Bumper Boat Ponds: Sizing and the Three Ways to Build One

A bumper boat pond looks simple from the dock: some water, some round boats, maybe a waterfall. Underneath, it's a structure that has to hold water through winters, summers and thousands of collisions, and the way the wall and floor are built decides how it ages. Before you fall for a layout, settle two things. How big does it need to be, and what is it made of?

MGC Developers publishes figures for both on its bumper ponds page and its FAQ. Here they are, with some general notes on what each choice means for an operator.

Sizing: 250 square feet per boat

MGC's rule of thumb is 250 square feet of pond per boat. Its FAQ gives a range of 2,400 to 8,000 square feet for the pond, and its bumper ponds page describes a typical pond at 3,600 to 5,000 square feet.

The arithmetic is quick. At 250 square feet per boat, a 3,600 square foot pond works out to roughly 14 boats, and a 5,000 square foot pond to 20. The small end of the FAQ range, 2,400 square feet, is about 10 boats. The large end, 8,000 square feet, is about 32. More water per boat generally means gentler rides, and less water means more bumping, so the number is a design choice as much as a limit. Ask your designer what ride feel you're aiming for.

Features add to the plan, not to the water. MGC notes that bumper ponds can include features such as waterfalls. A dock for loading, a queue and a place to rest the boats all need ground next to the pond.

The three construction types

MGC's FAQ lists three ways to build the pond. Here they are, with what each commonly implies.

• Wood frame and deck with a vinyl liner. The structure is framed and decked, and the liner holds the water. A liner is a membrane, so how its edges are protected and what touches it matter.
• Fiberglass wall. The wall is a fiberglass shell, which gives the pond a smooth, finished edge.
• Gunite or epoxy-coated concrete. A sprayed or poured concrete shell with a protective coating. MGC's FAQ calls this the most popular of the three.

MGC doesn't rank the three by price in the figures quoted here, and it would be a mistake to guess. Ask for each on your site, with the same boats, the same size and the same features, so the comparison is fair. Ask to see, or at least hear about, a pond of each type that has run for a few seasons. A popular choice is not automatically the right one for your climate or your budget, so ask the builder why it fits your site.

What it costs per square foot

For ponds of 3,600 to 5,000 square feet, MGC puts pond construction at about $24 per square foot. Multiply it out and you get roughly $86,400 for a 3,600 square foot pond and $120,000 for a 5,000 square foot pond. That is back-of-the-envelope arithmetic on MGC's figure, not a quote. Ask what else is in or out of your final price: the boats, the dock, the waterfall details and the ground around the pond.

A bigger pond costs more up front, but a pond that is too small for the boats you want is hard to enlarge later. If you think you may add boats, size the water for that day, not for opening day.

Climate matters too. If your park closes for winter, ask how each construction type is prepared for the off-season and what a spring start-up involves. MGC builds from coast to coast, from Seattle to Florida to Arizona to Maine, so ask how it has handled conditions like yours.

Questions for the walk-through

• Which construction type fits my site, climate and budget, and why?
• How is water supplied, circulated and drained?
• How are the pond wall and floor protected from the boats?
• Where do the boats sit when they're not on the water?
• What does seasonal upkeep look like, and what will it cost?

MGC's About page lists help with purchasing equipment and with operating and maintaining your facility. That can matter on a pond, where boats, pumps and the water itself all need regular attention.

For pond layouts and features, see /services/bumper-ponds. Sizing and construction questions are answered in the /faq. To talk about a pond for your site, call MGC at (860) 749-4434.