I am close to purchasing a modular pontoon from an Australian company stating they have built a heavier duty unit capable of carrying 4 tons in response to owners of heavier craft. It will be 8.5 meters long by 3 metres wide to carry our 8.5 metre trailerable yacht up out of the water and sit beside the jetty on our newly purchased home here. I wonder if anyone has had any experience putting larger boats up on these type pontoons. Our yacht is 28 foot in length and weighs around 3 ton with cruising gear and people onboard.
We currently have a similar sized modular pontoon purchased about 18 months ago that the manufacturer of that one advised was limited to 2 ton therefore precluding putting my nearly 3 ton trailerable yacht up onto it. These are capable of smaller craft and big jet skis.
We currently moor alongside our pontoon and have our tandem Hobie Adventure Island up on it.
We have just purchased another very cheap waterfront property here in our hidden / virtually unknown corner of South Australia directly fronting our local lake and on the end of the central peninsula which is subject to much more wave action and wind than our current canal front home tucked around the corner out of the prevailing breezes.
Why? you may rightly ask, sacrifice a sheltered north facing spot for a much more exposed westerly facing one subject to much more breeze?
The newly purchased property has 50 metres of waterfront versus our 18 metres currently and is 1708sqm versus 756sqm.
Being in the original section it also only has a low rock wall and then long sloping lawn rising gradually to the house rather than the rather steep much higher rock canal walls of our current newer section which then lead to an about 5 metre wide flat grassed area and then another vertical concrete retaining wall up to the remaining area on the house level. This makes launching water craft from anything but your pontoon or jetty challenging and wastes a lot of the already smallish block.
The final advantage of the new home location is a drive in forward and turn to back in huge rear yard with its own concrete boat ramp adjoining its jetty which is a dream for large trailer sailer owners like us. You then drive out forward which is a godsend given the narrow 20cm clearance either side of the driveway beside the house which would make backing our huge yacht behind truck camper a nightmare downhill and backwards.
The views (whilst also meaning the outdoor entertaining is wind effected) are also unrestricted across our 1klm square lake rather than directly across our 50 metre wide canal to the houses on the other side.
The proposed heavier capacity pontoon and driving our power sailer style yacht up onto it and out of the water would have a range of advantages.
1. It is not currently antifouled and could remain this way.
2. We have watched the few powerboats moored on these end of peninsula blocks with jetty's being bashed against their jetty's in high wind and wave conditions.
3. Mooring would mean just lining up onto the rollers on the end of the pontoon and powering up onto the pontoon which has central rollers rather than the slightly more difficult coming alongside our existing jetty with a strong wind blowing onto it at times and relying on my partner to help secure and fend it.
Boat ramp and jetty on the new home.
Below is our current pontoon jetty and view across the canal to our local boat ramp which already has several more home opposite under construction since this photo was taken.
Any comments before this expensive purchase are welcomed.

A 4 wheel trolley on the boat ramp might be a better deal. Electric winch to haul the lot up.

Yara said..
Sounds like you exchange anti-foul of boat to doing it on a pontoon instead. Then you have to pump 3000 litres of water to raise the pontoon.
I like the trolley plus winch idea. If you have that then you have your own slipway and you might as well antifoul the boat and make life simple.

Hi Yara and others. You drive up onto the pontoon similar in style to the much smaller JetSki ones, so no pumping of water required and just like marina pontoons I would never antifoul or clean off the bottom of the pontoon.
As my location is fresh water the majority of growth is slime and perhaps some weed not the more aggressive crustaceans type. My current lighter weight pontoon at our current home has been in the water 18 months in the same general location and the growth on it is insignificant for something not moving whilst still would slow a yacht substantially. Several downsides of the trolley on the ramp idea include needing to move it all out of the way when putting the yacht on the trailer to travel away as we regularly do. Loading and winching up onto a trolley is almost as involved and time consuming as loading it back onto its trailer. Not that awkward but then it's in the road of both the view and use of the back yard versus out beyond the end of the jetty much lower down. As for needing a big outboard to push it up onto and back it off the pontoon, unusually my trailerable cruising yacht/powersailer has that one covered.

Craig66 said..

Grith said..
I am close to purchasing a modular pontoon from an Australian company stating they have built a heavier duty unit capable of carrying 4 tons in response to owners of heavier craft. It will be 8.5 meters long by 3 metres wide to carry our 8.5 metre trailerable yacht up out of the water and sit beside the jetty on our newly purchased home here. I wonder if anyone has had any experience putting larger boats up on these type pontoons. Our yacht is 28 foot in length and weighs around 3 ton with cruising gear and people onboard.
We currently have a similar sized modular pontoon purchased about 18 months ago that the manufacturer of that one advised was limited to 2 ton therefore precluding putting my nearly 3 ton trailerable yacht up onto it. These are capable of smaller craft and big jet skis.
We currently moor alongside our pontoon and have our tandem Hobie Adventure Island up on it.
We have just purchased another very cheap waterfront property here in our hidden / virtually unknown corner of South Australia directly fronting our local lake and on the end of the central peninsula which is subject to much more wave action and wind than our current canal front home tucked around the corner out of the prevailing breezes.
Why? you may rightly ask, sacrifice a sheltered north facing spot for a much more exposed westerly facing one subject to much more breeze?
The newly purchased property has 50 metres of waterfront versus our 18 metres currently and is 1708sqm versus 756sqm.
Being in the original section it also only has a low rock wall and then long sloping lawn rising gradually to the house rather than the rather steep much higher rock canal walls of our current newer section which then lead to an about 5 metre wide flat grassed area and then another vertical concrete retaining wall up to the remaining area on the house level. This makes launching water craft from anything but your pontoon or jetty challenging and wastes a lot of the already smallish block.
The final advantage of the new home location is a drive in forward and turn to back in huge rear yard with its own concrete boat ramp adjoining its jetty which is a dream for large trailer sailer owners like us. You then drive out forward which is a godsend given the narrow 20cm clearance either side of the driveway beside the house which would make backing our huge yacht behind truck camper a nightmare downhill and backwards.
The views (whilst also meaning the outdoor entertaining is wind effected) are also unrestricted across our 1klm square lake rather than directly across our 50 metre wide canal to the houses on the other side.
The proposed heavier capacity pontoon and driving our power sailer style yacht up onto it and out of the water would have a range of advantages.
1. It is not currently antifouled and could remain this way.
2. We have watched the few powerboats moored on these end of peninsula blocks with jetty's being bashed against their jetty's in high wind and wave conditions.
3. Mooring would mean just lining up onto the rollers on the end of the pontoon and powering up onto the pontoon which has central rollers rather than the slightly more difficult coming alongside our existing jetty with a strong wind blowing onto it at times and relying on my partner to help secure and fend it.
Boat ramp and jetty on the new home.
Below is our current pontoon jetty and view across the canal to our local boat ramp which already has several more home opposite under construction since this photo was taken.
Any comments before this expensive purchase are welcomed.

What was your question again?

I lost interest at

"We have just purchased another very cheap waterfront property"

That's to live in as we are retired not just to collect as a holiday home!
The "another" statement was as this is to trade to from a two storey home with kitchen upstairs in the same very cheap unknown waterfront location as our current slightly more expensive newer two storey home is likely unsuitable as we age in retirement.
Actually thought someone involved with sailing (obviously turning their nose up at what they thought were rich holiday home buyers) might actually be interested where you could buy a waterfront home well below the average home price in SA! The subject was drive up onto pontoons for large boats for your reference! ??

tired said..
I also thought it was a pontoon question at first
Not now...
Sounds more like a real estate sales site.

It very v necessary to waffle on and on about your houses or property every time you ask a boat related question.

No, it was a genuine question about keeping a t/s hull in pristine condition. I used to think that way, but now I believe it is ok to put anti foul on the hull and leave in the water. With a trailer at hand, maintaing a clean hull is then very easy and cheap.

I have looked at air docks and dislike both the cost and the way they then upset the general use of your jetty/pontoon. The possibility of a drive up onto pontoon still allows you to just moor beside it at most times and only choose to drive up on it when high winds are forecast. Re removing the unantifouled yacht for cleaning on the trailer I have found that cleaning the hull is a time consuming and messy process and prefer to avoid this whenever I can. Also having the yacht out of the water on the trailer seriously discourages the quick evening sail in perfect conditions with visiting friends and the like. Regarding keeping cheap waterfront SA a secret we have purchased again now and will need to sell one when we finish renovating it so it's not in our interest whilst completely understanding your concern!