Upgrades for Your Boat

By Heather Magda Serrano

Upgrades
for Your Boat

Features that come standard on your boat are awesome, but there’s also nothing like upgrading. With upgrades you can customize and enhance your experience to match your specific boating lifestyle. Check out these fun upgrades you can do for your pontoon or deck boat!

Corinthian Glue Down

If you’re looking to upgrade your flooring, be sure to check out Corinthian Marine’s Glue Down application. This marine carpet and flooring will be sure to exceed your expectations. It’s already used by some of the world’s leading boat builders. You can choose from a variety of colors and styles to accommodate your specific taste, style, and budget. You can also convert the Glue Down to a custom AquaMat, which would be used for a finished fiberglass deck.

Corinthian Marine offers some of the finest marine flooring available on the market. Their extensive fabrication experience makes it so their products stand apart in the marine flooring segment. Be sure to browse through their options if you want to upgrade the flooring on your pontoon or deck boat. You’ll have one of the best walks on the water.

MSRP: $2 – $7.40/square foot
(www.corinthianmarine.com)

Sunbrella Horizon Marine Vinyl

Elevate your pontoon with the ultra-soft, long-lasting durability of Sunbrella Horizon marine vinyl. Crafted to meet the Sunbrella brand quality standard, Horizon delivers unparalleled performance while creating a comfortable and stylish space for you and your family and friends to enjoy on the lake. Whether your captain’s chairs, cushions or bench seating need a refresh, Sunbrella Horizon offers a selection of 25 colors with two embossing patterns, making it easy to customize your craft according to your unique style.

In addition, Horizon is weather-, mold- and mildew-resistant, resists cold cracking and is easy to clean—even with bleach—so you can spend more time on the water and less time on maintenance and care. The product’s innovative technology also provides some of the best protection against microbial pinking with a three-year warranty.

MSRP: $39.95/yard
(www.sunbrella.com)

Durabak 18 Marine Liner Outdoor Smooth & Textured

If you’re ready to upgrade your pontoon’s flooring, the Durabak liner is a popular option for boaters. This non-slip flooring is used on flight decks of nuclear aircraft carriers and quite a few of the top pontoon manufacturers already use Durabak on their decks. The specially formulated polyurethane non-skid protective marine paint gives you excellent slip and fall protection while protecting your boat against rust and other damage.

It’s recommended to use a mixture of textured and smooth Durabak products for best results. The first coat should be the textured Durabak 18 Marine Liner Outdoor, and then the top coat should be the smooth Durabak 18 Marine Liner Outdoor for a slip-resistant yet barefoot-friendly finish. Simply roll it on with a paint roller for easy DIY application. It bonds to aluminum, steel, wood, fiberglass and concrete. These paints are available in a variety of colors and can be purchased directly from the Durabak website.

Durabak 18 Marine Liner Outdoor (Textured)
MSRP: $39.95 – $139.95

Durabak 18 Marine Liner Outdoor (Smooth)
MSRP: $44.95 – $149.95
(www.durabakcompany.com)

Durabak 18 Marine Liner Outdoor Smooth & Textured

Great Lakes Skipper Transom Pontoon Boat Log Float Tube

If you have a pontoon and want to upgrade to make it a triple pontoon with a third log, check out the Transom Pontoon Boat Log Float Tube by Great Lakes Skipper. This new 25-foot by 26-inch transom log features port and starboard lifting strakes, each measuring approximately 236 inches.

The log also features a ski locker and holding areas. You’ll find the ski locker located near the front of the log, measuring at approximately 34 inches in length, 16.5 inches in width, with a 26-inch height overall. The ski locker’s interior is 83 inches.

Then you’ve got two holding areas. You’ll find the first holding area located near the middle of the log, measuring approximately 66 inches in length, 18.25 inches in width and 17 3/8 inches in height. The second holding area is at the back of the log, measuring approximately 20 inches in length, 18.25 inches in width and 8.5 inches in height.

MSRP: $3,795
(www.greatlakesskipper.com)

Great Lakes Skipper Transom Pontoon Boat Log Float Tube

KICKER KMTC11 Tower System

As the largest tower speakers currently available on the market, KMTC11 speakers also provide the greatest cone area on the market, further enhancing sound quality and efficiency. Match it with a powerful KICKER Marine Audio KXMA1200.2 amplifier and your pontoon or deck boat will be ready to rock your local sandbar.

KICKER Marine Audio offers two mounting options for the D-Y-I type that simplifies installation. The KMTC11 mounts easily to round tubes, which constitute the majority of boat towers on the market; it also features an even slicker plug-and-play connection system.

The white or black speaker grilles are UV-treated, and have seven color LED lights, upgradeable to 20 colors and 19 lighting modes by adding the KMLC remote.

MSRP: $1,699.99
(www.kicker.com/marine-audio)

Lippert SureShade Power Bimini

Nothing beats escaping the sun on your boat during those hot summer days. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of manually setting up and taking down a Bimini top, then you know how convenient automatic tops are. The SureShade Power Bimini Electric Shade system from Lippert functions as a fully automatic Bimini top that can be added to virtually any pontoon or deck boat.

With just the touch of a button, this Power Bimini electrically extends for full shade coverage, adjusts to different positions and easily retracts to stow away.

The SureShade Power Bimini comes in either anodized alloy or black frame options and you can choose from seven different canvas colors to best match your style. These Biminis also provide 30 percent more coverage than standard Bimini tops and are built tough with durable, weather-resistant aluminum framing. This convenient, electric power Bimini will make it so you never have to struggle to set up a Bimini top again.

MSRP: $1,595
(www.store.lci1.com)

SureShade Bimini Extension by Lippert

More shade is never a bad idea during those sweltering days on the lake. With the SureShade Extension by Lippert, you can enjoy additional protection on your pontoon from the sun’s blistering rays. This Bimini extension adds shade in the front of the boat where sun exposure is greater.

The SureShade Bimini Extension gives you more protection than traditional Biminis. It attaches to the SureShade Power Bimini, making your boating experience more comfortable and easier. This kit comes with the Bimini, stanchion poles with straps, and mounting hardware. It will require you to permanently affix locking plates on to the top rails of your pontoon boat and then easily attaches to the SureShade Power Bimini.

You can easily store the extension Bimini when you’re not using it in its zippered boot, and it’s made to last with 70D ripstop nylon that has a poly coating on one side and a durable water repellent on the top, making it waterproof.

MSRP: $299.95
(www.store.lci1.com)

Wilson Pontoons

One of the most important parts of a pontoon is the tubes that it floats upon. Wilson Pontoons offers modular pontoons that can be used to replace any pontoons that have been damaged. If the tube is corroded, rusted, starting to leak water, or just in need of a replacement, these modular pontoons are the right place to look.

If you wanted, you could start from scratch by making a pontoon perfectly catered to your wants and needs, or you could slap a deck on top of this base and have a perfectly functional vessel.

You have plenty of options when it comes to the length of your modular pontoon, so it can fit exactly the tube length that you need. Additionally, these pontoons from Wilson are filled with polyurethane closed-cell 2-pound density foam, making each one nice and sturdy. And if it is damaged for any reason, it can quickly be repaired with special water-proof caulking. It is UV-protected and bottom painted so if it lives in the water full-time, it is safe from wear and tear.

MSRP: Call For Pricing
(www.plasticpontoon.com)

Get-a-Grip Boarding Assist Handle

Sometimes it can be a little tricky to pull yourself up out of the water and back on to your deck boat. That’s where the Boarding Assist Handle from Get-a-Grip Marine comes in handy. This innovative marine hardware idea helps you to get in and out of your boat safely from a boarding ladder or swim platform.

It gives you a large handhold at the transom and above the gunwale where many boat manufacturers only provide you with a small, difficult-to-find ridged handle. The handles are portable and easy-to-use in addition to being sturdy, lightweight and safe. They even float, so you won’t lose them if you accidently drop them while installing on your boat. Made from marine grade PVC, they come ready-to-use right out of the box.

MSRP $40 – $45
(www.getagripmarine.com)

PontoonStuff Pontoon Console

When it comes to decorating, designing and refurbishing a pontoon, it is easy to forget one of the most essential elements to your vessel: the helm and console. Have no fear: PontoonStuff with its Large Pontoon Console is here to keep you on track.

Helm consoles on pontoons are loaded with gauges and controls that make the boating experience more enjoyable. The Large Pontoon Console comes in two easy-to-configure pieces: the base and the top. They start separate so you can attach all of your gauges, switches and other accessories easily before installing the base and placing the top in position.

With a pontoon, you also need to consider space conservation. No need to worry, though, because PontoonStuff considered that for you already. Much like the other modern pontoon consoles of today, their consoles are cleverly sized and designed in order to maximize the space on deck. Finally, there are multiple versions of the Large Pontoon Console that are offered which include a rotationally molded plastic helm, a helm with a switch panel, or you can go wild and fully deck it out with custom wiring harnesses, switch panels, gauge panels, additional blank Burlwood or carbon fiber panels, and a steering wheel. The possibilities are endless.

MSRP: $349.99
(www.pontoonstuff.com)

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