Pontoon/kick boat with aluminium or stainless frame?

I am having a tough time fighting wind and current in the bay. I also need to travel more distance than I can in my Fishcat.

I have looked at going the kayak route but much prefer the maneuverability and fishing position of a tube/pontoon.

My colleague who has a steel framed pontoon is really struggling with rust. I want to try and get hold of a pontoon with a rust resistant frame.

The few I have seen are very expensive, expensive enough to even consider a hobie kayak!

What exists out there that will suit my needs?

Check the post by identium, he's selling a pontoon.

Yes there are you will need to search for a pontoon boat with a Stainless Steel frame from one of the big name pontoon boat companies like Buck's Bags or Creek Company to name a few. Or you need to find a welding and metal fabricator to custom make you one by either designing it yourself or having them copy an existing frame.

Steel and aluminum frames will not last in salt water.

Just have the frame powder coated

miller wrote:Just have the frame powder coated

Does that work over the long term? If so, seems it might be the cheaper alternative?

Would like to hear more about that.

I emailed Creek to ask them and the very helpfully referred me to their website. For the same trouble of replying they could have told me if they do or dont make pontoons out of non corrosive material!

Outcast have their PAC range in aluminium but I cant seem to find any out of stainless.

Bucks Bags have some really nice stainless steel stuff but at those prices it puts you in Hobie Mirage territory.

Decision decisions!

Streak wrote:I emailed Creek to ask them and the very helpfully referred me to their website. For the same trouble of replying they could have told me if they do or dont make pontoons out of non corrosive material!

Outcast have their PAC range in aluminium but I cant seem to find any out of stainless.

Bucks Bags have some really nice stainless steel stuff but at those prices it puts you in Hobie Mirage territory.

Decision decisions!

Mmmmm....Hobie Mirage....uuuuuuggguggugghghghghghg...

2 words, powder coat! For around $100 you can have it done and won't have anything to worry about.

I know a lot of guys who have stuff powder coated in there boat for this very same reason. I also used to have MX race bike frames powder coated as well. They never chipped and looked good as new.

Get ready to read a long response with all your questions answered backed by 20 years of welding, fabricating and coating experience .

Powder coating is and isn't the solution, note pretty much all frames come from the factory powder coated and how are they holding up? The problem with most frames made out of steel and aluminum is that they do not seal them up completely so water will get inside and corrode the frames at the joints no matter how great a coating you put on the outside it's going to corrode on the inside. Not to mention they are using the thinnest wall material they can get away with.

Powder coating is great and I use it on alot of stuff but it cannot get into all of the crevices at weld joints and any where you get a chip in the frame rust or calcium will begin to develop and travel under the powder coating.
Also alot of powder coaters will go the cheap route and not sand blast before coating if you bring them something that is bare metal, do not use these people because they suck... any good coater will blast anything and everything before coating.

Here are you options.

1. Take your brand new frame and have it sand blasted, then have a welder seal all welds and openings in the frame so it is water and air tight and then have it powder coated.

2. Same as choice 1. except before you have the frame powder coated get it metallized "http://zincnation.com/" see link for what that process is. Some serious corrosion protection and rust/calcium will not travel under the metallizing.

3. Take your new frame to a place that does spray in truck bedliners and get it coated for an extra beefy layer of protection.

4. Probably the most expensive is to take your frame to a welding/fab shop and tell them here duplicate this out of stainless. The stainless itself will never rust but be warned metallic particles in the air and water will stick to the stainless and cause rust spots. Most can be cleaned with a stainless wire brush or scotch bright but never ever use steel/copper/brass wool to clean stainless. With proper care that frame will outlast you and all the pontoon bladders you can throw at it.

Hope this helps and gives you the answer to your question

hey guys,
I am sure you are all aware that I am a big Buck's Bags fan. My boat is approaching 20 years of hard use. I have used it in some of the harshest salt water environments, like the Salton Sea. My frame is uncoated, welded stainless steel, it is heavy. But it has very, very little rust. My frame has many thru holes drilled in it for things like the oar locks, motor mount bracket hitch pins, and the seat mounts. In short my frame is completely open. because of this I have always made shooting hot water into the frame after a day on the water,(either fresh or salt) a part of my cleanup routine. I think this may be a good reason why my frame is still in good shape. Also I regularly wipe my frame down with WD-40 after cleaning. Anyway I am big proponent of Stainless. Yes the Buck's boats are expensive (as well as their tubes) but I firmly believe they are the best built on the market and for my money Stainless is the material of choice.

That being said, I am presently pursuing building my new frame from carbon fiber round and square stock. ( no corrosion and very light) I have found a supplier for the stock, but I am having difficulty finding the connective hardware that suits my needs. Most are custom made connectors for very specific designs and are brutally expensive. I hope to find what I need soon and will then build my frame.

bodfish