Boat Review by: Rick Layzell
In a market filled with hundreds of floorplan variations, countless options, and what seems to be a strong desire to build bigger, wider, and more expensive pontoon boats, Legend offers the right balance with the Q-Series LE lineup. The entire Q-Series blends fun, functionality, and affordability in all the right ways. Not to mention, their standard ‘Preferred Equipment Package’ totally demystifies and simplifies the shopping process. We had the opportunity to explore this package in detail on central Ontario’s’ Lake Simcoe on a brisk October day.
Our advance research outlined the features of Legends Preferred Equipment Package. Let’s take a peek at their benefits:
- Soft touch EZ clean Riptide vinyl flooring – the name says it all and your toes (and the quick clean up times) will thank you.
- Captain’s sport low back chair on a full length slider – I wasn’t excited about a low back chair until I sat in it. This is an incredibly comfortable design. I’m sold.
- Garmin Echomap 7” GPS – easy to use and an absolute must for navigation
- Fusion Bluetooth sound system with four speakers and AUX input. Listen to your favourite station or bring your own tunes for enjoyment.
- You’ll also benefit from the inclusion of a removable tinted windscreen, tilt steering, 12 V charging outlet, and an interior courtesy light
All in all, there’s a ton of value and benefits here in the Preferred Equipment Package.
Our test boat was clad in Legend’s new cognac colour, and it’s stunning. From playful exterior fence colours to extensive use of the cognac in the interior, this package has a plush and rich feel. The standout in the interior is the amount of seating – with two forward bow loungers with incorporated rounded backrests, and two more chaise loungers on the stern, there really is a ton of seating here. The ‘piece de resistance’ though is the massive rear couch on the port side. I actually dug out my tape measure and measured the seat base – it’s almost a full 6’ long! Then I stood looking down at that massive couch and envisioned afternoon naps in the sun…until my camera man told me to get back to work. Fine.
Unique in the Q-Series is that the furniture bases are all aluminum. There’s an immediate lifespan benefit here and the framework is smoothly finished - meaning your gear will never catch when being pulled from storage. The bow loungers both feature forwaNotable construction comments – Legend utilizes 1 1/4" raised aluminum fence rails with 3/8” risers. This means the inevitable water on the flooring has a simple means of finding reentry into the lake and off your floor. All three access gates feature locking latches and her 25” diameter tubes feature full length extruded keels. I really like the look of the bow section where the tubes are not sticking out like many other models – Legend leaves the tube ends tucked fully under the deck for a clean look. The rugged shark-nosed cones with spray deflecting fins do a good job keeping the water spray out of the boat when running. She carries a trailer-friendly weight of only 1,800 lbs, and her 96” beam means she will store in many garages. rd-facing backrests and cupholders and the starboard side has a USB-C charge port tucked neatly into the corner. A functional dinette table readily installs here to offer up great snack tray solutions, as well as a pair of additional cup holders (there are 11 in total on board). The port side lounger also hides the easy-to-use pop-up change room. Your family will thank you.
The helm station is a rotomould design that incorporates a raised footrest for the captain, Fusion sound system, lighted circuit breakers and gauges with chrome bezels, tilt steering wheel, and a neatly tucked away beverage holder and small storage compartment between the helm seat and the fence. I’d like to see a phone charger for the captain, although a long cable makes the bow lounger charger accessible – I’m just picky.
The Q-Series 21 will take up to 115 HP, and our test package was equipped with a Mercury 90ELPT four-stroke outboard. With our fuel gauge reading ½ full of her built in 95L/25 US gallon capacity, we headed out to the lake for test trials. Our brisk fall day was met with only a handful of anglers chasing their catch, so we readily found an open area to compile running footage and test data.
She likes to cruise from a surFinal thought: you really do have a lot of choices in pontoon offerings in today’s market. Think about what you want from your boat, how many guests or family you typically will have on board, and then hit up a boat show or your local dealer. If things like being fun to drive, being awesome for entertaining, and having a built-in napping couch are at the top of your list, then Legend’s Q-Series is a boat where your dreams can become reality. prisingly low 17 mph to 21 mph – with just myself on board I was prone to 20 mph, which is the speed used for our video running shots. She gradually climbed to a top speed on the dash and my hand-held GPS speedometer of 27 mph at 5,700 RPM. There is likely a little more here, but this meets my expectations.
The shocker was hole shot results. I typically run 3–5 trials to calculate an average, but the Q-Series really surprised me to the point where I doubted my stop watch - so I kept trying to prove myself wrong. The results speak for themselves and this 21’ package was consistently on plane in under 3 seconds.
Final thought: you really do have a lot of choices in pontoon offerings in today’s market. Think about what you want from your boat, how many guests or family you typically will have on board, and then hit up a boat show or your local dealer. If things like being fun to drive, being awesome for entertaining, and having a built-in napping couch are at the top of your list, then Legend’s Q-Series is a boat where your dreams can become reality.
Length: | 20' | 6.09 m |
Beam: | 8' | 2.43 m |
Dry weight: | 1,800 lbs | 816 kg |
Fuel Capacity: | 25 gal | 95 L |
Base Engine / Drive: | Mercury | |
Engine HP: | 90 ELPT CT | |
Fuel Type: | Gas |