Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I just purchased a toon on a small lake with no trailer. I am in central Virginia. Is it a good idea to store the toon on the water all winter? Freezing?

A lot of people do it here in WV with no bad effects, the marina pulls the boat and winterizes it and shrink wraps and puts it back on the slip. And as a guess I believe a lot do nothing at all. I have a trailer so I bring mine home to winterize and do a bit of work.

If you're talking about the boat being IN the water as opposed to being ON a slip in the water, I would have 2nd and 3rd thoughts about that. You might want to find a marina that can pull the boat out and put it on dry land. My daughter-in-law's dad used to have his shrink wrapped but he left it on the lift.
If you leave in IN the water you're going to have to deal with all the algae growth at some point or it's going to feel like you're driving with the anchor down.

I wouldn't leave it IN the water if there is a chance of freezing.

I kept my last pontoon boat in a boathouse out of the weather and out of the water. After 27 years of good service, I got a new boat last year.

Keeping a boat out of the water will greatly extend the life of your boat. I wouldn't consider keeping a boat in the water over the winter. And if I was going to keep it in the water in the Summer, I wouldn't put it in the water until I was going to start using the boat regularly--minimizing time in the water.

See if your marina can put your boat on blocks for the Winter.

Thompsdw wrote:I just purchased a toon on a small lake with no trailer. I am in central Virginia. Is it a good idea to store the toon on the water all winter? Freezing?

I'd get it out of the water if at all possible. On the other hand, if you have electric hookup, you can buy a bubbler and put it close to the toon. It will bubble the water around your boat and keep it from freezing. This assumes tho that under normal circumstances that all the lake area surrounding yours doesn't usually freeze.

We have ours on a lift in a covered slip. I assume this is not what you are talking about. If not, I would pull it out of the water until the end of the winter.