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The Pontoon Boat Bar: How to Make Your Boat Party Dreams Come True!

By: BetterBoat

Who doesn’t love being the life of the party?

Well, when you’re hosting a party on your pontoon, the ‘toon itself might steal the stage.

Especially if it’s a got a built-in wet bar.

Sure, you can install one later, but if you’re considering a new pontoon purchase, you might as well look for a ‘toon with this popular feature included.

It seems like an added luxury that you don’t really need, but entertaining friends and family are what days on the water are all about. And what better space to gather around than a built-in wet bar on your pontoon deck?

Whether you’d prefer to perch on a stool or lean back on a bench, pontoon boat bars can create a social atmosphere for cocktail-mixing adults, as well as contained areas for children to eat.

The Pontoon Boat Bar: How to Make Your Boat Party Dreams Come True

There are several varieties of pontoon bar types available.

I mean, if you’ve ever attended a boat show, you’ll notice the sheer variety in pontoon boat bar styles.

Some have a simple galley where you can store a few liters, whereas others might be full-blown, high-top counters with sinks and stools.

Add-on Bars

Okay, let’s say you already own your own pontoon and are looking to upgrade it a bit with a new bar.

Luckily, there are always attachable Docktail bars and accessories if you just need something smaller-scale or temporary.

For example, they’ve got a handy utility table (check price on Amazon) if you need to add counter space.

And, from Boat Outfitters, here’s another add-on bar option (check price on Amazon) that can be installed right on your boat’s deck.

Then, you can look for the additional appliances that complete the whole pontoon boat bar, like a mini-fridge and portable ice maker.

If you’re looking to buy a new (or just new-to-you) boat, then you can seek out a model with all of the good integrated.

We’ll help you with that now. Before giving you a list of boat models that carry bars, here’s a list of common styles you might come across while you’re checking out the market.

Bar Tops

You can find a variety of boats with basic, bar-height seating arrangements without putting out much for optional upgrades.

A lot of boats will have this as part of the entire package, just without the sink.

I find bar tops are useful for everyone, even if you’re more of a quiet boater and not an entertainer. They give you a nice place to sit and eat lunch. Don’t need all the appliances of a home kitchen and only want to pack a cooler? Not problem.

Built-in Wet Bars

A wet bar is a bar with a sink (at least). You may also come across wet bars with fridges and occasionally grills. Of course, a grill is easy enough to add yourself.

On some pontoons, you may find both a built-in wet bar on one side and a galley on the other. This combination can be quite nice, as it provides maximum counter space and cabinet storage space.

With a setup like this, you don’t have to get creative with your boat storage ideas.

Galleys

Galley kitchens inside our homes are designed as maybe one or two walls where all the cabinets and appliances are hooked up.

Since a pontoon has minimal space for these kitchen accessories, you’ll typically see galleys lined up along either the port or starboard railing.

You can find pontoon bar galleys with many amenities including mounted stoves. On the other hand, you can also find them very minimal with only counter space and a bit of cabinetry to store items. In the latter case, the galley is paired with another standing bar feature.

One thing to mention: Keep in mind that none of these bar tops are adequate for preparing fish. If that’s something anglers are looking for, many pontoon manufacturers carry pontoon models offering an optional fish station.

6 Pontoon Boats with Enviable Bars for Entertaining

Whether it’s cocktails or appetizers you’re after, here are a few boat models with bars in the layout.

To find out what type of pontoon bar is suitable for you and your family, think about how you entertain in your own home.

Do you typically sit gathered around a table? Or are you too active and prefer to stand to eat and run?

1. Bennington

• Bar Type: Portside Bar (Optional Starboard Galley)

• Seating: Standard Height Chairs

Bennington’s G22 Bar and Galley Pontoon Boats have very nice touches like under lighting at the bar and cup holders for those moonlight cruises. Although you won’t find the sink at the galley side, you’ll find it in front of the bar.

The bar does not have stools, per se. Instead, it has reclining swivel chairs, which to me is much more luxurious.

The starboard galley is optional. With the sink in front of the bar, if you feel you need the counter space and storage beneath to hide away all the plastic tumblers and plates your heart desires, I’d suggest adding the galley. Again, Bennington adds nice touches like stainless railings.

2. Veranda

• Bar Type: Bar Top
• Seating: 2 Club Chairs

Also called the Vertex Bar Series, standard features of this series include lighted drink holder, a tilt-out trash can and a fiberglass bar with deluxe seating.

It only consists of a bar top, not the whole shebang wet bar or even a galley area. But if you never intend to mix cocktails and need a prep station for snacks, this might be just all that you need.

Keeping it simple by preparing lunch ahead of time is how most ‘tooners think. And the more counters you have, the more you’ll need to clean up at the end of the day. For some of us, this is plenty of space for entertaining.

Veranda 2016 Relax Bar Series

• Bar Type: Bar Top

• Seating: 2 Swivel Seats

Veranda’s Relax Series Bar differs from the Vertex Bar in one major way. It has a non-skid vinyl bar top instead of fiberglass. But that’s just the bar feature.

The Veranda Relax Series is an entirely different model entirely. Their floor plans are very similar, but the Relax series has more optional upgrades.

3. Sylvan Mandalay 8525 Bar

• Bar Type: Aft Bar and Port Galley
• Seating: 2 Stools

Sylvan’s bar is located in the aft, which is a bit unusual placement by pontoon bar standards.

The most impressive part, in my opinion, is the pop-up glass and plate holder, located on the back of the bar’s top. It was a smartly-planned use of what could have been wasted space behind the bar.

Other features include a faux granite countertop, a sink (which I find to be larger than average for these bars) and a pull-out drawer where a cooler is stored beneath.

The portside galley adds a bit more counter space for preparing drinks. With this galley, you have the option of adding a small fridge. In addition to the bar, located on the starboard side are two bucket seats with a built-in insulated cooler between them.

4. Godfrey SanSpan 2500 WetBar

• Bar Type: Wet Bar
• Seating: 2 Barstools

If you love to entertain guests and prepare fresh meals right from your pontoon, this bar area feels more like your own personal kitchen space.

Visually separated by the bar and optional flooring change, if you’re looking for a lot of counter space to spread out for a burger-building station—this is your pontoon!

Aside from the overall space, it has most bells and whistles other pontoon bars incorporate like cup holder lighting and stainless steel rails (to keep that drink from sliding off).

5. Avalon Pontoons 2018 Ambassador Entertainer

• Bar Type: Wet Bar and Port and Starboard Galley
• Seating: Booth Benches

Avalon’s Ambassador Entertainer Bar will make your jaw drop. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing but nothing was spared in this fully-equipped galley and wet bar combo.

Corian-like counter surface with an electric refrigerator, a built-in sink with stainless faucet. There are even hidden cold-storage compartments. Avalon really utilized every square inch of volume in this bar. Not much empty space to speak of.

You can cook your meals at the aft prep center and take your plate to an illuminated bistro table. On the bistro table is a curved stainless double wine bottle holder, but the coolest thing—a hidden wine rack beneath them that raises with only the push of a button.

6. Manitou SES Series

SES Bar

•  Bar Type: Bar Top
• Seating: 4 Bar Stools

Manitou’s SES Bar has no galley sink or extra counter space. It only comes with the bar top and four adjustable height bar stools.

The main difference the SES Bar has from the Entertainer is a lounge bench placed starboard where the galley or wet bar would normally go. If you plan to store your food and drinks in a personal cooler, no big deal. But something to consider.

SES Galley

• Bar Type: Galley

• Seating: Booth Benches

This galley is pretty decked out. A built-in grill for flipping burgers, a refrigerator to keep your drinks cool and a sink to wash up.

The only difference the SES Galley has—compared to the SES Entertainer and SES Bar—is bench seating.

Without a bar top, it will feel like the equivalent of taking your drinks into the living room, except there’s not even a cocktail table. If you feel the need for some sort of flat surface to eat on, this may not be the bar boat for you.

However, I do like the open space it provides without the table. And bench seating is more family friendly, allowing children to cozy up without having to be lifted up to a bar stool. If you allow pets on seats, they can jump up freely too.

SES Entertainer

• Bar Type: Bar Top and Galley

• Seating: 2 Bar Stools and 1 Bench Lounger

The Entertainer is the most bar space you can get from Manitou Pontoons. Like the SES Bar and SES Galley, it has both a bar table and extra counter space.

The SES Bar’s lounger is replaced with the wet bar including a sink, mountable grill and refrigerator below.

The seating consists of a pair of height-adjustable stools on one side of the bar top, and a bench on the other. One nice feature I absolutely love it is that the bench converts into a sun lounger.

This list is by no means the entire world of pontoon boat bars on the market. And of course, there are more pontoon models designed every year.

If you don’t see exactly what you like, talk to your favorite manufacturer about having it custom made. It’s important to find a pontoon fitting your particular needs.

Once you’re set up, entertaining on the lake can be a lot of fun.

Of course, with a bar on board, just remember that it’s important to drink responsibly (yes, even if you’re not the captain).

Heavy drinking to the point of getting plastered can result in falling overboard and creating an emergency situation. Being alert when on the water can mean life or death.

Have fun entertaining, but be safe on the water!

For all your accessories and/or vinyl flooring visit Pontoon Depot's shop site.

How To Launch A Pontoon Boat The Right Way | Pontoon-Depot

By: Manitou Pontoon Boats

Launching a boat is something every boater needs to do in order to enjoy a day on the water. As such, everyone owes it to everyone else to know how to do it right and do it quickly. Every second spent dawdling at the launching ramp not only cuts into your day, but into everyone else’s day as well.

Once you get to the launching ramp, it’s too late to cram for your real-life test. By preparing in advance and knowing what to do when, you’ll be able to efficiently launch your boat free of angry horns and shouts from other boaters.

BEFORE YOU REACH THE LAUNCHING RAMP

Prepare your boat before you approach the ramp. This ensures when it’s your turn, you’re ready to go without any delay.

• Load your safety equipment, mooring lines, and other gear into the boat.
• Unhook and stow the transom straps.
• Disconnect any incandescent light-bulb plugs.
• Gather your mooring line and fenders, making them ready to use.
• Make sure your drain plug, if your boat has one, is in place.

WHILE ON THE LAUNCHING RAMP 

You’ve waited your turn, and ideally everyone in front of you followed all the same steps you’re following, continuing a friendly and efficient day of boat launching. Now, prepare yourself to get your boat into the water.

• Get a spotter. Move all kids and onlookers from the ramp area and put a spotter out there. Launching is easier with one person driving and another directing.
• Situate your vehicle and boat. Line up your vehicle and trailer as straight as possible, about the length of a trailer away from the water.
• Back into the water. Slowly back your trailer down the ramp, only making small, fine-tuned steers. If you need to straighten the trailer, driving forward a bit can be a big help. When the stern begins floating in the water, stop.
• Secure your vehicle. Set the parking brake. If you have an excessively large boat, chock the wheels on your vehicle.

GETTING IN THE WATER

At this point, you’re ready to get your boat off the trailer and into the water.

• Unhook the boat. Disconnect the winch strap and safety chain from the trailer. Next, back the boat away from the trailer. When the water is just above the wheels of the trailer, you’re ready for the next step.

• Launch the boat. Start your boat’s engine. Important: make sure the engine is in the water before you crank it. Shift into reverse and gently back up. All Manitou boats have to be powered with the engine into the water off the trailer—you can’t float it back by hand. If, after applying gentle power, your boat doesn’t move, you probably need to back up farther.

SECURING THE BOAT

Now that you’re in the water, tie your mooring lines to the dock. Make sure all your passengers and supplies are nearby and ready to board. By getting everyone and everything on the boat quickly, you show courtesy to other boaters and help keep the launching ramp free of holdups.

While your other passengers are boarding, park your vehicle nearby and make your way back to the boat without delay. Join your family and friends on the boat, untie the mooring lines and off you go.

For all your accessories and/or vinyl flooring visit Pontoon Depot's shop site.

How to Enjoy A Pontoon Boat Experience | Pontoon-Depot

By: Amy Cabanas - Pontoon-Depot

Pic By: TurboSwing

What we’ve learned this past year! 

Welcome to the intersection of imagination and inspiration! Boaters with discriminating taste and a penchant for performance love pontoons. There is a certain sense of serenity that comes with a trip out on the water on a pontoon boat. It can be any body of water and does not necessarily have to be an actual tropical paradise. The smooth ride will have you sitting back and enjoying the day. That kind of experience can make any body of water a welcomed sanctuary. 

The setup of a pontoon boat allows guests to sit back and have a cocktail while enjoying some pleasant conversation. There is no need to speak over the buzzing hum of an engine and no need to worry about choppy seas. The stability of a pontoon boat can give all passengers their very own pair of sea legs. 

There is always the option to throw a line in the water and catch an afternoon meal. Fishing can be done while you kick back and relax underneath the sun. Pontoon boats also offer plenty of shade, which allows passengers to stay cool on a hot summer day. 

But cool is a constant theme when it comes to pontoon boats. Style combined with comfort makes for a truly unique boating experience. There is even plenty of room on a pontoon boat to do some grilling. That kind of functionality provides everything that is needed for a day of leisure. 

Pontoons, as well as tri-toons use cylindrical, metal flotation devices or tubes that keep afloat a broad platform. Pontoons uses 2 tubes and Tri-toons use 3 tubes, this allows a shallow draft and good stability on the water. This type of boat is used primarily used for fishing and cruising inland lakes as well as water sports and as a water borne camper. Pontoons are powered by an outboard engine, stern drive, or an electric motor. 

Pontoon boats have evolved beyond just a form of recreation and transportation. They have evolved into representing a lifestyle, one that provides relaxing days on the water, free of worry and stress. The soft feel of woven vinyl on your feet sold by Pontoon Depot offers top notch quality and will go perfectly with your wrap around comfortable teardrop bench seats, recessed cup holders, and smart design. Let Pontoon-Depot not only show you the way to a better flooring option for your boat but add all the cool accessories that will not disappoint once you and your family get out on the water. 

Let’s enjoy life on a Pontoon Boat, everyone else is doing it!

For all your accessories and/or vinyl flooring visit Pontoon Depot's shop site.

How to Remove Carpet and Glue from a Pontoon Boat the Easy Way!

By: PontoonPedia.com

One of the more common projects undertaken by pontooners is removing the old carpet. Perhaps you want to replace it with a new carpet, or want to switch it out, either way, it’s tough job and can be very labor-intensive, not to mention the annoying glue residue and marks that can be left on the deck.

The reason I decided to write this guide on removing carpet from a pontoon boat, as well as the actual glue (which can cause massive issues) is because I received a few questions over the last few months, including:

“Hi Bill, what can I use to get the carpet glue to come loose from the wooden floor of my pontoon deck? Some of the carpet won’t come up and is stuck on fast.”

“Do you have any tricks or tips for getting the old carpet and glue off my pontoon? I’ve taken everything completely off the deck and am struggling to get the carpet removed”

“What is the best way to remove old glued on original carpeting from a pontoon boat? I am completely re-doing my 1996 Crest II and I am already worried about this part of the project.”

“I have 1999 party barge with an aluminum floor. How to remove boat carpet from the aluminum floor is my challenge. The carpet is pretty bad.”

With those questions in mind, I am going to address removing glue and carpet from a wooden pontoon floor, and an aluminum floor, so read on to find out how you do it, what you need, hacks and tips, and also advice from other pontooners that I trust.

I use a craft knife or Stanley knife to do this, which I assume you will already have in your tool box. Press the blade into the carpet and start to draw lines up and down the carpet to create the strips that you are going to pull up.

This will be so much easier than trying to pull up the carpet in one go and will also mean it’s easier to get the carpet off the deck, and in theory should lead to less ripping which can leave nasty glue marks on the floor.

What Tools You Will Need
Gloves to stop blisters
Stanley knife or craft knife
Vibrating multitool with oscillating blade
Random orbit sander tool
Goo Gone adhesive glue remover
Heat gun tool
How to Remove Carpet from a Pontoon

Step 1: Cut the Pontoon Carpet into Smaller Strips

To prepare for the removal, firstly cut the rug and carpet up into 6 to 8-inch strips. This will mean it will be far easier to pull up, even if stuck on fast with glue.

Step 2: Pull the Carpet Strips Up

You now need to pull the carpet up, and with my boat I used my knife to get a little leverage under each strip before pulling up slowly. I do advise you pull as slowly as you can, as this will help you to reduce the amount of ripped carpet and fibres that can remain on the deck floor – but you are going to get some remaining, it’s just a fact of life unfortunately.

Please Use a Carpet Scraper Tool
If the carpet strips are still really hard to get up and are stuck on fast, then there is a tool solution which I recommend you use. It’s a vibrating multitool with a scraper blade like this one that you can buy on Amazon.

I use the Rockwell product and swear by it. If you have cut the carpet into strips, then you can use this tool to get underneath a section and then work through the whole of the deck until you have all the carpet removed.

How to Remove Carpet Glue from Your Pontoon
Now to removing the carpet glue and left-over pieces of fiber and carpet that will invariably still be there.

It’s important here to recognise that there are two methods here. You can combine the two, but I am going to start off with my preferred method and why.

Method 1: Use a Floor Sander Tool
To get the remaining glue and torn carpet off the pontoon deck floor, you should use a tool. It will dramatically cut down the effort in time you are going to be spending when compared to a more manual approach which I will come onto in method two.

There are industrial level type tools that will do the job very quickly, but they cost 100s of dollars, although it is possible to rent them.

If instead, you want to do things for yourself cheaply, then I would recommend a floor sander tool. There is one that I recommend and used on my own project which is the Bosch Random Orbit Sander on Amazon – the Bosch brand is great, trust me.

In fact, you could use this floor sander to even remove the whole carpet rather than cutting strips into it using a knife. I imagine that if you use a 30-grit head straight onto the carpet that could work quite well, and then switch over to a 100 to 120 grit head to remove anything left over and leave a smoother finish.

Method 2: Use an Adhesive Glue Remover
If you don’t get the desired results, then you could complement the above method with an adhesive glue remover.

But, before you consider this, let me make things very clear: many of these types of products will soak into the wood, and prevent glue from sticking when you come to putting down new flooring.

You will need to make sure that everything dries out completely before you even consider putting down and gluing new carpet to the deck. If you don’t let it dry, then any new glue probably won’t stick properly – so make sure your wood floor is dry and smooth before laying new carpet on top.

So what product should you use?

It needs to be solvent-based product or you’re probably not going to get all the old remaining glue up. If you pick other solvent-based adhesives that are not meant for marine carpet you will destroy the back of any new carpet you are planning on using.

My choice here would be to buy a couple of bottles of Goo Gone Pro-Power.

You are going to need that much in order to get rid of any stubborn glue marks on your pontoon floor. There’s a YouTube video below which gives a very brief overview on how to do this part.

How to Remove Boat Carpet from Aluminum
Removing boat carpet from aluminum is infinitely easier than doing it from wood so I am not going to do a stepped approach here, as all you need to do is follow the guide above.

It’s essentially the same steps, but you might be able to pull all the carpet off in one piece so try that first before you go to the trouble of cutting strips into the carpet.

You can then use a good sharp scraper and heat gun (here’s one on Amazon). Heat up the carpet, and then start to lift off by hand and with the help of a scraper.

Once you have lifted up as much of the carpet as you can, use a sander or grinder to get rid of any patches of glue. Sand the entire deck area for a smooth surface.

As with wooden flooring, some small fiber pieces could still remain. But just take a while with your grinder or sander and you will soon be able to get it clean and smooth.

Useful FAQs & Potential Issues
Whilst the methods outlined above will work the majority of the time when removing the glue and carpet from your deck, there might be some curve balls you need to be aware of. I have tried to answer those below.

Not Happy with How the Wood Looks or New Glue Not Sticking?
Despite your best efforts, some of the advice given in this guide to removing carpet from a pontoon boat might still leave you with wooden decking that you don’t like the look of.

It also might not give you a smooth surface to work with for the new carpet and glue, or you might find the glue doesn’t stick as well as you want. You have a number of options available to you.

Other boat owners I know have unfastened the old wood and flipped the deck over to use the underside for the top. It gave them a much smoother surface to work with. This was a larger project obviously and did mean that he had to relocate some drill holes and do some re-wiring, but for him it worked well.

For the best results, I would recommend buying new wood as you can never truly completely dry wood out. If you remove the old wood, and install new wood, your carpet or vinyl will stay down longer. Older wood can retain moisture which will possibly affect how well the new glue works.

Another consideration is that if you are laying vinyl down onto existing wood where you have stripped carpet and glue off, then vinyl can show up any imperfections. Which is another good reason for replacing the wood completely.

What If You Have Flat-Headed Through Bolts?
Some pontoon boat carpet will have flat-headed through bolts which secure the carpet to the deck. These can be very hard to get out, but you can do it.

There’s a great online guide which I recommend you take a look at which will give you a stepped process on how to remove flat-headed screws and bolts. You can read that on the Craftsman Blog.

What Products Not to Use to Remove Carpet Glue
Whilst looking into this topic, I hopped onto a lot of boating forums to see what other owners are recommending for removing glue from their deck. One tip that commonly popped up was to use something called MEK (also known as methyl ethyl ketone and butanone).

It will work, but it’s an extremely hazardous cancer-causing agent. I would never use that on a pontoon boat as it will soak into the wood and you will never get it out. My kids will never sit there if it had been used.

So, if you do hear or read this advice online, please ignore it completely!

Comments from Boat Owners
To supplement this pontoon carpet removal guide, I also spoke to other boat owners to see how their experience went after taking my advice, or with previous projects that they have done. Here’s a selection of those comments.

“I don’t know how we got so lucky, but our glue was pretty much gone. The carpet pulled right up really quick like you said it would. But I think the previous owner had used a water-based glue, so it was gone with no need to remove it. We just replaced our carpet and it looks great. The worst part for us was taking everything apart and unwiring.”

“I have a red neck solution to removing your carpet which I used last year. Get a section loose and lifted up, hook it into a tow rope, and the pull it clearly off with your truck, but make sure you go slowly! It left loads of rips, and next time I will be using your guide.”

“To remove carpet glue, I’ve used denatured alcohol which worked okay after sitting for a few minutes, then tried carb cleaner which worked a little better. I then I tried a heat gun (on a dry separate area of course) and that seemed to work the best, but certainly not as well as the guide above.”

“I genuinely recommend that people just remove the plywood and start over with new wooden flooring. If you change the decking you won’t regret it for the money, but it is a larger job admittedly”

“I’ve done it also. The floor sander is the only way to go. It will do a good job. But definitely wear gloves as you can get terrible blisters after an hour or so of working on the carpet removal.”

I use a very different approach to pulling the carpet up. All you do is fit a paddle attachment to the end of your drill, get one of the edges of the carpet up, and then try to get a piece of the carpet caught up in the drill bit before pulling up.”

Conclusion
I hope this guide has helped you in cleaning up and removing the glue and carpet from the floor of your pontoon boat. As with all guides on Pontoonopedia, I welcome any feedback from other boat owners who might disagree, want to contribute, or just say thanks. You can do that via the usual channels.

For all your accessories and/or vinyl flooring visit Pontoon Depot's shop site.