Your basic pontoon boat is nothing more than a deck sitting atop two or three long tubes. Add a motor, side walls, some seating, and there you have it. Pontoon boat manufacturers improve upon the basics with outstanding design features, but accessories personalize your vessel. They can add elements of comfort or fun, and can also provide your pontoon boat with a purpose. Therefore, the best pontoon boat accessories depend on the activities you count on it to perform.
Vessel Enhancement – Benefits Of The Best Pontoon Boat Accessories
When it comes down to it, the best pontoon boat accessories can completely change your experience on the water. Something as simple as a diving board and ladder will alter the course of a day’s frolicking. Fishing tends to be better when you use a fish finder, and it doubles as a GPS device. Add a rod holder so you can use the toilet in a pop-up privacy tent, all right on the deck of your moving pontoon boat.
From bungee dock lines and bumpers to marine quality mirrors, the list of pontoon accessories is endless. Why sift through the thousands of products crying out for a spot on your pontoon when the work is already complete? The following twelve reviews show the most popular choices among owners. Dive into a conglomeration of the best pontoon boat accessories to find both value and performance.
Garmin Striker 4 – Best Built In GPS & Fish Finder
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If you’re planning on using your pontoon boat for extreme fishing adventures, a Raymarine or Lowrance may be the best bet. For the majority of pontoon fishing & GPS needs, the Garmin Striker 4 provides the best performance for value. It’s 3.5” screen provides enough detail to be effective using industry leading CHIRP technology.
Find your location in an instant using the GPS of the Striker 4, plus mark hot fishing spots for return trips. Instead of using the usual one or two frequencies of sound, CHIRP sonar sends a range of frequencies into the depths. As these signals return independently, the CHIRP system interprets them into one clear image.
Good for reading freshwater at depths of 1,600 ft and saltwater to 750 ft, the Garmin Striker 4 is powerful enough to handle most pontoon boat fishing situations. It doesn’t take up much of the already limited room on pontoon dashboards. Mass amounts of positive user reviews prove the Garmin Striker 4 gives the best performance at the lowest price.
Scotty Square Rail Mount – Pontoon Fishing Rod & GPS Fish Finder Holder
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Since its startup as a small husband and wife team in 1952, Scotty has been and continues to serve the needs of anglers worldwide. One of the first companies to introduce plastic into salmon lures, Scotty now puts its trademark on hundreds of fishing products. Most anglers these days know the Scotty name because of their mounts and rod holders. Pontoon boat owners come to appreciate Scotty’s Square Rail Mount in particular.
Featuring a design for boats with limited mounting space, the Scotty Square Rail Mount sits almost anywhere on a pontoon. It rests on top of any standard 1 1/4” size rail and bolts firmly underneath. Be aware that a mount is not a rod holder in itself. It will take Scotty rod holders that snap right in. Another option is to use the Scotty Universal Sounder Mount with that Garmin Striker 4.
It’s clear that the Scotty Square Rail Mount adds versatility as pontoon boat accessories go. You have several options in equipment that you might want to use it for. Pontoon boat owners like the fact that they don’t have to drill holes to secure the mount. Stainless steel bolts protect the only metal surface from rust, a nice finishing touch.
Green Elephant Privacy Pop Up Tent – Best Size For A Pontoon Setup
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Guys may have it easier than women dealing with privacy matters, but it’s still a concern in mixed company or crowded waters. Green Elephant makes a quality pop up tent while taking into account the space limitations on a pontoon. That pop up quality means the 6′ 10.5” high tent sets up in seconds. Widest at its 3′ 11” x 3′ 11” square base makes the Green Elephant Pop Up Tent a perfect pontoon boat fit.
Stake pegs show in each corner so you can use this tent in a campsite, but guy lines with tensioners will secure it to a boat deck. They come with the design along with sandbags for quick privacy needs. Benefits of the Green Elephant Privacy Pop Up Tent show in such features as its mesh top with shower opening. Place the cover over that top for cold or rainy conditions.
Inside the tent offers a pouch for personal belongings. There are hanger hooks for flashlights, toilet paper, towels, clothes, or whatever else you desire. There’s enough room for the Camco Portable Travel Toilet and a single occupant. Whether its changing into a bathing suit, going potty, or taking a shower, Green Elephant’s Privacy Pop Up Tent has the right stuff for a pontoon accessory.
Camco Portable Travel Toilet – Top Value For A Pontoon Receptacle
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On full day fishing voyages, pontoon camping excursions, or just a day of fun with friends, a toilet sure comes in handy. When nature calls the Camco Portable Travel Toilet answers, and it fits right into the Green Elephant Pop Up Tent for privacy. There is the issue of securing the toilet on a pontoon, but its under tank seals in all waste and includes biodegradable chemical packets.
The Camco Portable Travel Toilet is a 5.3 gallon unit that weighs 11.5 lbs empty and seats up to 330 lbs. Dimensions of the toilet are 16.38”H x 13.75”W x 16.13”D. It’s a full toilet with a lid, seat, and bowl that uses 2 tanks. The top bowl holds 2.5 gallons and features a bellow pump delivering waste to the bottom 2.8 gallon tank. It’ll take one trip without one to want a pontoon restroom accessory.
Lillipad Diving Board – Top Pontoon Deck Launching Plank
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It’s time to walk the plank and spring off into action with the Lillipad Diving Board. Everyone on a pontoon boat ends up in the water on a blistering sunny day. Why not add some fun to that certainty with a diving board? Lillipad brings a revolutionary ergonomic design that absorbs the force of your jump. Line up and dive one after another without ever rocking your pontoon boat.
The Lillipad Diving Board does mount directly to the deck of your pontoon boat, but in a simple fashion. Once you set the main hardware down, it uses pins to attach and remove the unit. You can store the Lillipad Diving Board out of the way when not in use, taking it quickly when you want it. You’ll jump once and be looking for the next pontoon boat accessory on the list. The ladder that lets you jump again.
JIF Marine Pontoon Ladder – High Quality 5 Rung Design
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Diving board or no, most choose the water in favor of a pontoon deck during some part of a hot day. Once in the water, getting back up onto the pontoon deck is a pain in the knee caps. The ones that scrape when you do it. Check out the JIF’s Marine Pontoon Ladder for your return to dry deck, even if it is just to jump back in again.
With a strong durable design that focuses on saltwater resistance, pontoon boaters come to count on JIF marine ladders. This model is the ASC5, a 5 rung ladder that uses anodized aluminum. The ladder folds and locks for easy storage, using plastic cup mounts for instant installation. It’s a must for pontoon boat accessories because of the extra height. At 54.5”, the JIF Marine Pontoon Ladder provides the extra height one needs to get back to the pontoon deck.
AirHead Bungee Dock Line – Shock Absorption For Pontoon Docking
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The sudden tug of taught rope from dock cleat to pontoon cleat puts a stress on both. Pontoon boat cleats tend to give out first. Wear on your deck often occurs from the sliding motion of a rope that’s settling into place. AirHead addresses both of these concerns with a simple invention. The AirHead Bungee Dock Line shows that even small pontoon boat accessories can go far to protect your investment.
Choose from 3 different lengths of rope that hide their bungee ability inside the threads. Each size lists an initial starting length, plus length at full stretch. Available sizes are as follows:
- 4 ft With A Stretch To 5 ½ ft
- 5 ft With A Stretch To 7 ft
- 6 ft With A Stretch To 9 ft
Tensile strength of AirHead Bungee Dock Lines is 2,150 lbs, and their recommended use is for pontoons up to 4,000 lbs. Each end of the line features a buoyant pad to protect both pontoon boat and material from friction damage. They also feature plastic slides at the end to adjust the size of the loop.
Taylor Made Super Gard Bumbers – Best Value Inflatable Vinyl Pontoon Fenders
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Most know Taylor Made golf products, but their expertise in plastics and rubbers leads naturally into boat bumpers. Side guards fall into the category of pontoon boat accessories you can’t avoid. Even pontoons that go onto trailers need to dock in most cases. How else does someone get off the pontoon to get the truck?
Taylor Made Super Gard Bumbers use a high gloss finish so they don’t catch and rub the pontoon. Each end has a black double mold attachment point for supreme durability. Seamless construction further enhances durability and rib sections help prevent rolling. Taylor Made brings their Super Gard Bumbers to boaters in 4 sizes as follows:
- 5” Diameter x 20” Length
- 5” Diameter x 22” Length
- 5” Diameter x 26” Length
- 5” Diameter x 30” Length
Taylor Made Super Gard Bumbers use a plush needle inflation valve for use with a hand pump. A guarantee that lasts the life of your pontoon raises their value as a must have accessory. Taylor Made makes the choice easy with their Super Gard Bumbers. Choosing from 1 of 10 different colors is the toughest decision.
PERFIT LED Under Deck Strips – Quality 18-20′ Underwater Pontoon Lights
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Fluorescent LED lighting on the underside of your pontoons does more than beautify your vessel. Under water lights work well to attract bait on a pontoon fishing boat. They shed light into the water which increases your field of vision. Of course that increases safety on the water and when docking.
PERFIT makes a top value harness with waterproof LED lights, perfect for pontoons between 18 – 20 feet in length. The harness uses a V shape that wires at the point to your dashboard, then routes under the deck. PERFIT includes a mounting track and suggests securing it to the underside of your deck. You’ll find full mounting instructions in the specs of the kit.
OPT7 AURA Interior LED Kit – Best Inside Lighting Kit For Pontoons
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It’s just as critical that you have clear vision at night inside your pontoon boat as it is on the outside. For that purpose you’ll find top value in the OPT7 AURA. The kit comes with four 24” adhesive strips. They stretch and bend around turns as you lay the strips out inside your pontoon. OPT7 AURA LED light strips run best off a 12 volt marine battery.
The AURA kit includes 36 SmartColor LED’s per strip. Change color on a whim using either one of the two remotes. Pump up the beat and watch the AURA respond to the deep bass. Another of its features is SoundSync technology that pulses by picking up those low vibrations. After easy installation, pick up a remote and choose from 16 different colors. Mess with the pulse pattern and dim the LED’s for the perfect effect.
Final Considerations – Putting The Best Pontoon Boat Accessories To Work
Your new pontoon boat is an empty canvas just waiting for purpose and a destination. A little addition here and a helpful feature there changes the landscape entirely. The best pontoon boat accessories bring your vessel to life and give it meaning. They either enhance its capabilities or add a level of comfort for visitors. Every boater has priorities and the reviews above cover many of those needs. Plan your pontoon accessories accordingly and don’t rush the installation. You’ll get enjoyment out of any one of the above accessories for years to come.