There are essentially two types of pontoon boats: Traditional pontoons which are a deck with two tubes, a sponson and engine with enough power to leisurely cruise around the lake. Tritoons (or triple-toons) namely, are a deck and three pontoons often equipped with lifting strakes, keels and other performance enhancing features. The third pontoon usually extends all the way back to the transom, which would act as a sponson. Some tritoons utilize a performance planing tube as oppose to a full-length tube, which gives you two pontoons (port & starboard), a middle tube which often runs 60-70% of the length of the boat AND a sponson. This is a more cost-effective option however the full-lenth centre tube provides more performance, better and more enjoyable driving experience, larger person and fuel capacity, enhanced stability and more.