News — pontoon boat

Navigational Lighting 101

You might as well accept the fact that if you like to spend long days on your boat, you’ll eventually stay out a little too late and find yourself making your way back to the dock in total darkness. Not only can this be a scary situation if you do not the correct lights but navigational lighting is the law and from sunset to sunrise navigational lighting must be in good working order and in use.

The U.S. Coast Guard has very specific guidelines on navigation lighting. It depends on the length of your vessel, its overall use, and other various factors. But for the sake of brevity here are the requirements for recreational boating in vessels under 39 feet in length:

1. Masthead Light: a white light placed over the fore and aft centerline of the vessel
2. Side Lights: a green light on the starboard side and a red light on the port side
3. Stern Light: a white light placed as nearly as practicable at the stern

Rule 20(b) The Rules concerning lights shall be complied with from sunset to sunrise, and during such times no other lights shall be exhibited, except such lights which cannot be mistaken for the lights specified in these rules or do not impair their visibility or distinctive character, or interfere with the keeping of a proper look-out.

Here at Pontoon-Depot.com we carry a full line of the required navigational lights to keep your Pontoon Boat looking good and keep you safe and ticket free. See our complete lighting section here.

If you want to know more about your state's boating laws and how they specifically can affect you, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators offers a reference guide. Visit the U.S. Coast Guard State Boating Laws page to view the various laws and requirements here: http://www.uscgboating.org/regulations/state-boating-laws.php

3 Quick Tips for Choosing to Refurbish a Pontoon Boat

When considering whether or not to buy a new pontoon boat, a used pontoon boat, or maybe you want to refurbish your own pontoon boat, here are some things to consider while you are weighing your options. It’s important to keep in mind that for $1500 to $2500 the deck, furniture and carpeting can all be replaced with high-quality pontoon seating, marine plywood, and new marine vinyl flooring. So maybe something that looks fairly rough is actually a diamond in the rough.

At Pontoon-Depot.com we sell high quality pontoon boat furniture and pontoon boat accessories and we even offer discount kits which group furniture kits with MariDeck - an exterior grade vinyl pontoon flooring, so designing your new boat layout has never been easier.

With all that said, here are our top 3 tips when deciding whether to either refurbish an older pontoon boat or throw in the towel and start over.

1. Check the pontoon tubes. While fiberglass pontoons may look cool, they are problematic and expensive to repair. Aluminum pontoon tubes we feel are the best. Check each tube for any possible punctures not only on the exterior but also under the pontoons deck as well. Check the overall strength, the tubes can get a lot of bumps and abuse with docking and trailering. Check accordingly.

2. Check the pontoon boat’s railing and trim pieces. Custom aluminum pieces, railing and side trim are nearly impossible to match so plan on replacing them if they look bad or look for another pontoon boat if any of those things cannot be repaired easily.

3. Check the motor. Have the motor checked with a qualified professional for a proper assessment of its condition. Something to keep in mind older motors can be costly to maintain and locating parts may prove to be difficult.

For more information on buying used Pontoon boats visit Pontoon and Deck Boat Magazine - http://www.pdbmagazine.com/