The Christchurch Yacht Club aims to get part of its damaged pontoon back on the water before Christmas after a scheduled maintenance check found it had significant corrosion.

Club commodore Jason Galbraith said the pontoon’s steel framework was badly corroded and in need of substantial repairs. It was removed in June and August.

The pontoon is primarily used by the club’s support and rescue boats, and children often jump off it into the water, particularly over summer.

The club has since decided to only fix half the pontoon at this stage and make it available for the community to use before the end of the year.

“We understand the importance of having it for both the club and the community,” said Galbraith.

The frame has been redesigned and an engineer is about to start fabrication work on it.

Once the steel structure has been completed, the pontoon will be reassembled and lifted back onto the water.

The club will be reusing the pontoon’s original float system and the hardwood timber decking.

The first half of the work is estimated to cost about $70,000, which the club will fund itself.

The second part will cost the same but require external funding.

“It’s a big ticket item for a club to try and fund that’s for sure,” Galbraith said.

The club is hoping to get the complete pontoon on the water before the start of next year’s sailing season in September.

The pontoon was an unexpected cost for the club with other significant projects also in the pipeline.

Its main focus is on fixing the boat shed platform but it is also planning maintenance work on the clubrooms and wants to add more boat storage to the western side of the club.

“The club has got quite a few large projects on, so we’re in a fairly difficult position where we’re spreading the funds that we have fairly thin,” said Galbraith.

“We’re a club full of volunteers that are trying to manage these projects on our own so we’ve got limited resources.”

The Christchurch Yacht Club was founded in 1891 and was originally known as the Christchurch Sailing Club.