Enlighten me: Pontoon Boat Rehab

A certain member of my family is trying to convince me that having a pontoon boat would just be the best thing ever. So much so that when, by pure coincidence, an old friend from school mentioned that she was thinking of donating her father's old boat, I was immediately notified. I've been told that he passed away a while back and it's been at a storage place for a year and a half and it "needs a bunch of work", at least according to a 25 year old girl.

I spent a few years working on motor and sailing yachts, but I know very little about small boats. And I know even less about pontoon boats because I never paid much attention to them. They were floating patios for old people. But now I'm almost old and I'd quite enjoy a floating patio.

So how much work could one of these things possibly need, assuming that the aluminum pontoons are intact? Decking, some engine work (or a new outboard) and some canvas and upholstery...it should be pretty straightforward, right? What else is there? Cables and pulleys?

Friend of mine has one. It is an older model that he has restored, or fixed, depending on how you look at it. I've been out on it with him. It is a floating patio party. Basically, I think you are right, some engine maintenance or a new(er) outboard, some upholstery, canvas top, steering cables, and that's about all there is to it. Oh, and a stereo.

They can be made to go fast

Sorry, dunno how to embed video.

Party barge, yeah, they rock.

You can cruise across the lake and not spill your beer, mount a little Weber grill on it, maybe even an awning to keep the sun off you

RealMiniParker wrote: They can be made to go fast Sorry, dunno how to embed video.

Yeah, I'm not sure that I want to go that fast.

Here's an onboard video of the same boat. Fast forward to about 1:15...

I had one for a summer and decided it didn't fit my needs. My primary waterway is the Missouri River. with a roughly 5 mph current, it's nice to be able to get up on plane and make some headway. If it weren't for that aspect, we'd probably still have it.

And when it comes to construction, yes, a pontoon boat is built much more like a deck than a boat. It's not rocket science. Heck, its really hardly even boat science.

Read some Mark Twain and you'll be up to speed on all the essentials.

I'd say get it if it's a good deal. I have no regrets about having owned one (and may again, who knows). What can possibly go wrong?!

In reply to Woody:

A co-worker has/had one, and seemed to continually sink money into it like any other boat. I'm not sure that it really needed all that much put into it, or if it was just because it was his toy.

I do recall he had problems with it being low on power, which somewhat amused me knowing the low speeds it was generally used at, but it took a few tries before he found a mechanic who was able to fix it.

It's a blank canvas -- you can do as much or as little as you want. Upholstery doesn't last very long in the sun and takes a fortune to replace. But astroturf, an Easy-Up, and a couple of free couches can have you back in business.

They can go in shallow water, and you can beach them without worrying about cracking gelcoat.
Outboards are usually reliable and self-contained.

So yeah...it has the potential of being the cheapest boat to buy and own, if you're not OCD and it has a good outboard.

Storage and/or trailering are fixed cost PITAs, regardless of the type of boat.

Now that all booze has been forbidden on boats in Ontario, (Unless they fit the "Home" definition) these are not so much fun. Fishing ain't what it used to be; pretty much got to catch fish to justify it.

Yep everything from the pontoons up is easy to replace. The decking is just ply on angle aluminum usually.

My mom and step-dad rehabed my grandpa's pontoon boat for him. Basically re-deck, and reupholster all the seats, and maybe they got a new vinyl design for the sides and a new top. Now, my mom is really good at upholstery, but she said the seats were the easiest thing she has ever re-done. Super square, no tricks, basically pillowcases.

She got all the best fabric and the whole deal was still quite reasonable.

Aluminum pontoons, I presume. Check for unreasonable dents, or water intrusion.

Streetwiseguy wrote: Aluminum pontoons, I presume. Check for unreasonable dents, or water intrusion.

X2

I always thought of them for large families or old people. Now that I fall into both those categories in some way, I see they can be more than that lol. Having helped work on them, I'd say they are arguably easier to replace a floor on vs a traditional V hull boat. Unless you can sew and stitch yourself, buying upholstered pontoon seats can get $$$$ real fast. I saw one 'toon that had what looked like giant bean bag chairs instead of tradition 'toon furniture. One of the bigger issues they have vs V hulls is they can be wider and longer which can make transport an issue.

That video from LOTO is awesome! I often thought of getting one with solid toons, stripping it of furniture, and hanging a big ole outboard on it for some high speed fun.

I rebuilt my pontoon boat, it was a salvage that I got for free.

Re-deck is easy, use the pressure-treated fir plywood. I don't like carpet in boats, so it was covered in a textured vinyl. Re-powered with a brand new Suzuki 30hp four-stroke. It runs fast enough for an adult to waterski, its quiet, smooth, and reliable. It is growing on me. I'm in my mid-30s, and my other boat goes 100mph. Still like the party barge.

Couple weeks back I took my dad and a friend on a 180 mile camping trip over 3 days, traversing a few rivers. Tents on the deck of the boat. It gets a little over 7mpg.

I never put new chairs or anything else on it, deck is wide open. We just use folding chairs.

http://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=24678

MattGent wrote: I rebuilt my pontoon boat, it was a salvage that I got for free. Re-deck is easy, use the pressure-treated fir plywood. I don't like carpet in boats, so it was covered in a textured vinyl. Re-powered with a brand new Suzuki 30hp four-stroke. It runs fast enough for an adult to waterski, its quiet, smooth, and reliable. It is growing on me. I'm in my mid-30s, and my other boat goes 100mph. Still like the party barge. Couple weeks back I took my dad and a friend on a 180 mile camping trip over 3 days, traversing a few rivers. Tents on the deck of the boat. It gets a little over 7mpg. I never put new chairs or anything else on it, deck is wide open. We just use folding chairs. http://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=24678

even pressure treated plywood will fail if exposed to water. Your best bet would have been to go with more expensive Okoume ply and coat it in a nice layer of Epoxy and glassfibre cloth. It would last a much longer time and be easier to clean as it would be completely sealed unless you gouge it on something

They are super simple machines. I'm sure anyone on this forum could work on one easily.

Toebra wrote: You can cruise across the lake and not spill your beer

At 3mph.

FWIW, I think a v-hull runabout rides a lot smoother than a pontoon boat. It will also steer 100x better above 5mph. My parents last boat was a 19ft 200hp runabout. It was fun and capable of a lot of things. Now they have a 20ft 60hp pontoon boat. It meets their needs well, but it doesn't ride as nice and god damn it takes forever to get anywhere.

Woody wrote:

RealMiniParker wrote: They can be made to go fast Sorry, dunno how to embed video.

Yeah, I'm not sure that I want to go that fast. Here's an onboard video of the same boat. Fast forward to about 1:15...

God, that thing looks punishing. Like, a throughly unpleasant experience. Pontoon boats are fun little floating decks. I've seen some stacked with water slides, grills, and built-in fridges to keep your beer cold. Careful of the BUI though (boating under the influence.) Yes, that's a real thing in Maryland.

Maintenance wise, they always seem to be a bit cheaper than normal boats because they a.) lack fiberglass and gel coat and b.) are usually under stressed and used only on nice days. Canvas/upholstery can be a PITA and expensive because boat but, as mentioned above, you can DIY in real hillbilly ways like AstroTurf and waterproof auto upholstery. Also get an awning because they get HOT out on the open water all day.

mad_machine wrote: even pressure treated plywood will fail if exposed to water. Your best bet would have been to go with more expensive Okoume ply and coat it in a nice layer of Epoxy and glassfibre cloth. It would last a much longer time and be easier to clean as it would be completely sealed unless you gouge it on something

For the record, I disagree with this approach. I've used Okoume for building other boats and parts (and, coincidentally, a sidecar body). It is expensive, light, and easily bendable compared to other species. It is not particularly rot-resistant. To re-deck a pontoon in Okoume, cover it in glass, and seal all penetrations would be easily 3X the cost of treated fir, and probably 4-5X the man-hours. On the pontoon, the deck is secured with many machine screws, each of which would require pre-drilling oversize, filling, and re-drilling. Plus all the hardware/fence/furniture is screwed down from the top into it too. Its just too much to keep track of, when the fir solution lasts so long (likely 20yrs) with zero prep.

I'm a perfectionist engineer at heart; in this case "good enough" is the right answer for me as a cost/effort proposition. Most other items on the boat won't last 20yrs either.

NOHOME wrote: Now that all booze has been forbidden on boats in Ontario, (Unless they fit the "Home" definition) these are not so much fun. Fishing ain't what it used to be; pretty much got to catch fish to justify it.

SAY WHAT?!

Why it is called fishing not catching. .

We rented one last year, plus 2 Jet Skis.

Made an awesome floating dock/ bar/ cabana. Good for a steak, a beer, or a nap. When we wanted more adrenaline, we'd jump onto the Jet Skis.

MattGent wrote:

mad_machine wrote: even pressure treated plywood will fail if exposed to water. Your best bet would have been to go with more expensive Okoume ply and coat it in a nice layer of Epoxy and glassfibre cloth. It would last a much longer time and be easier to clean as it would be completely sealed unless you gouge it on something

For the record, I disagree with this approach. I've used Okoume for building other boats and parts (and, coincidentally, a sidecar body). It is expensive, light, and easily bendable compared to other species. It is not particularly rot-resistant. To re-deck a pontoon in Okoume, cover it in glass, and seal all penetrations would be easily 3X the cost of treated fir, and probably 4-5X the man-hours. On the pontoon, the deck is secured with many machine screws, each of which would require pre-drilling oversize, filling, and re-drilling. Plus all the hardware/fence/furniture is screwed down from the top into it too. Its just too much to keep track of, when the fir solution lasts so long (likely 20yrs) with zero prep. I'm a perfectionist engineer at heart; in this case "good enough" is the right answer for me as a cost/effort proposition. Most other items on the boat won't last 20yrs either.

Especially when rebuilding a FREE boat.

Nothing costs so much as a free boat

In reply to Toebra:

No E36 M3!

MattGent wrote:

mad_machine wrote: even pressure treated plywood will fail if exposed to water. Your best bet would have been to go with more expensive Okoume ply and coat it in a nice layer of Epoxy and glassfibre cloth. It would last a much longer time and be easier to clean as it would be completely sealed unless you gouge it on something

For the record, I disagree with this approach. I've used Okoume for building other boats and parts (and, coincidentally, a sidecar body). It is expensive, light, and easily bendable compared to other species. It is not particularly rot-resistant. To re-deck a pontoon in Okoume, cover it in glass, and seal all penetrations would be easily 3X the cost of treated fir, and probably 4-5X the man-hours. On the pontoon, the deck is secured with many machine screws, each of which would require pre-drilling oversize, filling, and re-drilling. Plus all the hardware/fence/furniture is screwed down from the top into it too. Its just too much to keep track of, when the fir solution lasts so long (likely 20yrs) with zero prep. I'm a perfectionist engineer at heart; in this case "good enough" is the right answer for me as a cost/effort proposition. Most other items on the boat won't last 20yrs either.

I still would not go with pressure treated. I would at the very least go with marine grade plywood. I would still coat it in epoxy though