Bottom painting pontoons for lake use in the Carolina's

Ron LeB

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Just delayed taking delivery of my new 22' Benny, as I've heard it's best to take care of the "toons" prior to its maiden voyage. I find it odd that the Dealer doesn't offer such services, hence, I'm looking at tackling this on my own., The Marina did give me the name of a company dealing in this area, but like many outfits nowadays,,, they don't take messages or "reply"; Hence, I do what I do, on my own and I'm quite comfortable in doing so, as I'm handy with just about anything;, its now just a matter of education as to how to go about things.

Need some guidance on taking care of pontoons "underwater"....
I've just received Sharkhide, only to realize after discussion with Company that their product covers above water conditions. They highly recommend painting bottom of toons, especially since I don't have a lift at this point and the boat will be in the water, "possibly year round".... tho, that's not something I look forward to.

West Marine seems to have some solid guidance in this area and I'm hoping this forum can add some other tips and tricks to get this done. Again, I'm talking Lake, not Ocean and I'm in Lake Wylie...NC/SC; I'm new to area and have no clue as to lake conditions.... My first visit will be to West Marine located here to get their take as to what to apply....
Thanks in advance for your assistance
 
Just make sure whatever paint you use is aluminum friendly (no copper additives).
 
Just delayed taking delivery of my new 22' Benny, as I've heard it's best to take care of the "toons" prior to its maiden voyage. I find it odd that the Dealer doesn't offer such services, hence, I'm looking at tackling this on my own., The Marina did give me the name of a company dealing in this area, but like many outfits nowadays,,, they don't take messages or "reply"; Hence, I do what I do, on my own and I'm quite comfortable in doing so, as I'm handy with just about anything;, its now just a matter of education as to how to go about things.

Need some guidance on taking care of pontoons "underwater"....
I've just received Sharkhide, only to realize after discussion with Company that their product covers above water conditions. They highly recommend painting bottom of toons, especially since I don't have a lift at this point and the boat will be in the water, "possibly year round".... tho, that's not something I look forward to.

West Marine seems to have some solid guidance in this area and I'm hoping this forum can add some other tips and tricks to get this done. Again, I'm talking Lake, not Ocean and I'm in Lake Wylie...NC/SC; I'm new to area and have no clue as to lake conditions.... My first visit will be to West Marine located here to get their take as to what to apply....
Thanks in advance for your assistance
Price out painting toons. Then price out a used lift.
 
I've been pontoon boating on Lake Murray in SC for 30 years and I don't recall anyone painting their toons that did not intend to take use the boat in saltwater at least some of the time. Mine are not painted. Boat sits in the water 9 months a year. I acid wash every Fall.
 
Thanks for reply as most replies state “not to bottom paint”. Not familiar with Lake Murray as we’re new to area, but, you may or may not know that Lake Wylie is man made and controlled by Duke Energy. As of today the water is like mud, no exaggeration...it obviously changes over the course of time...and water conditions vary greatly.

Most folks seem to leave their boats in the water year round. I won’t be , so will notbottom paint , but will be paying for outside storage which isn’t cheap as I’ve just found out.
There’s a learning curve here for sure.


Sent from my iPad

On Mar 29, 2021, at 1:54 PM, Club Bennington <no-reply@club.benningtonmarine.com> wrote:
 
I still don't understand why the tubes are not painted. Most expensive aluminum fishing boats are painted. They look better are require less maint.
 
Thanks for reply as most replies state “not to bottom paint”. Not familiar with Lake Murray as we’re new to area, but, you may or may not know that Lake Wylie is man made and controlled by Duke Energy. As of today the water is like mud, no exaggeration...it obviously changes over the course of time...and water conditions vary greatly.

Most folks seem to leave their boats in the water year round. I won’t be , so will notbottom paint , but will be paying for outside storage which isn’t cheap as I’ve just found out.
There’s a learning curve here for sure.


Sent from my iPad
Thanks for reply as most replies state “not to bottom paint”. Not familiar with Lake Murray as we’re new to area, but, you may or may not know that Lake Wylie is man made and controlled by Duke Energy. As of today the water is like mud, no exaggeration...it obviously changes over the course of time...and water conditions vary greatly.

Most folks seem to leave their boats in the water year round. I won’t be , so will notbottom paint , but will be paying for outside storage which isn’t cheap as I’ve just found out.
There’s a learning curve here for sure.


Sent from my iPad
Hey Ron welcome to the forum. We are on Lake Norman above you. Whenever it rains, and we've gotten a ton lately, there's alot of run off making the water muddy with debris, logs, etc etc. You know what they say about S__t running downhill? Both of us are on a chain of lakes with Lake Norman being 5th and Wylie being 7th. Ha! Anyway we keep our boat in the water from May to September. Sharkhide makes it much easier to keep clean.....
 
I’m on Lake Wylie as well. Can’t weigh in on any toon protection as I keep mine on a lift but welcome and enjoy your new boat! Did you buy it from New Hope?
 
I’m on Lake Wylie as well. Can’t weigh in on any toon protection as I keep mine on a lift but welcome and enjoy your new boat! Did you buy it from New Hope?
I’m on Lake Wylie as well. Can’t weigh in on any toon protection as I keep mine on a lift but welcome and enjoy your new boat! Did you buy it from New Hope?
Purchased from Lake Norman Marina and they are delivering this Thursday.

We live in River Hills and at the moment I have to lease a slip elsewhere as RH is fully occupied.
It will be 3 years more than likely before I can get a covered slip here, hence the pontoon treatment question.
 
My boat is on Wylie and Tillery but came from Lake Murray. Mine was kept in a slip before I bought it and has a good stain from it. I tried last year to clean with some of the shelf toon cleaners but none did anything to the stains. This year I tried the Sharkhide cleaner and I’ve only done some test spots but it cleaned them to like new looking and once I get done with my other projects I’ll be finishing the job. I’ll post some pics before and after. Lake Norman Marina uses Macs Aluminum on their boats.

Welcome to the site and maybe we run into each other? I drop in at Ebeneezer.
 
You could always wrap them, just don’t do a flat co,or, make sure it has a gloss as they are hard to clean up shiny if not
 
My boat is on Wylie and Tillery but came from Lake Murray. Mine was kept in a slip before I bought it and has a good stain from it. I tried last year to clean with some of the shelf toon cleaners but none did anything to the stains. This year I tried the Sharkhide cleaner and I’ve only done some test spots but it cleaned them to like new looking and once I get done with my other projects I’ll be finishing the job. I’ll post some pics before and after. Lake Norman Marina uses Macs Aluminum on their boats.

Welcome to the site and maybe we run into each other? I drop in at Ebeneezer.
Thanks for reaching out....
seeing how Ebeneezer has been completely updated. Havent been there but it really sounds interesting and a place to visit for sure...
 
I boat in salt water and mine aren’t painted. Boat lives on a lift though and all the toons get rinsed back at the dock.
 
This is what my toons looked like after a season on Wylie.
 

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This is what they look like after using Sharkhide cleaner. Not thinking painting is needed. My .02
 

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