Winnebago-owned Barletta is a perennially prominent pontoon at Minneapolis Boat Show

The two happiest days in boat owners’ lives are when they buy a boat and when they sell said boat.

Jeff Haradine knows that old joke well as president of Barletta, Winnebago’s pontoon brand, and senior vice president of Winnebago’s marine division, which includes powerboat brand Chris-Craft.

“I’m afraid in some ways, we’ve earned that reputation, you know, and I just hate it,” Haradine said. “We at Barletta set out to be a little different from a customer experience standpoint, both through product and mindset of the company.”

That mission to make boat ownership as rose-colored as prospective buyers imagine it is what has made Barletta one of the top-performing brands at the Minneapolis Boat Show for several years. The Minneapolis Convention Center is hosting the 2026 event through Jan. 25.

Barletta has been the fastest-growing brand among pontoon boats since Bill Fenech founded it in 2017. Fenech was an RV industry veteran who brought manufacturing expertise to the new venture. Haradine was on Barletta’s founding leadership team, bringing extensive marine retail experience.

“I spent a lot of weekends at the customer service counter of a dealership, and you quickly start feeling the pain that your owners are having,” Haradine said.

Haradine knew Barletta had to do better. Manufacturing excellence and customer service have become hallmarks of Barletta and have helped drive the growth of the brand, he said.

For the 2026 honor, Barletta won in the furnishings category for its Seakeeper Ride technology. Popular among larger boats in bigger waters, the technology reduces a boat’s rocking in rough waters to make handling better. Barletta is the first to use it on pontoons.

The brand had to make some design changes, including a dedicated mounting system, to incorporate the technology, which will be available on Barletta’s 23- and 25-foot Lusso models initially and on more models in the future.

“At Barletta, we’re obsessed with improving the on-water experience,“ Haradine said in a news release.

Beyond the new tech, the other Barletta star of the Minneapolis Boat Show is its new entry level boat, the Sanza, which starts at $49,799. The most expensive models from Barletta can cost more than $400,000.

Eden Prairie-based Winnebago acquired Barletta in 2021 for $255 million. At the time, it was a top-10 brand in pontoons, and since then, it has become the third-largest brand in pontoons.

The boating industry overall saw boat sales decline in 2025. According to the NMMA, retail unit sales declined an estimated 8% to 10%, and the pontoon segment was down a similar amount.

The NMMA said approximately 20% of all boat sales are pontoons, which are a top pick in every age category.

In Winnebago’s first quarter of its fiscal year 2026 that ended Nov. 29, its marine segment had revenue of $92.5 million, up 2.2% from the same quarter a year ago. The marine segment accounted for 13% of Winnebago’s total revenue for the quarter.

Luke Erickson is the third generation to run family boat business Erickson Marine, started in 1967. He’s manager of the company, which has two locations in Minnesota and was one of the first Barletta dealerships in the state.

That partnership was thanks to an introduction at the Minneapolis Boat show one year, well before Winnebago acquired the pontoon maker.

He said the DNA and culture of Barletta is centered on quality craftmanship, innovation and customer support. That mindset seemed to match the culture at Winnebago and was a catalyst for the acquisition.

”We were having the conversations about being acquired," Haradine said. “It was quickly relevant to us that Winnebago was the right company to be acquired by.”

Barletta saw the success of Winnebago buying marine brand Chris-Craft in June 2018. It also noticed Winnebago’s acquisition of towable RV maker Grand Design in 2016. Winnebago invested heavily in both.

Grand Design was similar to Barletta in that each were new companies that were growing quickly.

According to Haradine, Barletta has a 100% customer outreach program. After the sale, a Barletta customer service representative will contact the new owner.

Barletta staffs a customer service hotline through the course of the boating season, Haradine said. Staff are ready to tackle problems, from how to charge a dead battery to something deeper in the owners manual.

“It really keeps us closer to the customer,” Haradine said. “We learn a lot through those calls.”