Caution Premier Pontoon Owners

[ishoot308]

If you have a Premier pontoon and use their black nylon seat covers, use extreme care when leaving out in the sun especially if you use the rear helm enclosure with plastic windows.

My boat almost started on fire this past week because of refracted sunlight shining off the flexible plastic windshield on to the black nylon seat cover.

I noticed two large burn spots on my seat last weekend and for the life of me couldn't figure out what happened. At first I thought vandalism at the Glendale docks but really never had any issues there.

Then this past week when it was calm out I noticed smoke coming from my seat while out on the dock. I ran over to the boat and saw that the nylon cover was melting and had burn holes through it and my seat underneath had two additional large burns and the vinyl was actually melting! I then noticed the sunlight reflecting off the plastic windshield almost like a magnifying glass. I am certain that had I not been there, the vinyl seat cover would have gone up in flames along with the rest of the boat.

If I had not seen it with my own eyes I never would have believed this could happen. I actually have a video of this but have no idea how to post it. Below is a pic I took of my seat that was burned and the black nylon cover that almost went up in flames.

As a courtesy I tried contacting Ryan at Winnisquam Marine so he could at least let people know to be careful or to put something white over the seat cover in this area. This is easily preventable and people should be made aware to avoid a possible disaster.

Dan

[RLW]

NOT good. Thanks for the warning.:)

[camp guy]

Great post warning people about a real problem. Thank you very much.

I hope the Marina you contacted responded favorably, have you thought about contacting Premier directly (or whomever they are). This sounds like a situation they need to be prepared for in case of problems in the field.

Thanks again, enjoy the Lake.

[ishoot308]

Great post warning people about a real problem. Thank you very much.

I hope the Marina you contacted responded favorably, have you thought about contacting Premier directly (or whomever they are). This sounds like a situation they need to be prepared for in case of problems in the field.

Thanks again, enjoy the Lake.

Ryan Crawford of Winnisquam Marine always responds favorably. He actually called me back and I am sending him the video I have so he can forward to Premier.

I don't consider this a defect in workmanship or dealer problem, it's just one of those things you need to be aware of and that is why I posted this warning and notified Winnisquam Marine.

Honestly I am just glad I found what burned my seats. It was driving me nuts as I thought I had the exorcist boat!!

Dan

[Dave R]

Thanks for the heads up. I had the same thing happen to my motorcycle seat when it was parked in my driveway. One of the windows on the second floor of my garage has a slight convex shape and it was concentrating light directly on my motorcycle seat. My kids said "Dad, you motorcycle is smoking!" and I ran out to find the vinyl smoldering.

[Orion]

I could never understand the use of black covers on boats. Boats are out in the sun and black absorbs a lot more heat and can be 20 or more degrees hotter without any reflections or refractions. Our pontoon seats have three color patterns in the vinyl. When the sun is directly on them, you can't step on the medium brown barefoot, but the white feels fine. Even black bimini tops radiate heat downward as they heat up from the sun. Certainly yours is an unusual situation, but more people should be aware of what color choices can mean in terms of surface temps.

[pjard]

Was the enclosure a custom built thing or is it an option from Premier?

[ishoot308]

Was the enclosure a custom built thing or is it an option from Premier?

Standard option day enclosure.

[Lakemamma]

Thanks for posting Dan!

Wow, I am glad you found out the problem before it was to late.

[jeffk]

Standard option day enclosure.

Gee whiz, if a standard option on the boat has the possibility of causing a fire and certainly caused damage when used as normally expected, I WOULD consider it a SERIOUS defect, not just something you need to be aware of. Heat/fire + gas on the boat = possible fire/explosion, damage to nearby boats and property and people. :eek:

Further, you now cannot use the cover because of possible damage it could cause?

[BroadHopper]

I agree that black covers on a hot sunny day spells trouble. Especially if you have clear plastic windows that act like prisms on your seat!

I remember my canvas guy advising against dark colored cockpit covers. They fade fast, capture heat and don't last as long as light colored.

[Happy Gourmand]

I find it amazing that even on a very calm day that the boat would be still enough for the sun to focus through the plastic window on a specific area long enough to do this type of damage. Incredible, and i imaging it would apply to any boat with a plastic window, not just Premier.

[ishoot308]

I find it amazing that even on a very calm day that the boat would be still enough for the sun to focus through the plastic window on a specific area long enough to do this type of damage. Incredible, and i imaging it would apply to any boat with a plastic window, not just Premier.

It wasn't so much the plastic windows as it was the black seat covers absorbing the concentrated rays of the sun. Premier is the only one that I am aware of who offers black seat covers.

If I pull the black seat cover back there is no issue as the vinyl is a light beige color. This only happens at the seat back cushion just forward of the helm where the light reflects off the plastic windshield. And yes, it was calm the day I noticed my seat smoking.

You can see in the web cam pic below, I have a white towel over the problem area until I can have a white piece of nylon sewn in which will eliminate the problem altogether...

Dan

[Happy Gourmand]

I just have the regular full playpen cover on mine, and the bimini...both black. The playpen cover does touch the vinyl seats when the boat is all buttoned up, it does get hot, but wouldn't guess that it could get hot enough to do that to the seats unless there was some concentrated rays focused on that spot.

[dt5150]

holy cow! good thing you caught it dan, that baby would've gone up in flames :eek:

[ishoot308]

I wanted to make a correction and clarification to this thread.

I saw Ryan Crawford of Winnisquam Marine this past weekend and we were discussing this issue. He reminded me that the front curtain of the supplied day enclosure was not supplied by Premier but was in fact custom made by a local canvas shop. The majority of the enclosure was supplied by premier but not the affected front curtain. I was incorrect in my above post stating this was Premiers standard day enclosure.

Just wanted to clarify...

Dan