Pontoon (boat)

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(October 2009)

A pleasure boat with two lengthwise pontoons.

A pontoon is a flotation device with buoyancy sufficient to float itself as well as a heavy load. A
pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on pontoons to float. Pontoons may be used on boats, rafts,
barges, docks, airboats, hovercrafts, floatplanes or seaplanes. Pontoons may support a platform,
creating a raft. A raft supporting a house-like structure is a houseboat. A fixed platform can be used as a
dock. Common boat designs are a catamaran with two pontoons, or a trimaran with three. Pontoons
may be simply constructed from sealed cylinders such as pipes or barrels, or fabricated as boxes from
metal or concrete. Pontoon boat drafts may be as shallow as eight inches, which reduces risk of running
aground and underwater damage. The pontoon effect is when a large force applied to the side capsizes a
pontoon boat without much warning, particularly a top-heavy boat.
Pontoon boats for pleasure boating and fishing can be low cost for their capacity, and cheaper to insure
than other boats, even when equipped with substantial engines.[citation needed]
Small inflatable pontoon boats are one or two man, catamaran type boats, designed for leisure and
fishing. Their pontoons are made out of abrasion resistant PVC and nylon with aluminum, steel and/or
plastic frames for support. 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 light weight, they
are susceptible to waves and windy conditions. Nonetheless, such boats are often used even for big
game fishing.
Pontoon boats are used as small vehicle ferries to cross rivers and lakes in many parts of the world,
especially in Africa. Pontoon ferries may be motorised, 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 ("punts" was what they were called in the 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.
The flotation tubes of RIB (rigid inflatable boats) are often referred to as pontoons.

Contents

1 Anchored platforms
2 History
3 See also
4 Notes
5 External links

Anchored platforms

An anchored raft-like platform used for diving, often referred to as a pontoon

In Australia and New Zealand, the term "pontoon" often refers to an anchored raft-like platform used
for diving from. Pontoons are located at many beaches (particularly those at which swimming classes
are taught) and lake shores, but usually only during the summer months.

History
The 1952 invention of the pontoon motorboat in the USA 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. 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.[1]

A pontoon ferry crossing the Zambezi at Kazungula

See also
Pontoon bridge

Notes
1.
1. "An Idea that Started an Industry", Weeres Industries Corp., St. Cloud, Minnesota

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pontoon boats.

Advanced Pontoon Construction

V-Toon technology description with diagrams
Avalon technology description
Small Pontoon Boats