Pontoon Tube Reconditioning Ideas Needed

[tablerockboater]

If anyone is still interested, I am one who has a leaky toon thread, and who prompted the Leaky Toon article in BoatUS magazine, if anyone saw that. One of our tubes pitted from galvanic corrosion, which we discovered when the pontoon was listed to starboard, the rear of the toon sitting on the bottom of the canal.

I managed to raise it enough with a davit to be able to motor to the nearest ramp and trailer the pontoon.

I managed to get it on blocks high enough to get the toons off the bunks for inspection. When I saw all the little pinholes, that made my mind up, and I "salvaged" the boat.

I have researched and pursued saltwater galvanic corrosion of pontoon log with technical experts, like at BoatUS, and boat manufacturers, and have not convinced myself that it can be prevented, especially if you intend to moor the pontoon in saltwater. So, I have resisted my wife's concerted efforts to get me to buy another one.

 

[tablerockboater]

Also nada has a good boat pricing guide that should show you that a 96 bay boat with a good motor is only worth about $1300 and I believe it would only hold 6-7 people with gear.

I would take that deal:

1996 Key West Boats​

1720 SPORTSMAN Values​

Values​

	Suggested List Price	Low Retail	Average Retail
Base Price	$6,710	$2,410	$2,750
Options (Add)
Outboard Motor (Change)
1996 Mercury 90ELHPTO 2-Stroke Series (x1)	$8,334	$1,640	$1,840
Trailer (Change)
1996 Single 18 Feet	$305	$345
Total Price	$15,044	$4,355	$4,935

 

[tablerockboater]

I have researched and pursued saltwater galvanic corrosion of pontoon log with technical experts, like at BoatUS, and boat manufacturers, and have not convinced myself that it can be prevented, especially if you intend to moor the pontoon in saltwater. So, I have resisted my wife's concerted efforts to get me to buy another one.

Of course, there's only so much of your wife's efforts that you can stave off . . . so, we now have a very nice, used, freshwater Bass Buggy at our Florida Winter home. I swapped out three zinc anodes for aluminum and add two more, placing them on the transom below the water line.

We sold our up-north deck boat and bought two very nice used pontoons, after a year of looking. We brought one of them to Florida.

We are launching it at a public ramp each outing, and flushing and thoroughly rinsing it after every use. I am also flushing the inside of our trailer and thoroughly rinsing it and the bunks.

Just to show how fast galvanic corrosion is, the rear chrome wheels on or two vehicle, that get wet at the ramp, pitted after the first outing, and I am cleaning and polishing them.

 

[Scott Danforth]

buy boeshield........ liberally apply