Among all of the “mission critical” equipment on a boat, the humble cooler might just top the list. However, finding room for a cooler on board — especially a large, heavy rotomolded cooler — can be a challenge. On center console boats with aluminum-frame leaning posts, the area between the legs of the post is a good option, but the underside of the seat often keeps the cooler lid from opening all the way, making access difficult.
Cooler slides address the problem by making it easy to pull your cooler out from under the leaning post for access. On angler and diver Parker Brown’s 24-foot Sportsman bay boat, a newly designed cooler slide from Boat Outfitters not only made the cooler more usable but also provided an innovative solution for dive tank storage.
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Can Pontoons Survive the Salt?
The answer to this one is a qualified “Yes.” Almost any pontoon can spend an occasional day in saltwater without major ill effects, but some will fare better than others and some extra TLC is needed beyond what a fiberglass boat might require.
The main issue is galvanic corrosion, which is a challenge not just for pontoons but for aluminum boats in general. When aluminum is submerged in saltwater with other metals, particularly stainless steel and bronze, corrosion slowly eats away at the aluminum.
That being said, most pontoon boats will do just fine with occasional day use in saltwater as long as they are thoroughly washed down afterward. As soon as possible after getting your boat back on the trailer, wash all salt residue not just off the pontoons themselves, but also off the crossmembers under the deck, all the rails, and anything else metal. Pay particular attention to areas where saltwater could puddle or get trapped, like hollow strakes. Adding a salt-removing agent like Salt-Away or Salt-X to your washdown water helps remove deposits.
Most pontoon boats will do just fine with occasional day use in saltwater as long as they are thoroughly washed down afterward.
One common cause of corrosion on pontoons is saltwater trapped between trailer bunks and the bottoms of pontoons. Always thoroughly flush this area. Non-absorbent bunk coverings, like Starboard slides, make it easier to get all the salt out. Leaving the bottoms of your pontoons sitting on saltwater-soaked carpet for days on end is bad news. (Speaking of trailers, those meant for freshwater use are highly susceptible to rusting from saltwater. All it takes is one saltwater dunking for rust to start spreading under the paint or inside the tubes of the frame.)
For pontoons that get more than occasional single-day use in saltwater, there are a couple of ways to further protect against corrosion:
Sacrificial Anodes
Sacrificial zinc anodes are pieces of metal (usually zinc) attached to hulls or engines below the waterline, where they corrode more easily than aluminum. In the simplest sense, corrosion leaves aluminum hulls alone because it’s too busy attacking the more vulnerable zinc anodes. When the anodes are corroded away, they are simply removed and replaced.
Outboard engines are equipped with their own sacrificial anodes, and as long as your engine is electrically “bonded” to your hull, these anodes are generally sufficient to protect your pontoon for short excursions into the salt. Just be sure to replace them regularly.
For greater protection, zinc anodes are often attached directly to aluminum hulls as well. Any pontoon billed as a “saltwater edition” or similar should already be equipped with zinc anodes. Even on pontoons not factory-equipped with anodes, they can usually be easily attached to the same brackets/pads that are used for mounting transducers, water pickups, etc.
Bottom Paint
Another effective way to minimize corrosion on aluminum hulls like pontoon boats is to paint them below the waterline with an aluminum-specific antifouling bottom paint. Applied correctly, bottom paint not only discourages marine growth like algae and barnacles but also protects aluminum pontoon boats from contact with saltwater.
Note that there are specific bottom paints for use with aluminum. Never use a bottom paint containing copper on an aluminum hull! While it’s certainly possible to bottom-paint a pontoon boat yourself, having it done professionally will make more sense for most owners. There’s quite a bit of prep work involved.
The bottom line is this: If you plan to use your saltwater pontoon boat a few dozen times a year and never for more than a day at a time, you’ll be fine with nothing more than thorough washdowns after each trip. If you’ll be using it in saltwater frequently and/or leaving it in saltwater overnight or longer, you’ll want sacrificial anodes and bottom paint.
Pontoons in ‘Big Water’
Aside from corrosion, the other common concern about using pontoon boats in saltwater actually has nothing to do with the chemistry of the water; rather, it has to do with whether pontoons are suitable for the rougher conditions most boaters assume they’ll encounter in saltwater. That one is tougher to answer.
When it comes to rough water capability, pontoons have a lot going against them, most importantly their tendency to stuff the bow in chop. There are plenty of exceptions and qualifications to every rule, but generally speaking, pontoons are unsafe on the open ocean. Also, generally speaking, they’ll do fine in relatively protected coastal waters like the Intracoastal waterway, bays, sounds, tidal rivers, etc.
That being said, several factors affect the seaworthiness of a pontoon:
Three Logs
Tritoons are significantly more capable than traditional pontoons. With their central pontoon, they’re less prone to stuffing the bow and more stable in beam seas.
Extra horses
Gone (thankfully) are the days of 20-foot pontoons rigged with 30 hp outboards, but, generally speaking, pontoons still carry less power than V-hull boats of similar size. The extra power makes pontoons more responsive in challenging conditions like heavy current, allows operators to keep the bow higher in chop, and also helps outrun coastal thunderstorms. The ability to run at least 30 mph full-throttle is a big safety factor in saltwater.
Fatter Tubes
A widely accepted rule of thumb is that tubes should be at least 25” in diameter for so-called “big water.” Like a third pontoon, taller, thicker tubes keep the deck higher off the water and provide added buoyancy to ride open and over waves.
Better Construction
Pontoons built for inland lakes and rivers don’t have to be especially strong. But for safety in rougher conditions, pontoons should have the aluminum structure underneath their wooden decks continuously welded to their tubes, rather than welded every foot or so. Decks should also be attached to crossmembers with through-bolts, rather than sheet metal screws.
The bottom line on pontoons in open water (fresh or salt): Pontoons are great for their intended use. That intended use does not include anything over perhaps 1 to 2-foot chop. Yes, today’s higher-horsepower, performance-oriented pontoons, and tritoons are more capable than their forebears, but if you want to boat in open water, there are better choices. For inland waterways, they’re great.
What Is a Saltwater Package on a Pontoon Boat?
Many pontoon builders offer versions of saltwater pontoon boats for some or all of their models. But what does that actually mean? Obviously, these pontoon parts and accessories vary from builder to builder, but some common features include:
- Sacrificial anodes: Zinc anodes (or sometimes a different type of aluminum) are installed below the waterline to minimize galvanic corrosion of tubes.
- Separation of dissimilar metals: Galvanic corrosion on aluminum boats is typically the result of aluminum and stainless steel being in close contact in the presence of saltwater. Taking measures to separate the two metals, such as nylon washers, reduces corrosion.
- Solid keels and strakes: The keels and lifting strakes welded onto pontoon tubes are often hollow and even open at one or both ends. This can trap saltwater, leading to major issues. Saltwater pontoons usually have either solid or sealed strakes and keels to prevent this.
- Corrosion-resistant materials: Saltwater packages often include higher-grade, more corrosion-resistant stainless steel fittings, such as Bimini top hardware and door latches.
- Vinyl flooring: Carpet makes a terrible deck covering for saltwater boats. It not only holds salt and minerals but it also stinks after a saltwater soaking. Today’s woven vinyl flooring, a common feature on saltwater pontoons, is easy to clean and doesn’t absorb water.
- Upgrade wiring: The saltwater environment is hell on wiring and electrical connections. Special tinned marine wiring, quality heat-shrink terminals, and upgraded switches and distribution panels are sometimes included in saltwater packages.