Are you having that negative thought of the sinking of your pontoon boat during your first trip with your family?
And are you trying to put up the shutters of your brain, forcing it to be positive?
Well, it’s natural! The human brain has a built-in negative bias that causes us to focus on the bad things first.
So, instead of thrusting positivity on your brain, let’s give it a clear picture by diving into your query “Do pontoon boats sink easily?”.
Table Of Contents
Are pontoon boats sinkable or unsinkable?
- The unique design and wide surface area of a pontoon boat make it far more buoyant than the traditional V-hull boats.
- The two tubes of a pontoon boat make the hull sit 2-feet above the water surface leading to no build-up of bilge water and thus preventing the boat from sinking.
- Each tube is chambered i.e, divided into 3-4 separate compartments. So if the tube develops a leak, water will be filled in just one chamber and not in the entire tube. Thus, the remaining chambers will maintain the buoyancy of the boat and prevent it from sinking. This is the most important feature that makes a pontoon boat very hard to capsize.
Because of the above features, pontoon boats are very safe and almost unsinkable. However, it isn’t set in stone.
Pontoon boats are unsinkable, provided they are not roughly handled anyway. The activities that can make your pontoon sinkable, must be avoided.
Also Read: How Do You Keep Aluminium Pontoons from Corroding?
What can make the pontoon boats sink?
Boating in bad weather conditions
Don’t drive your pontoon boat when it is windy because high-speed winds produce waves on the lake. Your pontoon will struggle in the rough water.
If you try to drive faster to cross the waves, the water will get into the forward part of the pontoon increasing its chances of taking a nosedive (Most pontoon boats sink from the front part and this is called nosedive).
So make sure you don’t go out for pontoon boating in harsh weather conditions.
Overspeeding
Overspeeding is always a menace no matter if it’s a car or a pontoon boat.
If you are boating at a very high speed and suddenly you have to apply brakes to prevent your pontoon from hitting a load of rocks or another boat, the braking effect will be longer and you better know what could happen next!
Overloading
If the pontoon is loaded with weight more than its maximum carrying capacity and the waterline has reached above the middle of the boat, it’s certain that the pontoon is going to sink.
It’s super important to follow the weight limit guidelines of the manufacturer of the pontoon boat and prevent the weight of the boat from exceeding the buoyant force acting on it.
Also Read: What type of gas does a pontoon boat use?
Uneven weight distribution
If maximum weight is placed on the forward part of the pontoon, it will dip lower into the water. As you continue driving, the front part of the pontoon persists to be lower into the water. This is called as “Ploughing effect”.
As a result, water gets into the front part of the pontoon and it starts taking a nosedive.
Boating on oceans
It is ideal to go pontoon boating in inland water bodies like lakes, ponds, and rivers.
This doesn’t mean you can’t take your boat on the ocean. You definitely can provide you cruise on your pontoon boat close to the shore. You must refrain from going for a deep-sea adventure since you already know what a menace heavy waves are for a pontoon boat.
The V-shaped design of the conventional V-hull boats enables them to cut through the water rather than get lifted when the water rises, which is not the case with a pontoon boat. So it must be absolutely taken care of.
Conclusion
Do pontoon boats sink easily?
No, they don’t. They are designed to be very safe, stable, and unlikely to sink.
But, this must not be ever taken for granted. It’s mandatory to make sure to avoid the above-mentioned activities in order to ensure the unsinkability of your pontoon.
I am pretty sure that you must not be having that negative thought anymore because you are now very well aware of how reliable pontoon boats are, provided you take all the important cautions.
So just go and have a super safe and super fun trip with your family!
