Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I'm planning on taking my '88 tritoon to Dan Diego Bay this summer. It's going to be in salt water for two weeks for the first time in it's life. The logs are lightly pitted right now, but nothing more than you would expect from a boat this old.

My concern is that contact with salt water may accelerate the pitting.

I am aware of shark hide as well as some insanely expensive paints that can be applied - and I'm willing to spend the money on the paint if it is worthwhile. I'm also thinking that I should gain a bit of speed by having really smooth logs as well. Does anyone have any recommendations - or should I just not worry about it and flush everything with fresh water once back on the trailer?

(BTW, you can rent a slip right in San Diego Bay for $1 a lineal foot per night, and that includes 30 amp service, potable water, an almost private dock and restrooms nearby. For my boat that's $28.00 a NIGHT! The only problem is you can only rent them 14 days or less in advance, and there's only about 25 available. For comparison a really nice comparable state run RV Park above the cliffs and with ocean view spaces at Crystal Cove farther north goes for $75.00 a night...)

I boat in saltwater all the time. I had a pontoon boat that I kept docked during the summer months. I took it out every two weeks and cleaned the toons. Done that for 2-3 years had no problem other then cleaning them was a pain. I just purchased a new toon and I am going to have the toons painted. Cost 1500.00 but I think it is worth it cleaning will be much easer and don't have to worry about the saltwater running the toons. Everyone on here and the dealer said if I. Am going to leave it in the water I should paint the toons. I guess the answer for you is if it is only going to be a short time cleaning them good after taking it out should be ok. Me since I am in only saltwater I will spend the money on painting them.

Not necessary for two weeks. If you use it regularly say every couple of days, no growth will attach to it. Reaction from the salt will not be a problem either, just rinse well when you leave.

I would be more concerned with electrolysis from stray electrical currents, e.g. Other boats, the docks etc. thus make sure you have zincs on your engine/pontoons etc

Everything that was said above, but Sharkhide doesn't protect below the waterline.....

Hi all,
Just wanted to clairify that Sharkhide WILL protect the pontoons from streaking, staining and getting water lines in fresh, brackish and saltwater below the waterline.
Ron, you mentioned it will be in the water for short periods, so as long as you get a couple good coats on per my instructions, it will work just fine.
But Badmoon is also correct about it not working below the waterline, but that's only if you leave it in all season without pulling it and cleaning the hulls. If you do leave it in way too long and allow the marine growth to take over, it will eventually destroy the coating below the waterline.
I hope this helps,
Clint

Don't worry, just clean well after the two weeks.

I've spent a lof of time on San Diego bay. Enjoy!

Thanks guys, I think I'll just flush and clean at a car wash right after I take it out.

Do you guys think that the $$$ paint is a worthwhile long term investment to protect the logs from further pitting? I plan on keeping my "yacht" for quite a while now that it's set up the way I like it. I'll do it myself to save the labor.

Sounds like this may be the way to go versus epoxy:

DURALUX MARINE ALUMINUM BOAT PAINT
A vinyl-type coating for aluminum and galvanized surfaces. ALUMINUM BOAT PAINT has excellent adhesion that eliminates the need for a primer, thereby cutting time and labor costs in half. ALUMINUM BOAT PAINT washes easily and resists oil, gasoline and discoloration from harbor gases.

t_birder wrote:Hi all,
Just wanted to clairify that Sharkhide WILL protect the pontoons from streaking, staining and getting water lines in fresh, brackish and saltwater below the waterline.
Ron, you mentioned it will be in the water for short periods, so as long as you get a couple good coats on per my instructions, it will work just fine.
But Badmoon is also correct about it not working below the waterline, but that's only if you leave it in all season without pulling it and cleaning the hulls. If you do leave it in way too long and allow the marine growth to take over, it will eventually destroy the coating below the waterline.
I hope this helps,
Clint

Yeah I had thought you had said it wouldn't prevent marine growth. Does a fantastic job above the waterline though.

Hmm, looks like I may be wasting my money - this is from a yacht builder that has won best of show at Monaco...

In terms of the paint system, aluminum boats are dealt with more easily than steel boats. Aluminum must be painted wherever things are mounted to the aluminum surface, and below the waterline if left in the water year-round. Otherwise, marine aluminum alloys do not require painting at all.

I might be better off saving up some reserve funds each year to buy new logs when the time comes.

RonKMiller wrote:Hmm, looks like I may be wasting my money - this is from a yacht builder that has won best of show at Monaco...

In terms of the paint system, aluminum boats are dealt with more easily than steel boats. Aluminum must be painted wherever things are mounted to the aluminum surface, and below the waterline if left in the water year-round. Otherwise, marine aluminum alloys do not require painting at all.

I might be better off saving up some reserve funds each year to buy new logs when the time comes.

I'm in the same boat (pun unintended). Some day I will probably need to replace my logs. I do like the look of completely painted pontoons. At the boat show there were some painted in a light grey and they looked sharp. I would still need antifouling under the water line though.

On an 1988 model boat, I wouldn't invest in paying someone to paint the hulls.

If it was a later model boat, it would be a good alternative, however.

My Starcraft pontoon was bought new in 1985, and it's been a very good boat. No pits, no dents, no scratches on the hull. If I polished the toons, it'd look like new, other than the upholstery needing some work. The reason my boat's lasted so well is because I kept it in a boathouse it's whole life.

Boat Lifts and boathouses are investments that allows your boat to last longer. Even though we're not in saltwater, I still prefer to keep my boats dry and out of the water when not in use.

Yep, I have to agree with that 100%. Mine is well covered in a "pole barn" - out of rain and sun. I remember reading somewhere that doing this extends the life by 5X. Makes sense to me. I pay $480.00 a year, and have access to electricity and potable water when I need to work on it. I even went to the trouble to make my own tire covers out of specialized nano tech fabric used to protect $1M yachts.

I've often wondered how a "standard" epoxy paint - like the kind used to protect garage floors - would work on our logs if just lightly scuffed with some garnet paper. I would of course not use anything but garnet, since it will it cut the aluminum and not leave any imbedded debris.

I'm in fresh water but I painted my 1983 logs with the rustoleum marine paint. I left the splash guards, strakes ,eye lets, transom and leading edge polished. My logs were to messed up to polish plus I didn't want that large of a shiny surface to maintain. The paint and primer are inexpensive but it was labor intensive. Prep is everything, and after a season and a half it still looks great !



You can see the rough water line from the boat sitting in a lake for 25+ years. This is one of the reasons I knew polishing the whole log wasn't an option.


I was going for a retro classic look.



The paint makes it real easy to wipe clean after pulling it out.



I get lots of compiments on the paint , most people have never seen a pontoon that isn't bare aluminum ! If Iever build a new one I will have the logs powder coated before I build it !

That looks excellent. Nice job! The polished and painted look is VERY cool...

I'm pretty sure I would go that route too, our water is incredibly hard here and leaves white lines on the logs that are impossible to remove, and it just seems to me that sealing my '88 logs makes sense to keep them from pitting any more. It would really dress up my rig to have them look like that.

Did you notice any increase in speed? I would have to think that with obviously MUCH smoother surfaces it would be good for a couple of knots. Parasitic drag is SUCH a huge factor (especially with our antique logs versus new ones) when you're talking that amount of surface area...

Yeah I did pick up a little extra speed with the smooth logs. This spring I even waxed them and they were smooth as can be ! I haven't done the very bottom of my logs where they sit on the trailer. I plan on it and have the paint but it means lifting the boat off the trailer and even with my loader I worry about messing it up ! It's not that big of an area, my strakes(manitou style) cover a good portion of the bottom. Most of my pitting is at the water line anyways. On the sides it's partially covered by the strakes also. If your pitts are not to deep you could probably fill alot of it with the primer and a little extra sanding before the paint. My paint/primer was applied with a foam roller so the build was pretty good between coats.