Does Beaching A Pontoon Boat Damage It?

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Does Beaching A Pontoon Boat Damage It?

Beaching a pontoon is the technique of grounding your boat on land. You can do this in shallow water or while you are traveling at high speeds.

Beaching is not typically advised as it can damage your pontoons and make them more likely to end up out of the water, but sometimes this will come in handy.

If you need to get off for any reason, performing a controlled beaching might be necessary – like if you’re stuck on an island or want to explore some nearby rocks.

Does Beaching A Pontoon Boat Damage It?

Yes. A pontoon boat can sink when it’s been at rest for an extended period because it may have absorbed enough water through its bottom that will make it heavier than air.

This happens most often during hot summer months when people put their boats into storage while they’re away on vacation or go on long weekends without launching them for days at a time.

If Your pontoon boat sinks after leaving it out in the sun for an extended period, don’t panic.

Putting lots of sandbags over your sunken boat will keep it from floating so you can pump the water out and let your pontoon boat dry in the garage.

To prevent severe damage to your pontoon boat, always try to launch and remove it from the water as soon as possible after use.

This way, it will never submerge for an extended period which could cause rusting and rotting of its frame (if aluminum) or wood (if wood).

If you have no idea how to properly remove your pontoon boat from the lake or pond, causing no problems, then call someone who knows what they’re doing before removing it yourself.

It’s better safe than sorry.

You can also take steps to make sure that your pontoon boat is well-drained before storage.

For example, you can drill a hole near the plug for drainage or remove the plug so that water can run out efficiently.

Thus, you won’t have to worry about your pontoon boat sinking and rotting after it’s left in storage for an extended period.

If your pontoon boat takes on the water while you’re still using it, then don’t be afraid to call someone who has experience with this kind of problem.

–They’ll know how to fix it fast and efficiently.

Is Beaching Your Pontoons Boat Bad?

No. I think it’s good to do it. Here’s why. It’s a smart idea for sailors to beach their boats as soon as possible to keep them light and safe.

Beaching your boat will prevent it from getting damaged during sailing and allow you to maintain it better.

Those who don’t know why their boats are getting waterlogged could be because of overloading.

Or too much wind entering through the sailor simply because there has been a tear in the boat and water was entering the boat slowly, continuously.

Also, when the boat is not in use and is lying on the sand for days together, all kinds of tiny creatures might end up making their home inside your boat’s inner compartments.

So when you take it out again next time, there’ll be a hoard of ants or other insects waiting to attack you.

This could lead to awful consequences if not handled properly from the very beginning. So keeping your pontoons fresh and clean should also be one of your primary concerns.

This can be easily achieved by ensuring that the area around the pontoons is dry and adequately covered with a thick layer of sand to prevent water from seeping in.

Can You Drop Anchor In The Middle Of the Ocean?

No. This is a myth. In open water, no one can drop anchor and leave for the day. There’s nothing to tie the boat to except endless miles of empty ocean.

Even if you could find an “anchor spot,” there is not enough of anything solid to tie off your anchor line (the rope that attaches your boat to the anchor).

You’d be lucky to find a rock of any size in open water; more likely, it would be gravel or sand. It wouldn’t hold your boat securely.

The anchor would drag out and away from the shore with every wave and current shift.

Putting both you and your neighbors at risk as well as destroying underwater habitats like kelp forests and coral reefs.

Some lakes may have mooring buoys. However, there are more of these in the Great Lakes than anywhere else.

And they do not populate all lakes, so this is certainly not a truth across the board.

Should You Drop Anchor In A Storm?

No. Larger ships are more vulnerable to anchor dragging because they are more difficult to maneuver at low speeds.

Luckily, if you’ve already dropped anchor, staying put probably won’t cause any severe damage;

Unless bad weather strikes quickly, according to Michael Puzio, marine programs coordinator for Florida Sea Grant.

However, if you suddenly start anchoring in storms, it may cause some damage, so prepare yourself to take action immediately afterward.

Anchoring is usually done in calm weather, and although a sudden storm may make this difficult or even impossible, the decision should not be lightly taken.

In a storm, you should never drop your anchor.

What To Do If Caught In A Storm On A Boat?

It would be best if you began by assessing the situation. Is it just a thunderstorm, or is there also lightning?

If you live where weather fronts come through regularly, or if you know for certain one is coming your way, keep an eye out for signs. Look at the clouds to see what they look like.

Are they tall and narrow, with flat bases? That’s a cumulonimbus cloud. This type of cloud produces heavy rain, hail, wind gusts up to 100 mph (160 kph), and frequent lightning strikes.

What you should do next is, take down all your equipment that is metal-made.

This includes antennas, flag poles, fishing rods/reels, rigging wires, anchor chains/winches, outhouse pumps, metal cleats, and your radio.

If you have a marine radio on board with grounding wire installed, put that in the water as well.

If you are currently underway or anchored, immediately begin making your way into port as fast as you can.

It’s not safe to do this while anchored by yourself (unless it’s very shallow where you’re at).

If there are other boats nearby, you may get their assistance in getting into port quickly by doing this together.

If possible, try to find moorings; these will act as lightning rods for your boat (however, they cannot provide 100% protection either).

Once safely tied up, ensure that you have grounded all the above items before touching them again.

Once you are safely tied up, make as much of your boat as possible as low as possible (this means to the water line if you cannot get any lower).

Remove all deck covers and open hatches. This lowers the chance that lightning will strike your mast and travel down into or through your boat.

If there’s a hole in the bottom of your boat, don’t plug it. Make sure that everything is well shut and sealed and not touching anything metal out on deck.

Now try to stay indoors until everything outside is over with; do not go back outside for any reason until 15 minutes have passed without hearing thunder.

If you find yourself stuck at sea during a storm, such as a life raft, your best bet is to hunker down and wait it out.

The chances of your craft being lightning struck are exponentially higher than if you were on land.

So you will want to reduce the amount of metal that’s hitting the water as much as possible.

Try covering any metal or electronic components with a cloth or anything else that won’t conduct electricity.

Follow all the earlier instructions for remaining inside until after everything has passed too.

Don’t touch any equipment inside until 15 minutes have passed without hearing thunder – even then, try not to touch them at all.

Don’t use a marine radio unless necessary and keep indoor lights turned off (to avoid attracting bugs that could come in contact with equipment).

If the power goes out, touch nothing until it returns.

Can You Surf Off A Pontoon Boat?

Yes. I’ve been surfing off a pontoon boat for two seasons now. It’s a ton of fun and a great way to get out onto the water on a limited budget. What you’ll need:

The first step is to build the top deck of your pontoon boat into a level platform about 16′ x 25′ (I used 2×10 boards).

You would mount this on top of the gunnels using four hooks through holes drilled in each board from underneath, although you could also bolt the boards down.

You want to ensure you have at least 1″–2″ of sidewall to your platform, so you’re not simply just mounting the top of the pontoons.

The next step is to build a few stands to mount your surfboards on. I made mine out of 1/2″ plywood and 2×4′.

You want them large enough so that your board won’t fall off when you jump up onto it, but also small enough.

So they don’t interfere with paddling or take away any usable space on the pontoon boat deck.

Use hinges to allow easy access to loading and unloading boards, but keep them closed whenever underway.

The final step is to find someone willing to drive you out into open water.

How Do I Protect My Boat When Beaching?

When beaching, you can protect your boat by placing a boat fender, often called a “beach fender,” between the boat and the shore.

The primary purpose of a beaching fender is to prevent damage from occurring when your boat contacts the shore or ground during low tide.

Besides preventing damage from occurring;

If placed correctly, a boat fender can also eliminate additional stress on your vessel’s propeller by keeping it out of contact with rocks in shallow waters.

A common alternative to using a beach fender is to attach bumpers to your watercraft directly or use an inflatable tube around the back of your engine.

These alternatives may not offer as much protection as using a conventional beaching fender because they are not deformable like a fender is.

If you are currently beaching your boat, consider where your boat will contact the shore – does it have large rocks in that area?

Will the bottom of your engine be rubbing against any sharp objects?

If so, use a beach fender to eliminate damage when beaching.

Placing bumpers or inflatable tubes directly on your propeller is not recommended.

This may cause unnecessary damage to both the propeller and the bumper itself if it’s placed in contact with one another.

Last, make sure you take preventative measures before using a fender by placing something beneath it to keep it from sinking into soft sand or dirt.

A section of PVC pipe or long metallic rod works well for this purpose.Using PVC for this purpose is the preferred option.

Reason it will not sink into sand or dirt and also provides a convenient method of differentiating fenders from other items, such as beach chairs.

How Should I Get My Boat Off The Sandbar?

You can get a boat off the sandbar by pushing the boat in a southerly direction while putting on a pair of swim fins and dive masks.

This will give you more power to get off the sandbar. Make sure that you have a friend with a larger boat, such as a tugboat or something similar.

But make sure that your large boat doesn’t get too close to your smaller boat; otherwise, you could risk your boats both getting stuck again.

You can also use an anchor to prevent yourself from drifting back onto the sandbar.

If you don’t have an anchor, either attempt to tow another person who is not on their sandbar via rope, or tie two of your empty plastic bottles together and fill them up with water.

Then attach one end of the rope onto the neck of an empty bottle and throw it towards dry land, then pull yourself using the other end of the rope.

Can You Beach A Direct Drive Boat?

Yes. You can beach a direct drive boat if it’s not too shallow and you stay idle. It’s possible to do this with no damage if the tide isn’t going out or coming in too quickly.

However, I wouldn’t recommend driving your boat directly into the sand unless you’re just messing around because if something goes wrong (and it probably will).

Then you might break your propeller, and that’s never fun. The only time I’d ever really recommend doing this is during a shallow tide when there are hardly any waves.

This way, there won’t be much water to go over the boat or under/around it, which means less chance of damaging anything.

Boat idling on dry land

As for how you can beach a direct drive boat, it’s pretty simple.

Make sure that the tide isn’t going out or coming in too quickly, and drive your vessel onto the sand with the bow facing towards the ocean.

Once you’re ashore, put your propeller into neutral and turn off your engine.

Conclusion

Beaching a pontoon boat is not the same as beaching a regular boat. Pontoons float, so they don’t need any special care or treatment when you beach them.

However, some things can cause damage if done improperly while beached on the shoreline.

One example of this would be to drop an anchor in the middle of an ocean and let it sit for extended periods without moving your boat around every few hours.