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How To Protect Pontoon Boat From The Summer Heat

How To Protect Pontoon Boat From The Summer Heat

By: The Ocean Sailing Guide

I am excited about the summer of 2018. This summer brings new memories, adventures, and time spent on the pontoon with family. Now, with the arrival of summer, comes the staunching summer heat, which if you didn’t know, can be dangerous to a pontoon boat. Therefore it is important to know how to protect your pontoon boat from the summer heat.

While owning a pontoon boat is incredibly rewarding and fun, it’s important that you take the time to care and protect your boat, especially in the summer heat. We can all agree that the last thing you want to happen this summer is to find out that some part of your pontoon boat was damaged by lack of protection.

Today, I want to share with you my ideas and thoughts on how to protect your pontoon boat from the summer heat this year. As always, if you have any ideas to share with the crowd, feel free to add your comment below.

Shall we begin?

The Four Step Protection Plan To Help With Summer Heat

It’s important that, before the summer heat gets here, you develop a game plan for how you plan to protect your pontoon boat.

Once the snow has passed and the White Walkers went back home, I know that it’s time to begin getting my Pontoon Boat ready for the ocean blue.

I have developed what I like to call my pontoon protection plan. It’s an incredibly easy process that starts the moment the warm rays come out.

  1. Full-Scale Cleaning

pontoon seating in the sun

Like many other things in life, before you can apply any form of protector to a surface, it needs to be clean. So, what I like to do is take the boat out in the backyard and prepare it for a full-scale cleaning.

In the industry today, there are dozens upon dozens of different pontoon boat soaps, which can be found at your local boat stores, marinas, or even Amazon. The best products, in my opinion, are the ones that care for the gel coat and the surface of the material.

When it comes to the interior of your pontoon, treat and clean it based on the type of material on the inside. For me, I use a high-quality vinyl cleaner and polish from a local boating store. This helps protect the interior material from cracking or flaking.

  1. Apply A Protectant

Once the pontoon is spiffy clean, what I do is apply a protectant to help protect the gel coat and material of the boat from deteriorating or oxidizing, due to the Sun.

Again, there are so many different products on the market today that can do the job. I recommend purchasing a product that is heavy-duty. What you are looking for is something known as polymers.

This is the secret to protecting your pontoon boat, it’s your personal defense mechanism against the Sun. It’s the sunscreen for a pontoon boat.

Do keep in mind, the more you sail, the more you need to clean and reapply a protectant. Remember, this is your baby!

  1. Daily Maintenance

Now, I understand that this process can be time-consuming, and sometimes undesirable. To make it easier for myself, I take the extra step and perform daily maintenance on my pontoon.

So, what I typically do is use some daily maintenance products, also known as pontoon boat guards. These products act as the first line of defense to protect the boat and the original protectant.

My favorite part about using these cleaning products is that they have polymers in the formula. This helps reinforce the protectant, helping to clean the boat from harmful chemicals, and effectively protecting it from the Sun.

Since most of these products come in the form of a spray, it’s easy to use.

  1. Cover Your Pontoon When Not In Use

covered pontoon boatI have talked a lot about the importance of pontoon boat covers and the best ones out there. I can’t stress it enough. You do not want your pontoon boat exposed to constant heat. Otherwise, the sun’s powers and UV rays will expedite the oxidation process.

To protect your pontoon boat from the summer heat, purchase a quality cover that you can use year-round.

Try to get into the habit of covering your pontoon if you are not using it. Every time I come back from the water I take a few minutes to clean off the grime and bacteria, or salt if I was in the ocean. Once dry, I cover the entire pontoon until it’s next use or cleaning.

Most Common Mistakes Boaters Make

If you are want to avoid any damage or expensive repairs, avoid making any of these common mistakes that boaters make:

  • Dish Soap

Unless you intend to clean the dishes on your boat put the dish soap back where it belongs, the kitchen. Why would you use that product on your boat? Don’t be cheap, buy the right product!

  • Laundry Soap

Like that of dish soap, using laundry soap or detergent with water to clean a pontoon boat is a mistake. If you are seriously considering cleaning your boat, use the proper products.

  • Wrong Surface, Wrong Product

It’s important to know all of the materials in and on your pontoon boat. When it comes to cleaning, you need to know what types of materials you are dealing with.

You should also know the environment that your boat is around. For example, if you live close to the ocean, chances are, with the ocean and salt water, there’s salt in the area that can reach your boat.

Summer Pontoon Protection Checklist For 2018

With the anticipation of summer, I have prepared a little checklist for you all in case you need some help or are just looking for some helpful ideas. I’m going to call it Summer Pontoon Protection Checklist for 2018.

If you can follow the 4-Step process listed above and follow this checklist, your pontoon boat will be in great shape.

  • General Cleaning – Perform a general cleaning of the inside and outside of the pontoon boat.
  • Make sure all electrical outlets and batteries are functioning and working.
  • Inspect all gauges to ensure maximum operability.
  • Review oil and filters to make sure the pontoon is ready for maximum performance.
  • Check all essentials
    • Transmission Fluid, belts, cooling system, etc.
  • Make sure trailer is up-to-date on registration
  • Make sure pontoon is up-to-date on registration
  • Test all lights.
  • Inspect exterior and interior of pontoon for minor or major oxidation.
  • Reseal and add polymer protectant.
  • Purchase daily spray pontoon guard for each use.
  • Purchase quality boat cover designed to protect from UV damage.
  • Have fun!

Enjoy Your Pontoon This Season!

Overall, as a pontoon boat owners, it’s our responsibility to keep track and protect our baby. Your pontoon boat needs protection, like sunscreen, to play and function longer. If you don’t protect it, you risk things breaking down, resulting in a messy situation.

Trust me, this summer, that’s the last thing you want to deal with when you can be enjoying the summer rays on the ocean blue.

Overall, my hope is that with all the information and tips I shared with you in the article, you are properly prepared to protect your pontoon boat from the summer heat.

If you have any methods or ideas that I did not discuss above, feel free to drop a comment below and share with us! After all, we are a community of pontoon boaters!

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Patriotic Pontooning | Pontoon Depot July 4th, 2018

Patriotic Pontooning | Pontoon Depot July 4th, 2018

By: Boating Magazine

Image By: Hlwa.org

Some thoughts on pontoon boating over the Fourth of July.

If there is a category of boaters who are more patriotic than ‘tooners, I have yet to meet them.

At least “patriotic’ based on their displays of Old Glory and related red, white and blue hues.

I learned that the hard way, when my bride and I bought our first pontoon boat. The mid-winter purchase included the balance of the coming season’s membership in the local pontoon-only boat owners’ club where we found the FloteBote for sale. At that time, it was apparent that my wife and I were the youngest members of the modest, senior-dominated club, and the only couple with a toddler in tow, so we weren’t sure how we’d fit in. But we needed a place to dock the boat, since it didn’t have a trailer, and we decided to join – at least for the short term.

After spending the spring rebuilding the ‘toon from the deck up, we learned that the club’s summer social season kicked off each year with a gala July Fourth celebration on the club’s lakefront grounds. The festivities started with a parade of members’ boats, which were decorated and judged in several categories. As new members, we decide the best way to endear ourselves with our new friends, and show off our DIY rehab of the old Harris, was to enter the boat decorating contest.

We had recently organized a Hawaiian-themed party at home, and had lots of tacky Tiki decorations on hand, including bamboo torches, strings of colorful plastic leis, fake palm trees, grass table skirting, and grass skirt skirts. We figured our “Tiki ‘Toon” would steal the “most original” category – if not accolades for best decorated pontoon overall, and got to the docks early that July fourth to get the boat rigged for the occasion.

WHERE TO VIEW 4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS BY BOAT

Other than the questionable decision to mount open-flamed Tiki torches at each corner of a boat surrounded with dry grass skirting and plastic hibiscus flowers enveloping the Bimini top, the craft looked dandy and definitely South Pacific. In fact, we had a cassette of that musical’s tunes set to play as we paraded our boat past the judge’s dock. We were so busy with the preparations that we didn’t notice the themes fellow competitors in nearby slips were adopting for decorating their craft – nor the quizzical glances we were receiving from same.

We motored out and took our place in the formation line of two dozen pontoon boats and noticed that more than one had decided to adopt the patriotic theme of the day. Ahead and behind us were pontoons festooned in all many of red, white and blue, including one that looked like a giant Old Glory, another sprouting more than a hundred little stars & stripes in full flutter, and yet another flying patriotic banners streaming in the morning breeze. But we saw nothing that led us to believe we would win anything but ‘most original’ honors for our dandily decorated craft. We fired up the torches and cued the “Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy Talk” tune on the speakers and had little Ethan do a little belly dance on the bow, wearing a grass diaper with ukulele in hand. We figured the blank looks from the elderly judges was sheer awe of our unique Kon-tiki display, and as we returned to the dock we were sure we had the competition wrapped up and had won entry into the club’s inner circle of senior members.

As we walked to the clubhouse where members and their families and friends were gathering to hear the announcements of the parade winners and get the day’s festivities underway, one of the judges met us with a bewildered look on his face.

20 BEST PONTOON BOATS

“What was THAT all about!?,” he asked. “You guys looked like a flaming duck blind out there! Where are the flags? The banners? There wasn’t one patriotic thing about your boat, not one bit of red, white or blue. Didn’t you read the rules!?”

No we had not. Otherwise, we would have noted that the club’s annual theme – the ONLY acceptable theme – for decorating the boats for the Fourth of July Parade was a patriotic one. There were prize categories for Most Flags, Biggest Flag, Most Use of Red, White and Blue and Most Patriotic boat of all. No “Most Original” and certainly no accolades for anyone who would dare decorate their craft for the day in anything but red, white and blue.

We received a token “Honorable Mention” award some sympathetic soul created at the last minute and were given after the major awards were doled out, which we humbly accepted before slinking back to our boat.

Those events took place more than a decade ago, and despite the initial social setback we endured, we have re-upped our membership annually ever since. In that time, we have learned that many of our more senior fellow club members served in World War II and the Korean War and are proud members of the Greatest Generation. We are equally proud to join them and respect the patriotic theme of “our” boat club’s annual celebration.

 

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Women at the Helm | Pontoon Depot June 2018

Women at the Helm | Pontoon Depot June 2018

By: PdbMagazine

I recently read an article that said only 23 percent of women ever put themselves in the captain position on their own boat and only 12 percent of watercraft are registered to females. Can that be right?

I promise you I’m not an over-the-top feminist but this seems a little off to me. To be honest with you, my husband gets in my way on the water, probably because our agendas are different. He sees the lake as one big fishing hole, but after a tragic fish hook to the finger accident where I had to be taken to the Urgent Care Center because I refused to calm down, I would rather avoid the sport altogether. Plus after 30 minutes of being on the boat with him, he’s already interrupted me 31 times letting me know the part of fishing he enjoys the most is the silence. I can’t handle just sitting there—not doing anything, not moving and just being bored. So while we enjoy each other’s company for the most part, we don’t agree about time spent on the water. The point of this story is that I don’t depend on my man for stuff like this. Brace yourself for the motivational statement of the day: You don’t have to either.

Women Do Own Boats

So I set my sights on finding a woman who owned her own boat. I reached out to our Facebook fans and asked if women felt comfortable operating their boats. When Pam Thomas from Algonac, Mich., responded with, “I own my own Manitou. No man needed to operate it, but they are certainly welcome aboard to serve me cocktails and clean,” I knew I had to track her down.

Thomas shared some great thoughts with me on women in the boating industry.

“In this area many women do captain their own boats. If a woman likes to boat and can afford it, she should get one!” says Thomas. “It's just that simple. There's no reason why women should have to wait for an invitation to do what they love.”

The area she’s referring to is a canal in the Anchor Bay area of Lake St Clair. Thomas and her dog, Jazzy, boat around the Lake St. Clair Flats, the largest freshwater delta in the United States.

“I love the water, have been on or around it most of my life. Family members lived on lakes and had boats. As I got older, many friends had boats,” says Thomas. “When I was married we were avid boaters. After my marriage ended I bought my very own boat, a Yamaha Exciter jet boat.”

But when the jet boat was no longer appealing, Thomas set out to find her next boat. She knew she wanted a pontoon but wasn’t quite sure which would be the best.

“I like to be an informed consumer; I thoroughly researched all pontoon makers,” says Thomas. “I was looking for comfort on the water and the Manitou 22 Aurora VP met my needs.  My Manitou dealer, Bill Rose Marine, is right around the corner. Mark Santavy, my salesman, was very informative and made the purchase process easy.”

Part of the appeal for Thomas was Manitou's V-toon technology. It allows for a smooth, stable ride through the rough water from the weekend boat traffic. She went with a 150hp Evinrude E-TEC motor to give her the speed she desired.

“The deck layout is spacious, comfortable and great for entertaining,” says Thomas. “It's like having your living room on the water.”

I ended our conversation by asking Thomas what advice she would offer other women looking to be more comfortable behind the helm.

“First, take a Boaters Safety Course to learn the rules,” she replied. “Then you just have to do it! Get behind the helm; get comfortable with steering, maneuvering through traffic, and practice docking the boat.”

That’s great advice from someone who’s been there. 

Do Some Research

I ran across a book called It's Your Boat Too: A Woman's Guide to Greater Enjoyment on the Water by Suzanne Giesemann. While the book is written from more of a sailing aspect, Giesemann addresses common fears and self-limiting attitudes that apply across the nautical lineup. She clearly outlines how everything on a boat is gender-neutral with this great statement:

“There is nothing on a boat a man can do that a woman can’t. Well actually, I’m wrong. There is one thing. We can’t pee over the rail. But considering that doing so can easily lead to a man-overboard situation, I don’t recommend it for either sex. All other boating activities, however, are gender-neutral. Driving, docking, navigating, performing maintenance…you can do it all. You, too, can be an equal partner aboard your vessel.”

Make A Day Out Of It

Doesn’t a girl’s day sound like a blast? If you are one of those women who don’t feel as confident in the captain seat as you would like, keep your first outing small. Invite a few close friends that will be understanding of the learning curve. Depending on your locale, pack a picnic and take the ladies out for a day they won’t forget.

Practice Makes Perfect

I’ve found over the years that the best way to learn is to just immerse yourself. You will get better. It’s okay to be scared but you can’t let fear dictate your life. Take the boat out for a spin by yourself when someone you know is available close by to help out if need be. Ask questions when you’re out with someone who has more experience and be ready to take control. Even if you are comfortable with your current role, you may have to take over one day in the event of an emergency. If you are one of two people onboard and the other person loses consciousness, it becomes your responsibility to get to safety.

Now that you’ve read this whole story, I hope you don’t feel like I’m a man basher. That is exactly the opposite of what I was trying to accomplish. I want both sexes to feel like they are on an equal playing field on the water. Except for my husband, just because I’m sure he didn’t make it to the end. He probably got through the first paragraph, read the part about my horrific fishing accident, rolled his eyes and then turned the page. So I can freely tell you that I’m confident I have a better understanding of the technical aspect of boating. Yes, he’s rebuilt an outboard before but I can define “displacement.” And since there can only be one captain, I guess it’s me. Yay for being female.  

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Low-budget pontoons designed to maximize family fun

Low-budget pontoons designed to maximize family fun

By Lew Freedman, Chicago Tribune

The large necklace Cathy Santogrossi wore was a miniature neon sign. Much like a flashing sign that might be seen in Las Vegas, her few-inches-long advertisement grabbed the viewer's eye with rotating letters: "Boats = Fun."

Such a description may be true of all boats--and because her family business is Fox Valley Marine in Naperville, Santogrossi would tell you that--but it's possible that no boat is more fun for more people than a pontoon.

Large, stable, slow-moving, seemingly indestructible, pontoons really do live up to the cliche of "fun for the whole family." It is a curious quirk of nature and commerce that the best time to buy a boat is when the water is frozen. The annual Chicago Boat, RV & Outdoors Show takes place in January so it won't interfere with prime boating time and a purchase will be ready for delivery when there's actually water available.

Maybe it's because my knees are senior citizens, but I confess to a growing fascination with pontoons. Once it was easier to identify with cigarette boats (thank you, Don Johnson) and their high-speed capability. Now I'm partial to the Volkswagen of boats.

There were a variety of pontoon boats on display at the recent show at McCormick Place, but even though they barely register on the price chart next to the million-dollar yachts, they seem to be inching up in cost.

Still, when I compare the price of a pontoon with the cost of a new car, I don't feel badly about the potential investment.

"Women like the boats because they're safe and they're like a home on the water," Santogrossi said. "Women like something safe and enclosed. There is more interest. It's going up. These people just want fun on the water. They can bring Mom and Dad with."

I lump pontoons with VWs because of their general lack of glamor. But I compare them to Hummers for their sturdiness. Basic pontoon boats measure 18 feet. They grow a bit longer from there. All models are 8 1/2 feet wide. Most accommodate wheelchairs. They are high-sided and, depending on the motor (25 horsepower and up), usually travel at speeds of around 10 m.p.h., or slightly faster than Fred Flintstone can go with foot power. When the Pontoon Boat Racing Circuit is started, I want to know about it.

The price is $10,000 to $40,000. Try to buy a 2007 car for 10 grand.

It is no surprise that the young, single guy with a sports car is not the target customer for pontoons.

"The demographic for the pontoon boat is Grandpa and Grandma," said Wayne Libera, who operates Water Werks boat sellers in Country Club Hills and Naperville. "They want to take the grandkids fishing and riding. You're going out there and puttering around on the water. And young parents buy that pontoon boat for large families.

"It's real safe and an 18-footer will hold 10 people. But that's no boat you would want to put in Lake Michigan."

Libera said a solid pontoon can be found for lake and river use for $12,000. Whatever happened to the old $5,000 model?

"Five thousand dollars will buy you junk," he said.

Some pontoons come with individual fishing seats at front and back to complement couch-style seating in the middle. Others have couches all around.

Pontoons are for the low-budget buyers whose only connection to fancy yachts is admiring them in magazines. If they want to live it up, they pay extra for an on-board portable toilet, a changing enclosure or a canopy for weather protection.

Tom Tepe and his wife, Priscilla, of Oak Park are looking toward retirement next year. They were window-shopping at the show for a pontoon of about 20 feet long and a $16,000 to $22,000 hit to the pocketbook.

"He wants to fish all day," Priscilla said.

"Maybe twice a day," Tom said.

They do plan to take the grandchildren out and want four seats.

"But it would probably be the two of us most of the time," he said.

Brad Frystak of Great Lakes Yacht Sales said parents of very young children set up playpens and that pontoon boats are ideal for wheelchair boaters.

"They're floating living rooms," Frystak said.The market is seeing the first signs of the young single male pontoon buyer, he said, as long as modifications are made.

"Believe it or not," Frystak said, "they are buying these because they're becoming performance-oriented with 175-horsepower engines."

Somehow that seems like equipping a yellow school bus with a jet engine.

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