pontoon boat for people who like the finer things in life. Is it style over substance? No, it’s style and substance gliding across the water together with a hefty price tag. You can’t argue that Avalon makes a lower quality boat at the expense of the nice features because this boat is incredible. Even the doors are solid and beautiful, it’s very impressive.  

What People Are Saying About the Avalon Excalibur

Usually it’s pretty easy to talk to or read opinions from other boaters about a certain model but that’s not the easiest task to pull off with the Avalon Excalibur. As you can imagine, this isn’t a boat a lot of people have. That said, with a small amount of data from a few owners it’s no surprise that people love this boat.

If you’re curious about power from those engines, a pair of twin 400 engines can get you zipping across the lake at up to 73 miles per hour. Load yourself down with passengers and you may have to settle for 60 to 65 miles per hour. Definitely good enough for water skiing and tubing.

One odd thing you may want to keep an eye out for is your depth finder. More than one Excalibur owner has pointed out that it came, straight from the factory, with the transducer mounted way too high on the side of a pontoon tube. Some of them are so high they don’t even touch the water rendering them pretty useless. If this is the case you may need to seriously drop the transducer down to get the depth finder to do its job. 

A common theme for those with twin engines is that, once you open the throttle up you’re going to need to learn how to adjust the trim because you will be porpoising, that is bouncing up and down at the bow of the boat. Pontoons and high speeds are often hard to manage so finding the right trim for your engine to minimize the effect is key. If you’re new to pontoon boating and open up the throttle it can be pretty scary to deal with that first time out. 

Do We Recommend It? 

The Avalon Excalibur is such a well made and well performing boat I can’t not recommend it on those grounds at all so yes, this is a big thumbs up and a big recommendation. That said, there needs to be a grain of salt here as well. It’s such a pricey boat that you only want to even consider buying it if you have a lot of cash to spare. This is definitely one of those cases where if you’re on the fence, I’d recommend maybe looking at a lower priced boat that still has a lot of nice features but maybe won’t take you in this far in terms of cost.

There are a lot of nice features you can get for a boat but you need to consider whether you need them or just want them. Sometimes it’s best to go for the best you can afford without getting too crazy. But again, that’s all based on you and your own budget. If this isn’t an issue for you financially, you will likely be really happy with this purchase if you invest in an Avalon  Excalibur.