Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I am thinking about buying a Pontoon Boat Half Enclosure for my pontoon. I see from older posts that some member have used them.

If anybody is currently using one I would appreciate information on how useful they are.

Can they be used while the boat is under way or can they only be in place when you are anchored?

If you can use them while running how hard is it to see boats to your side and back?

If you had it to do over again would you spend $2 grand + to buy one?

I appreciate any information that is available on this, as I am considering buying a Day Boat Pontoon if I do not go the enclosure route. I hate to do this as my current pontoon is only a year old and I know I will take a beating on it if I trade it in or sell it.

If you can obtain a 1/2 enclosure for $2K, you're going to be doing very good. I expect the average cost on one is about $3K and a full enclosure often runs $4K.

I would think that most enclosures are made for those camping on the water. They'd also be good if you intend to run the boat in the 40-50 degree weather.

You can run enclosures while running, but you wouldn't want to be in the 30 mph's with the plastic up. It'd be more like a slow cruise to use one.

A double bimini would be a better way for me to spend the money.

Thanks for the reply.

I need an enclosure for my wife. She loves to fish for crappie but now has Parkinson, which makes it difficult for her. I need a place for her to rest while we are fishing plus something I can air condition during the hot summer days she can use when tired.

My pontoon is a Bass Buggy 18 DLX, which they claim has a 20' deck. Dowco Marine states they will furnish a custom half enclosure for this pontoon for $1865 (http://www.dowcomarine.com/products/det ... tem=112362), which would be around $2000 with tax.

I traded our fishing boat for this pontoon last year to make it easier for her to fish. I chose this smaller unit to make it easier to fish the lake timber. Since then her Parkinson has became worse so I really need a Day Boat pontoon now for her but thought I might be able to modify this pontoon to make it work.

Since there are only the two of us using the pontoon I can modify the rear fishing platform for a privacy enclosure and add a small generator and portable ac unit to the swim platform to cool the half enclosure as needed.

This pontoon max speed is 20 m/h, which is well under the 30 m/h you mention. Since our goal is fishing, not running up and down the lake at high speed the low speed of this pontoon was acceptable to us.

I have emailed the company, asking them if their enclosure can be used while running up to 20 m/h or if it was only for use while anchored. But I trust forum members more than I do a company that wants to make a sale. So I asked here as well.

I do appreciate your response and look forward to hearing from other members.

I commend you for getting the wife out fishing! I don't have an enclosure but went to that site and read about the one you posted about. I'm sure at the speeds you are talking about it should be ok. That flat front end concerns me in a head wind or trying to maintain spot on a crappie brush pile, but I'm sure you will be able to overcome that kind of adversity. I hope it works out for you and please lets us know how its working if you get one.

Not sure where you are located but there is also this place.


http://north-american-waterway.com/boat ... -Enclosure

RcgTexas wrote:I commend you for getting the wife out fishing! I don't have an enclosure but went to that site and read about the one you posted about. I'm sure at the speeds you are talking about it should be ok. That flat front end concerns me in a head wind or trying to maintain spot on a crappie brush pile, but I'm sure you will be able to overcome that kind of adversity. I hope it works out for you and please lets us know how its working if you get one.

Thanks for the response.

We've fished together too many years to go fishing without her.

Actually I find this small pontoon difficult to hold on spot at brush piles or other structure other than standing timber. I have box anchors on bow and stern but it still seems as if it is a box on water and the slightest breeze blows it off position.

Not like the deep V's I used for fishing in the past.

So I generally toss two markers out, one at each end of the brush pile, and then troll back and forth between the markers.

I might end up just taking a beating on selling this and buy a Day Boat pontoon that has the build in cabin with fishing platforms on front and back. I've only owned the Bass Buggy pontoon for a year so I know I will take a big loss if I sell it this soon.

Biggest problem with Day Boat pontoons is I haven't found anything smaller than 26'. Smaller is better when fishing around timber.

But I have time to make a decision since she is having back surgery again so it will be another three months before we are fishing again.

curtiscapk wrote:Not sure where you are located but there is also this place.


http://north-american-waterway.com/boat ... -Enclosure

Thanks. It does look as if they do nice work and the prices are similar.

I live in Texas. The Dowco Marine company has several dealerships in the area where the enclosure would be installed.

They also have the factory measurements for this model pontoon so I am sure the enclosure would fit since they are using factory measurements. Not saying the other company's enclosure would not be made right, I'm more concerned about my making a mistake in the measurements if I make them.

Received a response from Dowco Marine. They stated that it is fine to use it up to 30 mph but should not be used if you run above that.

However they state it might have problems in a storm if the wind is very high. Wind damage from storms would not be covered under factory warranty.

Since we often have storms or winds at Joe Pool in excess of 30 mph I may have to rethink this. (We had one last week where the wind was reported to have gusts up to 70 mph. It damaged several cabin cruisers and a few pontoons where they tied the boats too close to the front deck.

I still hope to hear from somebody who has used a half enclosure with their pontoon.

We just got a half enclosure on our new pontoon. Have used it once and it was a life saver that day though probably for the opposite reason you would. It was a cold windy morning and the fishing was miserable. The enclosure gave us a place to warm up and get out of the wind. If your pontoon top speed is only 20mph you can probably put along with the enclosure up no problem. Your going to see a difference in your gass gauge though. It also has implications for trying to stand still in a spot with any wind exposure since it's basically a big sail.

Overall, I'm glad we got it since it likely expands our boating season by about 3 weeks in the spring and fall. Not sure how it would work to air condition it though.

Thanks for the information.

I am thinking it would expand our time on the lake as well. We fish the year around here but it can be cold on some winter days and brutally hot during the summer if you fish during the day. It would be nice to be able to fish those days as well. (Yes, I'm greedy but I'm retired and like to fish any day the mood hits me, which is most days. )

I realize you could not cool it as you would a house but I have used portable ac units on tents to provide some relief from summer temperatures while camping so it should work as well with this type enclosure. It would also help hold the heat in on cold days to warm up while waiting for strikes when trolling or using rod holders. Yes, it's a lazy person's way of fishing but it great for the cold days.

I am concerned about how it stands up in storms. Dowco did not recommend having it up during a storm as the wind could damage it. They stated that the warranty does not cover storm damage. But during rain is one time you would want it up and rain usually includes wind or at least it does here.

I had not thought about it but I can see where it would increase gas usage. But we spend more time on the trolling motor than the big engine so that's not too much of a factor. I find that a pontoon is like a box (or sail) on water so staying on spot is difficult anytime a breeze is blowing. So I generally use two markers and slow troll between the two of them to fish brush piles.

Yes, the Sun Tracker Bass Buggy's is not a speed demon. But it only takes me an hour to reach the farthest area I fish if I use the engine and we are in no hurry. Generally we fish our way there and back using the trolling motor as fishing is the reason we are on the lake.

Once again, thanks for responding.

Not only do I motor with my full enclosure on, I slipped it for the entire summer with it on. It worked great. I din't notice a difference in performance with the enclosure on, as opposed to no enclosure at all.

BobG wrote:Not only do I motor with my full enclosure on, I slipped it for the entire summer with it on. It worked great. I din't notice a difference in performance with the enclosure on, as opposed to no enclosure at all.

That's great news! If I purchase this I want to use it the year around. I don't want to take it down each time i use it. I keep my pontoon in the slip the year around and fish several times a week year around.

I really don't want to sell this pontoon and buy a houseboat pontoon, as the smallest houseboat pontoon I can find is 8'x26'. That would be harder to fish in the standing timber. A 9.5'x20' pontoon is hard enough to fish in the timber, I don't want the extra 6' if I can avoid it.

I'm not that concerned about performance, just the ability to leave it on all the time, to have it available for my wife when she needs it.

I think I will call the local dealers here to see if any of them have a unit on display. If not maybe they will have a customer who would not mind me looking at his unit. I would like to see it before I bought it.

So Bob G,, please show us a picture of your enclosure... It's so much nicer to see what your talking about... I love seeing pictures!

I've been wanting one of these for the last couple of years. How do they get put together? Are the sides just panels that zip to a bimini top?

Please keep,updated as I and I am sure there are others. Who are thinking about getting an enclosure. I have been kicking around the ideal of trying to make my own over the winter. I added a double bimini this summer and a grill and would Like to enclose 1/2 of the pontoon. Nothing better then beached and camping on the water. Have everything a camper has Porta potty fresh water, grill just need some shelter if weather turns nasty. Good luck