Island Hopper® Island Buddy Inflatable Water Platform & Dock!!
By: Island Hopper®
Island Buddy Inflatable Water Platform & Dock
The Island Buddy Water Swim Platform is a super buoyant, ridged, inflatable water platform. This swimming platform can be used in conjunction with your boat and inflated in minutes to make a patio area for sunbathing, swim play, wakeboard and tube launching, or any number of water activities.
The Island Buddy is the perfect portable size at 8’ x 6’ to be used by 4 to 6 people. Substantially holding over 1000 pounds without worry! Each platform has 11 side welded stainless steel d-rings to tie off and anchor securely. You can also fit multiple units together to make an extended platform in any number of configurations. On top are 8 web-loops for tying down your ice chests, lounge chairs, paddle boards, and water toys. Also available and sold separately is Island Hopper’s exclusive inflatable pillow.
Made from commercially rated 1500 denier drop stitch material and built with heat welded seams to top boating industry standards. Island Hopper offers our customers a commercial industry best 5 year “No Blow Out” limited warranty.
Perfect for boat side water play, lounging in chairs, or on beach towels. Can be paddled into place, similarly to a stand-up paddle board and set with an anchor. Used for sunbathing, swim play, wakeboard and tube launching, and boat docking. Comfortably holds 4 to 6 people and over 1000 lbs. of weight.
- Extremely rigid and buoyant commercial drop stitch construction with HEAT WELDED seams. Inflates in minutes on your boat, weighs only 30 lbs. and stows in a small 36” area. Easily secures to the side of any boat and can be stored on a bimini top, once inflated.
- Connect multiple units to make an extended platform configuration. Features 11 side welded stainless d-rings, 6 carry handles, and 8 top welded web-loops for secure anchoring and holding accessor.
- INCLUDES: Island Buddy Swim Dock, double action hand pump, stow straps, instruction manual, and repair patches. Optional accessories sold separately: Inflatable Pillow, soft entry ladder, and 15 PSI auto-set inflator.
- Built to last! Industry best 5 year “No Seam Blowout” limited warranty. 30-day money back satisfaction guarantee.
Island Hopper Island Buddy Video
For All Your Accessories and/or Vinyl Flooring Visit Pontoon- Depot's Shop Site.
- Amy Cabanas
- Tags: Boating Boating Safety Entertainment Family Pontoon Accessories pontoon boat summer Swimming tips
Mercury Makes News In Miami With The Loaded Harris!
The demo ride on the Grand Mariner began by uttering the common phrase, “Hey Siri,” and after asking the voice-controlled personal assistant to start the engines, the twin 300 V8s began to purr. How’s that for an advancement in technology! The simplified one integrated system made this Harris a popular choice for journalists during our weekend of testing. Technologies such as CZone digital control and monitoring truly simplify the operation of your pontoon. It gives you complete control of all electrical functions with the touch of a button. We were able to control the lights, stereo and other functions with ease. Plus CZone has a proven reputation for reliability with over 10 years of experience in marine installations.
Other key features on this Harris included Mercury’s VesselView, a multi-function display that has more information and data on boat and engine functions than you’re going to find anywhere else including rpm, speed, fuel flow and efficiency, temperature, trim and more. With direct integration into Mercury’s propulsion systems, VesselView has the ability to control the engine. Features such as trolling for fish, pulling tubers, adjusting skyhook, setting cruise control and others can be easily controlled from the VesselView screens. And if you’re not an expert, don’t worry. VesselView will make you feel like you’re one. And if that’s not enough, VesselView Mobile brings all that power to your mobile device as well as even more ways to stay connected.
MOB
Another new technology we were able to experiment with on this pontoon came from a partnership with FELL Marine, a leader in marine wireless technology. Mercury Marine co-develops exclusive wireless and IOT connected products that seamlessly integrate with Mercury’s SmartCraft suite of digital technology and CZone digital switching, to make boating easier, safer and more enjoyable than ever before.
Utilizing a wearable FOB, in the event of a Man-Over-Board (MOB) situation, the engines turn off and an alarm sounds. Emergency contacts can also be programmed to be contacted after a specific time that you set, and another safety feature we like is the lights on the boat start blinking “SOS” as an added precaution. If it was a passenger who fell over, the engines can be started immediately to return to the location that was automatically marked on the screen.
Assisted Docking
The assisted docking system that is based on aerospace control systems and autonomous-car artificial intelligence, was another exciting announcement Mercury announced prior to the Miami Boat Show. At Lake X, the system was demonstrated on a Boston Whaler 330 Outrage with twin Mercury Verados and Joystick Piloting for Outboards.
Mercury collaborated with Raymarine to incorporate Raymarine’s DockSense system, which uses vision technology to sense and identify potential obstacles on the boat’s course, providing feedback to the Mercury autonomous system to allow the JPO system to respond.
“We’re able to provide a product that makes it simple and easy to dock a boat without hitting anything,” added Pfeifer. “This will ultimately turn into an automatic-docking product.”
It’s the industry’s first intelligent object recognition and motion sensing assisted docking solution, and with DockSense, it continuously monitors the vessel’s surroundings, keeping the autonomous system updated with real-time detection of objects like pilings or another vessel.
As journalists, we each took a turn attempting to run into a nearby dock or seawall, and the system simply overrides you and won’t allow you to do it. As we were just idling and talking, we got within the preset radius of a dock, and the engines automatically revved up and kept us at a safe distance. When we were ready to dock, we simply pressed a button to turn off the sensor on one side and then used the Joystick to perfectly line us up.
The DockSense system includes multiple FLIR machine vision cameras, a central processing module and the DockSense app running on Raymarine’s Axiom navigation display. It’s still being developed, but it does bring some excitement to what we can expect in the future.
For all your accessories and/or vinyl flooring visit Pontoon Depot's shop site.
- Amy Cabanas
- Tags: Boating Entertainment Lakes Pontoon Accessories pontoon boat tips
If You’re Wondering What The Benefits of Owning a Pontoon Are...
By: Pontoon-Depot, Amy Cabanas
...look no further!
Here are the top five reasons:
- PLENTY OF STORAGE
Pontoon boats are more spacious than speed boats or other motorized boats, so there’s more places for storage. Typically, pontoon boats have plenty of space under seats and floors for extra blankets, food, water, life jackets and water toys. In addition, pontoon boats usually seat more people than a traditional boat, typically big enough to fit more than 10 people comfortably.
- EASY FOR BEGINNERS AND FAMILIES
In addition to having more space for families, pontoons are perfect for beginning boaters. They’re easy to drive and simple to dock because of the shape and speed of the boat. Because of their size, pontoon boats are also safe, because they are difficult to flip or tip.
- LONGER LIFESPAN
Pontoon boats have a longer lifespan than motorized boats for a couple reasons. In addition to being easier to maintain, pontoon boats generally don’t change much over time. This means, there’s not a reason to update every few years. They are also typically less expensive to insure, because they are considered a very safe style of boat.
- PLENTY OF CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS
There may not be a reason to update to a new pontoon boat over time, but there are still plenty of ways to customize your boat to make it your own. You can add LED lights, speakers, additional seating and even toys such as inflatable water slides or tubes! The possibilities are endless.
- PERFECT FOR EVERYTHING
Regardless if you’re planning to use your new boat for fishing or entertaining, pontoon boats are very versatile. The right kind of pontoon boat can even be used to pull inner tubes or other floaties!
Are you ready to start researching DIY projects on your pre-owned Pontoon boat? Contact our Pontoon-Depot team today for your flooring and boating accessories options to get started!
For all your accessories and/or vinyl flooring visit Pontoon Depot's shop site.
- Amy Cabanas
- Tags: Boating DIY DIY Boat maintenance Pontoon Accessories pontoon boat tips
Do These 4 Things Now To Help Ensure a Summer of Safe Boating
By: Pdbmagazine.com
Boatyards, marinas and clubs are waking up after a long winter’s nap, and boaters have begun preparing their vessels for the season. While the boat needs to be looked at and readied for a summer of fun, so does your safety. The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water says that doing these four free or low-cost things now will help ensure a summer of safe boating.
1. Get a free Vessel Safety Check: Where else can you ask a professional to go over your boat to ensure it’s safe and has all the required safety equipment? And if the boat is not up to snuff, you won’t be penalized in any way and will instead get some welcome, friendly advice on how to improve. That’s what a Vessel Safety Check does, so schedule a Vessel Safety Check now. Offered by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the U.S. Power Squadrons, Vessel Safety Checks are completely free, and you may be surprised by what they find.
2. Register your DSC-VHF Radio to get your MMSI number: Digital Selective Calling (DSC) VHF radios can greatly reduce rescuer response times – but only if you have taken the time to register the radio and request your vessels’ unique Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number. If it’s not registered, or still registered to the prior boat owner, you’re not helping yourself and could likely waste valuable response time in an emergency. BoatUS offers DSC VHF radio registration to the public for $25 or free to BoatUS members.
3. Inspect and prep your life jackets: Inflatable life jackets need to be opened up every season to ensure they are in good shape. Regular (noninflatable) life jackets need to be brought out of hiding, inspected, and placed in locations aboard the boat that make it very easy for passengers to access. Life jackets are no good (and not legal) if they are buried at the bottom of a storage compartment and not “readily available.”
4. Take a free boating safety course: The numbers don’t lie. The U.S. Coast Guard reports that 81 percent of boating fatalities occurred on boats where the operator did not receive boating safety instruction. Recognize the upshot of these statistics and get instruction now at BoatUS.org/Free. The free online BoatUS Foundation state boating safety course easily fits into busy schedules, allowing course takers to stop at any time and pick up again later where they left off. It could also earn your state’s boating safety certification. BoatUS membership is not required.