Buying a pontoon boat is a significant investment. This is why you need to be careful about protecting it and regularly maintain it to keep your boat in perfect condition.
No matter how careful you are while sailing your pontoon boat, it will accidentally bump into the deck or even some rocks as you try to navigate it through the water. With time, these bumps can damage the boat’s deck, affecting its stability and subjecting your life to danger. Moreover, the continuous exposure to the elements will eventually ruin the corners of the boat.
Pontoon corner caps are installed to protect the deck of your pontoon boat and guarantee that your boat will stay in the best shape. To protect the body of your boat, choosing and installing the right pontoon corner caps should be on top of your to-do list. Keep on reading to learn more about pontoon corner caps.
What Are Pontoon Corner Caps?
These are protective caps that cover the corners of your boat. They don’t come off easily and will protect the boat from severe damage that can lead to leaks.
Just like other pieces of accessories that you install to protect and extend the functionality of your pontoon boat, you need to do some research before shopping for pontoon corner caps. They cover the exposed part that extends out of the deck. This part usually bumps into the dock and other objects as you’re navigating your boat.
Without these caps, the deck will be subject to more long-term damage. This means that your boat might be subject to leaks that can put your life and the lives of other passengers in danger.
The caps are usually made of several materials like rubber, plastic, or aluminum. These materials are corrosion-resistant and stay in great shape with continuous exposure to the sun and water.
Their main function is to absorb the shock and prevent mechanical damage that makes your pontoon boat unsafe to navigate. Nevertheless, there are several models that add to the purpose of these caps.
How to Choose The Best Pontoon Corner Caps
Pontoon corner caps come in all shapes and sizes, and choosing high-quality ones will have a great impact on the functionality of your boat. This is why there are a few factors that you need to think about if you’re shopping for pontoon corner caps.
Where to Install Them
In most cases, caps are interchangeable. However, some manufacturers make their pontoon boat caps to fit the bow or the stern, but not both. So, if you’re buying caps for specific placement on your boat, you need to be careful about buying a suitable model.
Fit
In most cases, it will be difficult to find caps that resemble the ones that came originally with your pontoon boat. Nevertheless, you can still install good corner caps to protect your boat from occasional bumps.
It’s always recommended to replace all the corner boats at the same time so that one of them won’t look odd. Nevertheless, installing one cap won’t affect the performance of your pontoon boat.
Material
Pontoon corner caps are made of different materials. Each type comes with a set of pros and cons that you need to consider before making a choice.
Aluminum
Polished aluminum is one of the most popular choices because the caps are easy to install, lightweight, and corrosion-resistant. They are durable and will provide adequate damage against bumps.
However, the metal is relatively thin. This means that it’s more prone to dents when you hit the dock repeatedly.
Marine Plastic
This is a cost-efficient choice because it’s lightweight and corrosion-resistant. Due to their ability to produce slight bounce, the corners can last for a long time. However, continuous exposure to heat can damage the corner caps and make them too dry. As a result, they will become brittle and easy to break.
Rubber
Rubber corner caps are extremely durable. They protect the deck from impact and can withstand exposure to the sun and water. However, with time, rubber caps can also become too brittle and might easily break.
Design
There are several pontoon boat corner caps that serve different purposes. While all of them don’t affect the performance, you should focus on choosing good-looking caps that complement the look of your pontoon boat.
In some cases, the caps can offer some extra functionality features in addition to protecting the corners of the boat’s deck. For example, the corners can be designed to support LED lights or hooks that you might need while you’re cruising or fishing:
Shape
Most corner caps are round or square. Round caps look like semi-circles and cover the corner and part of the deck edge. As a result, they cover a wider area for extra protection from impact. Square corner caps are perfect for linear force protection.
How to Install Pontoon Corner Caps
Most avid boaters know how to replace pontoon corner caps. However, if you have an older boat model, things can be a little tricky because you can’t find a proper match for the caps you already have.
Nevertheless, in all cases, installing corner caps is an easy task, thanks to the pre-drilled mounting. You can easily screw a bolt to secure your new caps in place after removing the old ones if they’re still there. Just drill through the wooden deck, and your caps will be secured in place.
If you can’t find adequate pontoon corner caps that fit, you might have to modify the dock edge with a little sanding or even extend the area where you want to secure the caps.
Wrap Up
Pontoon corner caps are installed to protect the corner of your boat’s deck. The caps are either made of metal, rubber, or marine plastic. These different materials are designed to withstand impact and corrosion, resulting from continuous exposure to the elements.
Although you might not be able to find corner caps that resemble the ones on your old boat, you can easily install one or four caps to protect your pontoon boat adequately. Most of these caps come pre-drilled and are easy to install.