Winter Storage Systems for Pontoon Boats

Well that time of year is upon us. It is one of the saddest, most depressing times of the year. It is time to put the pontoon away for the winter. There are so many reasons you don't want to winterize the boat. It means the long days and short nights are over. The lazy sunday afternoons on the water will soon be replaced by lazy sunday afternoons in front of the TV watching football. Wait that one isn't so bad. It does mean figuring out what the heck you are going to do with the pontoon to keep the snow off of it. Last year you may have used your regular cover that snaps on. Then the first heavy snow fell and in the spring you were shelling out 800.00 to make a new cover. That won't work. There is always shrink wrap. That is an option. Stand in line, or make an appointment to get it wrapped up - you may miss some football while driving your boat to and from the location that does it as well as praying the 16 year old kid working the heat gun does not set your seats in the boat on fire. Then in the spring get rid of all that shrink wrap and do it again next year and again and again and again. You could also put on a tool belt and fire up the saw and start building a wood structure on top of your rails and then cover it up with some of that fine blue tarp material from a big box store. That sounds like a lot of work and more time away from football.

There is an easier way. Simple setup and will give you years of use. We supply you with everything you need to create your own frame for the boat. All set up and ready to go. The entire system uses aluminum support poles, heavy duty webbing, and adjustable straps. We provide the cover as well. Made from the same stuff ice fishing shelters are made from except we also reinforce it with marine grade fabric used to make full covers. We sew loops of webbing all the way around the bottom instead of using metal grommets. The metal grommets are going to pull out in a few years and then you will need to buy a new cover so we sew on the webbing loops - proven to be stronger and more durable. Set up the frame work which consists of 3-5 poles down the center of your boat, a straps that connects from the front of your pontoon to the top of each pole to the back of your boat, and side straps that go down to the top rail of your boat and attach to the top of the middle poles. Cinch it all tight, pull the cover we provide over the top of it, tie it down to your trailer and kiss it goodnight until spring. Don't worry about snow piling up on it, we make the middle poles pretty long so snow glides off the material. It really is a simple installation and extremely strong. It is one of the easiest most economical ways to cover the boat up for the winter.

Installation with two people will take about 30 minutes. Now you have time to go sit down and watch some football.

Winter Covers for Pontoon Boats

Well the boating season is officially over. If you are one of the many out there that haven't covered your boat up for the winter - hoping there may be one more warm day - I have to tell you...it's over. Sad as it is it is time to cover her up and start the countdown to uncovering her.

Until now there have really only been a handful of options to storing your boat for the winter. The most fortunate of boaters out there have a garage or barn they can store their boat in for the winter. If not you can always store it at a dealership. for a fee they will even shrink wrap it for you. The rest of us have the daunting task of covering her up in the backyard. Time to get out the lumber or PVC and build the framework that you will drape some cheap blue tarp material over for the winter. Keep that duct tape handy because you may need it. Pray it doesn't rip through the winter.

There is a better way. Simple to install, snow won't accumulate, simple to take down. Northstar Products has developed a winter cover system for pontoon boats. But with a little imagination you can cover anything up with this system. It utilizes aluminum poles, heavy duty polypropelene webbing, and stainless steel strap hooks and eyes. Once this webbing and pole skeleton is up you simply drape over the heavy duty material and tie it down tight. What you end up with is a simple, inexpensive way to cover your boat up that will last season after season. If you want more information or have installation instructions emailed to you drop us a note: andrew@northstarproductsinc.com. You can also give us a call at 419-389-5515.