Sunday, January 1, 2012

Pontoon boats and oceans?

why do i never see a pontoon boat on the ocean, why wouldnt you want one on the ocean?|||I own a pontoon boat %26amp; have had it on a couple of large lakes, Since a pontoon is very shallow draft %26amp; rides on top rather than cutting thru a wave it is a very rough ride when the waves kick up. Any wave more than a few inches high will beat you %26amp; the boat to pieces. Pontoons are usable only in calm water. If I'm out %26amp; the wind starts to kick up, I'm looking for a cove or lee ASAP.|||Kracker is absolutely right - and I gave him a thumbs up on this one. The ocean is no place for a production built pontoon boat.


I know. . . there are times when standing on the shore looking out over the ocean, it all looks calm and peaceful - but, what may appear as a calm ocean can play total havoc on a pontoon boat. They are just too weak, too light, and simply not built for anything other then calm protected waters. In fact, I do believe each and every one of them comes with the same kind of warning you see on hairdryers - you don't use them in the shower - and you don't take your pontoon out on the ocean.





I live full-time on my boat at the very first Marina at the entrance from the ocean to the Bay, and like clock work every year, at least one distressed family and one group of fishermen will manage to maneuver their wounded pontoon boat (that now looks much more like a trapezoid or diamond shape then that of a rectangle) into the Marina. So far, the good news has been no one was hurt (except maybe their ego). Bad news is the boat now is totally destroyed, as they soon find out it costs more to straighten and square it then it does to buy a new one. In a couple of cases I was witness to, the guys didn't really know anything had happened - until they realized the boat would no longer travel in a straight line.





You also never see pontoon boats out on any of the Great Lakes either... for the same reasons.





Happy and Safe Boating,


John

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