Confusesd!Need Help Understanding This.Please.

I don't quite understand the difference between ply built pontoons and catamaran hulls.Both can be built to plane,they're very close in lines,so what gives.Where is the difference.Catamarans just appear to be a little larger with the under deck flowing with the hulls.I am comparing powered hulls.So what gives?I know I'm missing something.Just dun't kno what.

 

Really, the difference is marketing and the marketing determines the performance expectations. A catamaran is generally considered to be a performance boat while a pontoon boat is usually considered to be a party boat.
There are power cats that look like party boats except they can do 60 mph. They're sold by companies who are marketing to former slow party boat owners.
Catamarans for sail or power are usually highly engineered while common party barges (pontoon boats) are built to a price from off-the-shelf parts. They are not highly engineered.
Both share a common hull configuration, true.
I suppose as long as pontoon builders continue to copy each by using aluminum pipes and copy-cat above-decks "styling" using almost identical graphics, colors, options, and so forth, it won't be hard to figure out that these are pontoon boats and the other boats with streamlined hulls and split cabins whisking by and heading for open ocean are catamarans.

Alan

 

To me a pontoon has aluminum tubes and a catamaran has 2 hulls.We have fiberglass pontoons here that can get on plan and cruise at high speed.The only thing I see different is the deck height above water is shorter, the hulls are closer together,and narrower on a pontoon.On the bigger lakes these pontoons can take a 2 to 3 foot chop without problem.These fiberglass pontoons look just like cat hulls.There not round tubes like what I consider to be a pontoon.That's why I'm so loopy over this.Maybe one day I'll get a chance to inspect both hulls up close and hopefully side by side.