Pinhole leaks in the pontoons

[bigdealsam]

I have an 8 yr old pontoon that was in fine condition. I took it to coastal NC and used it in the ICW for a week or so afterwards I cleaned excessively (boat, motor, pontoons, bimini and trailer)and left it for almost one full year. When I finally returned and dropped it in the water, it had developed about 25 - 30 tiny pinholes in the pontoons. After 3 or 4 hrs floating in the ICW it had enough water in the pontoons to nearly swamp the motor.

Has anyone had this experience with pontoons? What is the cause and how do I prevent it from happening again.

Thanks in advance for the response.

 

[MinUph]

Re: Pinhole leaks in the pontoons

If you have carpeted bunks the salt water can stay in the carpet. It would be very hard to rinse the bunks unless you raise the boat off them. Or pull the boat in fresh water when possible. Painting the logs helps. If they are pin holes a good coat of epoxy might help followed but the proper paint.

 

[bigdealsam]

Re: Pinhole leaks in the pontoons

Thanks MinUph. Do you think it would hurt the pontoons if I completely removed the carpet from the bunks and just let the boat rest on the bare wood? Would the wood also hold enough salt to damage the pontoons? Is there any replacement bunks that I could buy that would not hurt the pontoons? Any info that you might have or any other of the iboat posters would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MinUph]

Re: Pinhole leaks in the pontoons

I'm no professional on metals and there are more professional people here that will chime in I'm sure. But there is a plastic like material that can go over the bunks and I doubt it would absorb the salt water like carpeting. If you logs are not painted and you could float the boat on the trailer then bare wood might help But again I'm not sure. Mine are carpeted and the boat lives off the gulf. My logs are painted. Also be sure your battery is off when not in use even on the trailer.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Pinhole leaks in the pontoons

I would remove the carpet and replace with a bunk liner (usually UHMW or HDPE)

however with all the pin-holes, you need to address that first. depending on the level of corrosion damage, you may need to replace the logs.

Salt and aluminum do not mix well and usually require a good thorough cleaning with salt-away or similar products. Painting usually only masks the issue until the corrosion is really bad.

 

[BigDfromTN]

Re: Pinhole leaks in the pontoons

One other thought... Are your bunks Treated wood? If so, this could also be part of the problem as Aluminum and Treated lumber do not play well together!

Best of luck to ya!

 

[TurboM700]

Re: Pinhole leaks in the pontoons

I never put bunk carpet down on mine and the pontoons look just fine. The one thing I will say is you will not be able to slide the boat off the trailer alum and wood dont slide well. If you do just wood and use treated make sure you paint it as over time treated lumber and Alum with cause the same problem salt water did.

Mike