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Middle pontoon w/opening

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Marco Mike

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I have a 2007 Ben with an opening in the middle pontoon from the deck. I want to leave it on my lift in south Florida thru next summer when we are back up north. Do any of you have suggestions on the best way to keep rain from seeping in this area? Thanks.
 
Marco Mike said:
I have a 2007 Ben with an opening in the middle pontoon from the deck. I want to leave it on my lift in south Florida thru next summer when we are back up north. Do any of you have suggestions on the best way to keep rain from seeping in this area? Thanks.
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Couple things...... Spray your cover with waterproofing spray so the water beads up on it and runs off! Make sure your cover is nice and tight by extending the poles as far as you can for the same reason. Water tends to collect on a loose cover and seep through to the interior. To make sure water stays out of your center toon storage..... Seal it! You can just put duct tape around the edges and any vent/s that you have or you can put some kind of plastic material over the entire hatch and seal it with duct tape!
 
before you seal everything up....

make sure it's dry as the phoenix desert... or you'll come open it up to a locker full of mold....

I'd also recommend removing the "carpet" or flooring material/cover. and probably disconnect the automatic bilge pump if you have one. it'll likely vampire draw enough current to corrode the battery terminals, and maybe even the wires...
 
You could easily exceed the weight capacity of the boat and possibly the lift too, with one hurricane or a couple of storms worth of rain. I wouldn’t disconnect the bilge pump. The power to the pump is the issue. I’m in south Florida and put a solar charger on #2 battery and it will be left on a hot buss to that battery with the bilge pump. Remember a pint of water is about a pound and just think how many pints that center toon can hold? “a boat load” I bet.
 
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Timdelta said:
You could easily exceed the weight capacity of the boat and possibly the lift too, with one hurricane or a couple of storms worth of rain. I wouldn’t disconnect the bilge pump. The power to the pump is the issue. I’m in south Florida and put a solar charger on #2 battery and it will be left on a hot buss to that battery with the bilge pump. Remember a pint of water is about a pound and just think how many pints that center toon can hold? “a boat load” I bet.
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Good points…. I was incorrectly, or at least irresponsibly assuming the lift was completely covered and protected from weather. Many in FL are, but many are not. If you can’t guarantee that water won’t get on the deck, don’t disconnect the bilge…
 
I think the above raises a variety of good points and advice. I too was assuming it was going to be on a covered lift given the storage plans.

Thus, if NOT on a lift, but planning to leave down there as you are for very long periods of time, a covered lift is probably a very wise investment. I’d put that and Timdelta’s advice as #1 on my list of possible mitigation measures.
 
How about a rubber floor mat to cover the hatch?
 
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