How to repair houseboat pontoons that leak?

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How to repair houseboat pontoons that leak?

by Mike
(Ontario, Canada)

How do we repair houseboat pontoons that leak?

Can we repair a pontoon houseboat that leaks water into the round steel pontoons?

What I mean is, other than welding every little hole that leaks, can we maybe fill them up one of those "expanding foams" used to seal around windows etc...

The foam could expand and fill the pontoon interior, and even if it leaked a little, and took in a gallon or two of water, no big deal, there would still be a lot of buoyancy?

What do you folks think? Am I "out to lunch" and dreaming.

Looking forward to your replies, Mike.

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Reply - Answer
Well Mike, sorry to hear about your leaking pontoon problem.

In respect to filling the pontoons with the "expanding foam", I had already thought of that with a inflatable dinghy that always had a pin-hole slow air leak. I figured that by filling it, I could eliminate any future leaks.

I thought about using the foam, but realized after buying a can, and testing how it worked, that it would be very difficult to completely fill the dinghy air chambers completely.

I imagine that each of your supposedly air-tight pontoon chambers is probably @ 2ft diameter x @ 5 ft long. It would be difficult to fill them completely, in my opinion.

So I guess I will say that I don't think you're "out to lunch" since I have also thought of the idea. :)

Lastly, hopefully some of our readers will share and post comments about their leaking pontoon houseboat experiences.

Feel free to use the "Click here to post comments." link found near the bottom of this page.

Thanks again for sharing, IAN - from www.all-about-houseboats.com

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How to repair houseboat pontoons that leak?

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Floatation foam in houseboat pontoons
by: Dave I.

When I worked at the marina I talked to many people about filling my pontoons with foam. There are 2 big concerns about any kind of foam. First, there is always added weight, and if you trailer your boat that is always a big concern.

Second, most foams will act like a sponge and if you have a leak in your toons, the water will collect in there with no way to get it out!

Therefore, in a couple of years your toons will be completely rotten from the inside and would need to be completely replaced. Having them welded and being able to still remove the water is the best (and longest lasting) option.

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Leaking pontoons
by: Val

We have a 1982 Kayot with steel pontoons. We pulled the boat and re-skinned the front 8' with new steel and even put 2x2 steel angle along the edges since this is the most used part of the pontoon for beaching.

We used the under water epoxy for a quick fix, however you have your boat pulled already, my advice do it right. After we reskinned our 'toons our welder did spot welding and rebuilt the transoms to support new motors.

After this was done we invested in 10 gallons of Coal Tar Epoxy. After two coats of this-it goes on like frosting we put the boat back in and have had zero leaks.

It was well worth the investment. Our cost was about $3000.00. Out boat is 43' long.

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Fill the Pontoons with Floatation Foam
by: Anonymous

I happen to differ with the previous comment. I have a 1986 45' Boatel houseboat. After talking to many owners of this same boat I found one thing. They all leak at that age.

I dealt with having to pump them out every weekend until it almost went down nose first. A friend of mine used this company called Tailored Spaces, they are based out of Houston, Texas.

They came to me in New Mexico and pumped all of my chambers completely full of Coast Guard Approved Floatation foam for a fraction of the price you can buy it online and do it yourself.

They had a really cool computer controlled truck that also had a small camera they put in the pontoon.

I found out later that they are the leading contractor for the Coast Guard, but the owner is also a houseboat owner, and does small stuff to fill in the slow times.

It was hard to bite off the $ 3300.00 cost, but it was a lot cheaper than replacing or losing the house boat. I had paid that much in welding charges.

I was really worried about the added weight, but it turns out it only adds 3 lbs for every 11 cu ft. It didn't even budge our boat.

I had them do it a year ago and it's still floating higher than ever. Their website is tailoredspacesoftexas.com talk to Chris, very knowledgable.

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Fixing pontoon leaks
by: Anonymous

There's a product if I remember correctly is called JB Weld ?
It works great to seal, repair, fill or patch anything.

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How to repair houseboat pontoons that leak?

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How to repair houseboat pontoons that leak?