Pontoon boat

Last updated
A pleasure boat with two lengthwise pontoons Pontoon boat.jpg
A pleasure boat with two lengthwise pontoons

A pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on floats to remain buoyant. These pontoons (also called tubes) contain much reserve buoyancy and allow designers to create large deck plans fitted with a variety of accommodations including expansive lounge areas, stand-up bars, and sun pads. More horsepower is now able to be applied to the stern due to design improvements. [1] Pontoon boat drafts may be as shallow as eight inches (20 centimetres), which reduces risk of running aground and underwater damage; this allows it to come close to shore to pick up and drop off loads.

Contents

History

A pontoon ferry crossing the Zambezi at Kazungula KazungulaFerry.jpg
A pontoon ferry crossing the Zambezi at Kazungula

The 1952 invention of the pontoon motorboat in the United States is credited to a farmer who lived on the Horseshoe Chain of Lakes, near Richmond, Minnesota. Ambrose Weeres put a wooden platform on two columns of steel barrels welded together end-to-end, creating a sturdy deck that would be more stable on a lake than a conventional boat. [2] Living in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes", Weeres thought this idea might be marketed. The first boat was "The Empress". He built a few boats and sold them with the help of dealers. He started Weeres Industries to meet unexpected demand. Weeres, later called "Mr. Pontoon", was elected to the Minnesota Marina Hall of Fame. [3]

Designs and uses

Common pontoon boat designs are a catamaran with two hulls, or a trimaran with three hulls. Boats with three hulls are sometimes called tri-toons. [4]

Pontoon boat designs have changed significantly since the early 2000s, with boats now featuring larger tubes, increased engine horsepower, and cuddy cabins. [4]

Pontoon boats are used for pleasure on lakes and rivers, and in some cases on oceans close to shore. Pontoon watersport activities include tubing, waterskiing, and wakeboarding. Common pontoon accessories include inflatable slides, diving boards, sun shades, and Bimini tops. [5]

They are also used as small vessel ferries to cross rivers and lakes in many parts of the world, especially in Africa. Pontoon ferries may be motorized, such as the Kazungula Ferry across the Zambezi River, or powered by another boat, or pulled by cables. A type of ferry known as the cable ferry (also called punts in medieval times and in modern Australia and New Zealand) pull themselves across a river using a motor or human power applied to the cable, which also guides the pontoon. Pontoons may support a platform, creating a raft. A raft supporting a house-like structure is a houseboat. A pontoon boat keeping a sauna cabin is called a sauna boat or sauntoon. [6]

Small inflatable pontoon boats are one or two-person, catamaran-type boats, designed for leisure and fishing. Their pontoons are made out of abrasion-resistant PVC and nylon with aluminum, steel, and plastic frames for support. In today’s setting, more and more people prefer to use frameless pontoon boats.[ citation needed ] They are powered with paddles, oars and often with electric trolling motors using deep cycle lead batteries. Commonly they are equipped with motor mount, battery storage area, fishing rod holders, canopy, fishfinder mount, small anchor, and other required fishing gear. Such boats are suitable for ponds, lakes, rivers, and seas during calm weather. However, due to their light weight, they are susceptible to waves and windy conditions. Nonetheless, such boats are often used even for big game fishing.

Safety

The pontoon effect is when a large force applied to the side capsizes a pontoon boat without much warning, particularly a top-heavy boat.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boat</span> Vessel for transport by water

A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayak</span> Light boat that is paddled

A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Inuktitut word qajaq. In British English, the kayak is also considered to be a kind of canoe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yacht</span> Recreational boat or ship

A yacht is a sail- or motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a yacht, as opposed to a boat, such a pleasure vessel is likely to be at least 33 feet (10 m) in length and may have been judged to have good aesthetic qualities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinghy</span> Type of small boat

A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which are designed first and foremost for sailing. A dinghy's main use is for transfers from larger boats, especially when the larger boat cannot dock at a suitably-sized port or marina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raft</span> Flat structure for support or transportation over water

A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrels, or inflated air chambers, and are typically not propelled by an engine. Rafts are an ancient mode of transport; naturally-occurring rafts such as entwined vegetation and pieces of wood have been used to traverse water since the dawn of humanity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catamaran</span> Watercraft with two parallel hulls of equal size

A catamaran is a watercraft with two parallel hulls of equal size. The distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts resistance to rolling and overturning. Catamarans typically have less hull volume, smaller displacement, and shallower draft (draught) than monohulls of comparable length. The two hulls combined also often have a smaller hydrodynamic resistance than comparable monohulls, requiring less propulsive power from either sails or motors. The catamaran's wider stance on the water can reduce both heeling and wave-induced motion, as compared with a monohull, and can give reduced wakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watercraft</span> Water-borne conveyance

A watercraft or waterborne vessel is any vehicle designed for travel across or through water bodies, such as a boat, ship, hovercraft, submersible or submarine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontoon bridge</span> Type of floating bridge

A pontoon bridge, also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow-draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load that they can carry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inflatable boat</span> Lightweight boat constructed with flexible tubes containing pressurized gas

An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull are often flexible, while for boats longer than 3 metres (9.8 ft), the floor typically consists of three to five rigid plywood or aluminium sheets fixed between the tubes, but not joined rigidly together. Often the transom is rigid, providing a location and structure for mounting an outboard motor.

A floating dock, floating pier or floating jetty is a platform or ramp supported by pontoons. It is usually joined to the shore with a gangway. The pier is usually held in place by vertical poles referred to as pilings, which are embedded in the seafloor or by anchored cables. Frequently used in marinas, this type of pier maintains a fixed vertical relationship to watercraft secured to it, independent of tidal, river or lake elevation. The angle of the gangway varies with the water level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverboat</span> Watercraft designed for inland navigation

A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury units constructed for entertainment enterprises, such as lake or harbour tour boats. As larger water craft, virtually all riverboats are especially designed and constructed, or alternatively, constructed with special-purpose features that optimize them as riverine or lake service craft, for instance, dredgers, survey boats, fisheries management craft, fireboats and law enforcement patrol craft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merchant ship</span> Civilian boat or ship that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire

A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are used for military purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houseboat</span> Boat used as a home

A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily for regular dwelling. Most houseboats are not motorized, as they are usually moored or kept stationary, fixed at a berth, and often tethered to land to provide utilities. However, many are capable of operation under their own power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Z-drive</span> Steerable marine drive system

A Z-drive is a type of marine propulsion unit. Specifically, it is an azimuth thruster. The pod can rotate 360 degrees allowing for rapid changes in thrust direction and thus vessel direction. This eliminates the need for a conventional rudder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Float (nautical)</span> Flotation device

Floats are airtight hollow structures, similar to pressure vessels, designed to provide buoyancy in water. Their principal applications are in watercraft hulls, aircraft floats, floating piers, pontoon rhinos, pontoon bridges, and marine engineering applications such as salvage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditional fishing boat</span>

Traditionally, many different kinds of boats have been used as fishing boats to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Even today, many traditional fishing boats are still in use. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), at the end of 2004, the world fishing fleet consisted of about 4 million vessels, of which 2.7 million were undecked (open) boats. While nearly all decked vessels were mechanised, only one-third of the undecked fishing boats were powered, usually with outboard engines. The remaining 1.8 million boats were traditional craft of various types, operated by sail and oars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhino ferry</span> A barge made from pontoons powered by outboard engines

A rhino ferry is a barge constructed from several pontoons which are connected and equipped with outboard engines, used to transport heavy equipment and people. Rhino ferries were used extensively during the Normandy landings and other theaters ; their low draft was well-suited for shallow beaches, and they could also be used as piers when filled with water. An alternative to tank landing craft, they were operated by United States Navy Construction Battalions. They ferried their cargo from the outlying Landing Ships, Tank to the shore.

References

  1. "Pontoon Boats". Boats.com. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  2. McDonald, Pete (May 2, 2017). "Totally Tubular". Boating .
  3. Lewandowski, Bill. "Ambrose Weeres and His Idea that Started an Industry". Pontoonopedia. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Thompson, Doug (July 1, 2016). "Not Your Father's Pontoon". Boating World.
  5. "Pontoon Boats". Pontoon Boats. October 17, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  6. "Northern Ontario business builds floating saunas". CBC News . October 16, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2024.