I have a Steelheader pontoon boat. I love it. But, after years of dragging it through rocks, brush and other stuff, I am seeing significant wear on the bottom of the pontoons near where they curve from up from horizontal to the tips. I took mine apart to resew the seams but now see the thread is fine, it’s just that I am wearing holes in the fabric. Have any of you found a way to protect the fabric. I was thinking of something like shoe goo, but thought I would check to see what the combined wisdom of this board had to offer.

Also I have a slow leak in one pontoon. Any ideas on how to find it and what to use to fix it with, if I can find it?

I have a slow leak in one of my sleelheader pontoons as well...it's been there since I bought it. I've noticed air leaks inside or around the air-valves before on other cats, but have never took the time to determine where my leak is. I'd like to know if others that own steelheaders have had leak issues so easily?

QQ:

In defense of the Steelheader, mine didnt leak at all for years, and even now the leak is small enough I can fish all day with no problem. But it has me worried enough that I now bring my pump on the river with me.

If you left it inflated wouldn't coat it work for the coating? Just put a very light coating on the wear points.

As far as the leak is concerned, pump it up and insert the pontoon in a still lake. You should be able to see where the air is coming out.

A friend had an Osprey with a slow leak in one pontoon. He was told that it's normal and they all do it.
If you're doing a lot of dragging from the truck to the river, you can cut a bedliner into skids. Drill holes in the edges so it can be tied to the pontoons. I haven't tried it at the river yet, but it drags around the backyard ok.

I've got a Steelheader Guide and it also leaks. It's only in one of the cambers though. It'll be fine all day, then the next day it's in need of some air pressure. But none the less it's a grest boat.

As for finding the leak, pump it up all the way and use soapy water all over the suspect tube. My leak is from around the valve. I tigthened it up and it helped but didn't fix.

I forgot to mention also, that Bill, the owner of Skookum, will fix the tubes if you send them to his factory.

I'm not sure if it's inherent to all inflatables, because my AIRE will lose pressure in the pontoons after sitting a while but it won't go flat. The Steelheader will be flat in a couple of days. Just in the one chamber, all the rest are perfect.

If your thinking of the shoe goo i would consider aqua seal instead. It stays plyable, shoe goo seems to keep cureing and eventually becomes rock hard. I have used aqua seal on everything from breathable waders to tennis shoes, I even used it for an emergancy hose patch on my powestroke it is great stuff!

dave

what you need to do is get a hold of quart of urethane (that is what aquaseal is. ) and apply it to the bottom of your tubes. If you are unsure how to do this talk to somebody that repairs rafts. swiftwater sports in seattle probably can steer you in the right direction.


for leaks around the valves get ahold of a valve wrench.swiftwater sports in seattle sells them and take apart youre valve and clean it first . then tighten it down with the wrench. If that doesnt fix the problem then replace the valve. If it is under warranty skookum should replace the valve for you. if not they are about twenty bucks. It is a good idea to have a spare valve anyways , you never know when one is going to go bad . it would suck to be on a river like the dean and have a valve go bad on you.

These are normaly easy fixes small leaks can be fixed with a patch or inflatable boat sealant. As far as wear on top or bottom of pontoons you can add a Chaffe pad (an extra layer of material) should be done by someone that is fimillar with a 2 part ureathne adhesive.