Pontoon Boat

A pontoon boat is a flotation device with buoyancy sufficient enough to float itself as well as a heavy load.  A pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on pontoons to float.  Pontoon boats are for pleasure boating and fishing.  They can be low cost for their capacity and cheaper to insure than other boats, even when equipped with substantial engines.  The 1952 invention of the pontoon motorboat in the USA is credited to a farmer who lived on the Horseshoe Chain of Lakes, near Richmond Minnesota.  Ambrose Weeres put a wooden platform on two columns of steel barrels welded together end to end, creating a sturdy deck that would be more stable than a conventional boat.  Weeres thought the idea might be marketed.  The first boat was “The Empress”.  He built a few boats and sold them with the help of dealers.  He then started Weeres Industries to meet the unexpected demand.  He was later elected to the Minnesota Marina Hall of Fame.  Isn’t that the “Great American Dream”!  De Hart Plumbing, serving Manhattan Kansas, Junction City Kansas and Wamego Kansas.