Source
r/Pontoons•
Kelseer

Leaving the pontoon in saltwater for a week

Hey guys.

New pontoon boat owner, but not first boat owner. My family wants to go on a vacation to the coast and leave the boat in the water for that week. When I did this with my old fiberglass boat, it was fine for the most part. Got some really tiny barnacles near the water line, but that was it.

However my pontoon boat feels like a bit of a different beast. I have a sylvan with performance strakes, and those strakes have a hole in the back that I guess let's water in and out? How worried should I be about growth in there?

Unfortunately I probably wont be able to leave the pontoon out of the water to dry for very long either...it's a long story. But it would be going back in a fresh water lake. I want to make sure it's clean before then, but I don't know how easy it will be to clean these lifting strakes.

Posted Mar 25, 2021, 5:39 PM UTC

48
lakelost•

That’s not even long enough to worry about electrolysis. When you pull it out rinse it well and run it for a while in freshwater to clear the motor and you are good to go. You might want to replace your zincs (anodes) just to be safe if you haven’t recently.

4
BostonRambla•

I trailered mine down to the keys for 2 weeks with no issues. Had a private dock and used it every day. When I took it out I washed it down with a pressure washer and didn't have any issues. Also ran it on the lake an hour or so to make sure the motor was flushed.

When I asked Bass Pro about it they were more concerned about flushing the motor then anything. No stains or corrosion on my tunes. Its a 2018 Suntracker 18DLX PB.

Only issue I ran into is now I need a house ocean side with a dock! :)

3
lakelost•

I’m having a similar challenge. For me it’s the gulf coast of Florida.

2
Tools4toys•

Never planning on going to saltwater, as I'm in the middle of the US - to far to trailer, but having lived on the coast previously and boated, my concern would be about the motor and the saltwater as you mention.

Did you note any difference in the sacrificial anodes?

BTW, we have a '18 Suntracker 20DLX, and we love it!

2
Sanibel-Signal•

Rinse it throughly on the outside. Anything that will corrode definitely will if you don’t.

2
[deleted]•

Your boats tubes should be painted before you put it in saltwater. They make paint specifically for pontoon boat tubes.

1
nooneknows36•

How long can pontoons be im the water I wanted to go for months at a time.

1
ilikecornalot•

Haven’t boated on the coast, like others have mostly said. Power wash and run fresh water through the motor as much as possible when you are done for the week. Also while docked in the saltwater keep your motor tilted up if you can to drain out the excess salt water from sitting.

1