Pontoons

Pontoon Boats are a favorite for many boaters for their simplicity and seemingly simple maintenance. They’re easy to launch and many are left in the water or on a boat lift all summer.  But this is where preventative maintenance is easily overlooked. Making sure the recommended and routine maintenance are performed will help you enjoy your boat for years to come and save you in the long term.  Any boat is a big investment, but a simple regular maintenance plan will ensure you can enjoy it for years to come.

The end of summer is the best time for maintenance since you won’t use it again until spring.

Engine Maintenance is key; making sure it is drained of water and properly winterized will keep it from getting a cracked casing or block, and also from the internal parts getting corroded or rusted, causing your engine to fail prematurely. The pontoons themselves need to be periodically checked and repaired. Rocks on the shore, hitting a submerged log, or just bumping the dock can cause small leaks. A pontoon that’s full of water means you’re using extra gas to lug it around and putting and extra load on your engine. If it’s lower on one side than the other or drips for an excessive time after it’s out of the water then chances are it has an issue. Special equipment is needed to properly detect the leak and specific welding techniques need to be employed to fix it.

This should not be you: