leaking pontoon tube

RUGMAN · 07-28-2020, 05:57 AM

I think one of my tubes on my triton is leaking , any thoughts on how to check.

tummyman · 07-28-2020, 06:37 AM

Picture is worth a thousand words. I'd pull it immediately...you should be able to see the leak when it is to of the water and draining !

whalebackpoint'r · 07-28-2020, 06:53 AM

Pontoon tanks have drain plugs. Pull it, remove drain plug. If water comes out, its leaking. Could be a seam separation. Fill tank with compressed air to find leak. Have it repaired with aluminum weld. Good luck!

JADAQ · 07-28-2020, 06:57 AM

Call Irwin marine, they do pontoon repair.
Should be quick and easy, lot of leaking pontoons this year!

Patofnaud · 07-28-2020, 08:20 AM

Unless fairies came during the night and mounted 6 group 27 batteries on the starboard side, yep you do look to be sinking on that side.

Some toons have drains, some have bungs on top to pressurize, dealer will deal with it. Get it to your dealer asap before you become unusable.

sunsationdave · 07-28-2020, 09:36 AM

Hello Rugman
yes your toon is leaking i had the same problem last year
all pontoons will leak st some point due to rough water on winnie
thats i was told
mine was a weld on the planing finn where it welded to the toon
they drained water re welded it then pressure checked it all set

Easy fix

Dave

LIforrelaxin · 07-28-2020, 09:47 AM

As other have said pull the boat, your toon is definately leaking..... most all the marina's on the lake can deal with this, although they may need to call in a welder to do the actual fix.....

As for the roughness of winni causing ab normal where and tear... That is bogus information..... Pontoons are prone to leaking, it happens.... Likely it was a defect from the manufacturing process, or something in the water was hit.....

Descant · 07-28-2020, 10:05 AM

If 'toons are "prone to leak" why aren't they filled with foam or compartmented?

XCR-700 · 07-28-2020, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Descant

If 'toons are "prone to leak" why aren't they filled with foam or compartmented?

Or maybe compressed air at a modest level and equipped with a gauge for the owner to monitor.

Either way that looks a little scary, I would jump on that right away!

As others have said, its likely not a major repair, so hopefully it wont set you back too much.

Good Luck.

ishoot308 · 07-28-2020, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Descant

If 'toons are "prone to leak" why aren't they filled with foam or compartmented?

They aren't prone to leaking and they are compartmented. Of the four pontoons I have owned only one developed a leak in the nose cone which was easily fixed.

Dan

mofn · 07-28-2020, 06:24 PM

I know that look!
Last year East Coast Welding in Guilford fixed my issue last year.
The amount of time that it will take to drain is surprising.

Descant · 07-28-2020, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishoot308

They aren't prone to leaking and they are compartmented. Of the four pontoons I have owned only one developed a leak in the nose cone which was easily fixed.

Dan

Posts #4,6 and 7 lead me to believe that a leaking pontoon is not as unusual as might be the case with other types of boats. Two weeks ago, the folks working on my dock called a welder out from Gilford to fix their leaking pontoon on my beach. Unusual to me, so I give 4,6 &7 credibility. The earlier posts refer to a (singular) drain plug. If they are all compartmented, wouldn't there be several plugs, one for each compartment? Plugs on the bottom don't make sense to me, so, access from the top to pump out each compartment?).

TiltonBB · 07-29-2020, 04:59 AM

The plugs on the bottom are so you can drain them. With plugs on the top you have to use some type of reducer on a shop vac to get the water out.

I have one pontoon that may have a quart of water in it by the end of the season and I jut take the plug out and let it drain. I am not sure if it is leaking or that is just condensation but it is a small enough amount that it doesn't matter.

Someone above recommended East Coast Welding. I have also used East Coast Welding in Gilford and they do a great job. I know that they do a lot of aluminum welding. For many years they have been making a lot of the aluminum docks for Watermark.

RUGMAN · 07-29-2020, 06:54 AM

Thanks formal your input, I don't have a trailer, so I am going to call the dealer where I purchased the boat to pull out and get it looked at and repaired.

ishoot308 · 07-29-2020, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Descant

Posts #4,6 and 7 lead me to believe that a leaking pontoon is not as unusual as might be the case with other types of boats. Two weeks ago, the folks working on my dock called a welder out from Gilford to fix their leaking pontoon on my beach. Unusual to me, so I give 4,6 &7 credibility. The earlier posts refer to a (singular) drain plug. If they are all compartmented, wouldn't there be several plugs, one for each compartment? Plugs on the bottom don't make sense to me, so, access from the top to pump out each compartment?).

There are several vented plugs, one for each compartment on the top of the pontoon normally. Every manufacturer is different. Some of the older pontoons have a plug in the rear bottom of the pontoon as well.

Regarding leaks...I guess I should clarify, Pontoons don't leak because of waves or rough water...I would guess 90% of pontoon leaks are caused by mishandling during storage. I see many valet marina's set their pontoon boats right on the ground with nothing underneath them. This causes undue stress on the pontoons. The proper way is to put cribbing dunnage under the structural part of the pontoon (where the circular welds are and internal compartment supports are).

Another issue I have seen is not draining the condensation that occurs before cold winter storage. Water seeps in corners and crevices of the welds and can pop the weld when frozen.

The center pontoon on many of these tri-toons you see is completely open on the top and the inside is used for storage. Mine has a bilge pump in the center rear of the tube which should be run before navigating to remove any rain water that has collected. It's amazing how much water gets in there after a simple rain storm!

I have never seen a pontoon boat sink...Have you?

Dan

LIforrelaxin · 07-30-2020, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Regarding leaks...I guess I should clarify, Pontoons don't leak because of waves or rough water...I would guess 90% of pontoon leaks are caused by mishandling during storage. I see many valet marina's set their pontoon boats right on the ground with nothing underneath them. This causes undue stress on the pontoons. The proper way is to put cribbing dunnage under the structural part of the pontoon (where the circular welds are and internal compartment supports are).

Fully agree with Dan on this one.... leaky pontoons, are not caused because of the rough water conditions on winnipesaukee... Docking, beaching, poor support in storage, etc. lead to the problems.

Because of this there are some places that will not rack store pontoons for Valet service. Harrilla landing by me is one of them.....

SAMIAM · 07-31-2020, 06:55 AM

Had the same problem a couple of years ago......examined the pontoons visually in shallow water and found what was obviously forklift damage.
Tritoons are a little more challenging to lift......they have to reset the blades to fit.Anyway,it was a local marina and they owned the mistake and repaired it at no charge.

07-28-2020, 05:57 AM	#1
RUGMAN Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: weirs beach, Posts: 301 Thanks: 39 Thanked 39 Times in 32 Posts	leaking pontoon tube I think one of my tubes on my triton is leaking , any thoughts on how to check. Attached Images

07-28-2020, 09:36 AM	#6
sunsationdave Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 33 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	toon leak Hello Rugman yes your toon is leaking i had the same problem last year all pontoons will leak st some point due to rough water on winnie thats i was told mine was a weld on the planing finn where it welded to the toon they drained water re welded it then pressure checked it all set Easy fix Dave

07-28-2020, 09:47 AM	#7
LIforrelaxin Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Texas, Lake Ray Hubbard and NH, Long Island Winnipesaukee Posts: 2,871 Thanks: 1,037 Thanked 892 Times in 524 Posts	As other have said pull the boat, your toon is definately leaking..... most all the marina's on the lake can deal with this, although they may need to call in a welder to do the actual fix..... As for the roughness of winni causing ab normal where and tear... That is bogus information..... Pontoons are prone to leaking, it happens.... Likely it was a defect from the manufacturing process, or something in the water was hit..... __________________ Life is about how much time you can spend relaxing... I do it on an island that isn't really an island.....

07-28-2020, 10:05 AM	#8
Descant Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Merrimack and Welch Island Posts: 4,343 Thanks: 1,339 Thanked 1,621 Times in 1,053 Posts	"prone to leak"? If 'toons are "prone to leak" why aren't they filled with foam or compartmented?

07-28-2020, 06:37 AM	#2
tummyman Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 833 Thanks: 256 Thanked 672 Times in 243 Posts	Picture is worth a thousand words. I'd pull it immediately...you should be able to see the leak when it is to of the water and draining !

07-28-2020, 06:53 AM	#3
whalebackpoint'r Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 126 Thanks: 30 Thanked 49 Times in 24 Posts	Pontoon tanks have drain plugs. Pull it, remove drain plug. If water comes out, its leaking. Could be a seam separation. Fill tank with compressed air to find leak. Have it repaired with aluminum weld. Good luck!

07-28-2020, 06:57 AM	#4
JADAQ Senior Member Join Date: May 2016 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 198 Thanks: 4 Thanked 66 Times in 43 Posts	Call Irwin marine, they do pontoon repair. Should be quick and easy, lot of leaking pontoons this year!

07-28-2020, 08:20 AM	#5
Patofnaud Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Tilton/Paugus Bay Posts: 239 Thanks: 13 Thanked 64 Times in 45 Posts	Unless fairies came during the night and mounted 6 group 27 batteries on the starboard side, yep you do look to be sinking on that side. Some toons have drains, some have bungs on top to pressurize, dealer will deal with it. Get it to your dealer asap before you become unusable.

07-28-2020, 06:24 PM	#11
mofn Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 67 Thanks: 0 Thanked 19 Times in 15 Posts	I know that look! Last year East Coast Welding in Guilford fixed my issue last year. The amount of time that it will take to drain is surprising.

07-29-2020, 04:59 AM	#13
TiltonBB Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Gilford, NH and Florida Posts: 2,991 Thanks: 696 Thanked 2,196 Times in 931 Posts	The plugs on the bottom are so you can drain them. With plugs on the top you have to use some type of reducer on a shop vac to get the water out. I have one pontoon that may have a quart of water in it by the end of the season and I jut take the plug out and let it drain. I am not sure if it is leaking or that is just condensation but it is a small enough amount that it doesn't matter. Someone above recommended East Coast Welding. I have also used East Coast Welding in Gilford and they do a great job. I know that they do a lot of aluminum welding. For many years they have been making a lot of the aluminum docks for Watermark.

07-29-2020, 06:54 AM	#14
RUGMAN Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: weirs beach, Posts: 301 Thanks: 39 Thanked 39 Times in 32 Posts	Thanks formal your input, I don't have a trailer, so I am going to call the dealer where I purchased the boat to pull out and get it looked at and repaired.

The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to ishoot308 For This Useful Post:
Descant (07-29-2020), Hillcountry (07-29-2020), LIforrelaxin (07-30-2020)

07-31-2020, 06:55 AM	#17
SAMIAM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 2,893 Thanks: 334 Thanked 1,673 Times in 584 Posts	Had the same problem a couple of years ago......examined the pontoons visually in shallow water and found what was obviously forklift damage. Tritoons are a little more challenging to lift......they have to reset the blades to fit.Anyway,it was a local marina and they owned the mistake and repaired it at no charge.