Althought it is true will any boat, a pontoon boat can easily become solid
waste/scrap aluminum if you don't take care of them. Perhaps a large
percentage end up in recycling yards when the furniture goes to hell
or the hulls start pitting. If you are using a pontoon in salt water
you need bottom (or whole pontoon) paint.

I see. This probably explains the reason why there are very few ads
for used pontoon boats (most of the small number of ads for pontoon
boats are for new boats). Thanks.

Then I have one question:
Does this also mean that rusty pontoons are very difficult to fix?
Therefore, people don't even bother to fix them. I am under the
impression that fiberglass boats have other sets of problem too, and
probably also be difficult to fix. I don't know. I am just very
puzzled.

Jay Chan

"Jay Chan" wrote in message
om...
Althought it is true will any boat, a pontoon boat can easily become
solid
waste/scrap aluminum if you don't take care of them. Perhaps a large
percentage end up in recycling yards when the furniture goes to hell
or the hulls start pitting. If you are using a pontoon in salt water
you need bottom (or whole pontoon) paint.

I see. This probably explains the reason why there are very few ads
for used pontoon boats (most of the small number of ads for pontoon
boats are for new boats). Thanks.

Then I have one question:
Does this also mean that rusty pontoons are very difficult to fix?
Therefore, people don't even bother to fix them. I am under the
impression that fiberglass boats have other sets of problem too, and
probably also be difficult to fix. I don't know. I am just very
puzzled.

Jay Chan

All boats need maintenance. I know people in the Adirondacks (fresh water)
who've had pontoon boats for many years, and I hear no unusual complaints
from them. The "problems" you mention are nothing more than normal wear and
tear (assuming you don't run the pontoons into a rock).

Personally, I would never have a pontoon boat if I were going to spend any
time on the ocean. I know people who won't use theirs even on inland lakes
when the water gets rowdy at certain times of the day. I suppose it all
depends on your purpose in owning a boat. If you're a hard core fisherman
who'll go out fishing even when the weather is making most people hurl their
lunch, you'll want a real boat, not a floating playroom.

Personally, I would never have a pontoon boat if I were going to spend any
time on the ocean. I know people who won't use theirs even on inland lakes
when the water gets rowdy

I am not on the ocean, I'm on the Gulf but I still stay in the back bay most of
the time. Pontoons are different than a regular boat. They get "wet" a long
time before they will pound you. Things get exciting about the time that the
deck starts going under in a swell and you see blue water over the deck. Prior
to that they are pretty smooth but a lot of water is coming over the top as you
clip the tops of the waves. In a small chop it is a lot better ride than you
get out of a monohull, just wet.
One thing about them, a capsized pontoon boat is still a pontoon boat!
With 6 to 10 separate chambers on the logs, they are pretty hard to sink.
All that said they are still an "inshore" boat, in spite of the fact that you
see plenty of them 8-10 miles offshore here in the gulf. YMMV in the "ocean" or
even places like the Chesapeake bay.

Actually, the aluminum in the pontoons holds up pretty well to sal****er
although I would never advocate permanently mooring one in sal****er, MUCH
better to trailer them.

Also, you can not use "normal" bottom paint on a pontoon boat (or any other
metal boat for that matter. Galvanic corrosion occurs between the aluminum
and the copper in the anti-fouling bottom paint unless there is an epoxy
barrier put between them. There are problems with epoxy barrier coats too,
but I won't go into that here.

Pontoon boats are some of the lowest maintenance boats I've ever used. I
helped a friend re-furbish his 'toon boat last year. It's 23 years old. All
of the leaks in the pontoons were a result of poor design, not corrosion
(pitting). The welder did have problems trying to weld the old aluminum and
there were a few pinholes in the welds. I did some research for my friend
and found a product called "Aluminox", it's a 2 part epoxy putty made just
for old aluminum. My friend used this epoxy to plug the pinholes in the
welds and the weak parts of the pontoons were re-enforced. We put a new
marine plywood deck on and modified a few things to customize it for his
needs/wants. He now has a very solid 'toon boat that should be good for
another 20 years.

As to your original question about why there aren't more ads for used ones.
Personally, I attribute it to this, seldom do I talk to a pontoon boat owner
where the pontoon boat was his first boat. The stories I hear are much like
my own. I started out at 16 with a 16' jon boat, moved to a 18' center
console, then to a 25' cuddy, now I have a 31' flybridge sportfishing boat.
This is not mentioning that I've owned up to 5 boats at a time. Now I'm to
the point where I'm getting to old to keep the sportfishing boat up. I just
want something for the wife and I to putter around the intercoastal in and
occasional drowned a few shrimp trying to catch fish. Pontoon boat are low
maintenance (certainly not maintenance free though), low cost to buy (most
are $20,000) and their cheap to operate. I can run my friends boat all day
on 6 gallons of fuel . . . a day out on my sportfishing boat uses ~90
gallons, that's why it pretty only leaves the slip when someone else is
paying for the fuel. BTW, if you haven't noticed, my charter boat is for
sale . . . willing to take pontoon boat in trade or partial trade. :-)

Later . . .
Capt. Dave Fortner


"Jay Chan" wrote in message
om...
Althought it is true will any boat, a pontoon boat can easily become
solid
waste/scrap aluminum if you don't take care of them. Perhaps a large
percentage end up in recycling yards when the furniture goes to hell
or the hulls start pitting. If you are using a pontoon in salt water
you need bottom (or whole pontoon) paint.

I see. This probably explains the reason why there are very few ads
for used pontoon boats (most of the small number of ads for pontoon
boats are for new boats). Thanks.

Then I have one question:
Does this also mean that rusty pontoons are very difficult to fix?
Therefore, people don't even bother to fix them. I am under the
impression that fiberglass boats have other sets of problem too, and
probably also be difficult to fix. I don't know. I am just very
puzzled.

Jay Chan