2004 Weere's Pontoon Re-do
Posted: Fri May 13, 2016 12:30 pm
So two years ago, the MIL said we could use her pontoon boat. All I heard was "free" so I was all over that. She said that the motor ran and that the boat needed just a bit of cleaning. So we drive to her place south of Tallahassee and when I looked at the boat, I thought, "Oh hell no!" But that was quickly drowned out by the word "free" and the wife saying that a good cleaning and it would be fine. Besides, she said, it was free.
After we got it home, I pulled the hubs to inspect the bearings and discovered that Crisco could be used for bearing grease - because that's exactly what the stuff looked like that ooooooozed out of the hubs. Sure nuff - bearings and races were history. I fixed all that and went on to the trailer lights that appeared to be on one of those sequencers that one uses on Christmas tree lights 'cause there was no rhyme or reason to them coming on & off. So I installed all new LED trailer lights. The vinyl on the seats had the suppleness of a potato chip. You sat down and it was snap, crackle, pop. Oh.....and about the Yamaha 40 two-smoke that ran???? Uh no - it didn't. But after I totally rebuilt the carbs it did!
So with bandaids applied, we went boating. And it was free - kinda. Since this was my first pontoon boat and I wasn't sure I'd like it cause speed and pontoon can't be used in the same sentence (yes - I know there's some idjit with a pontoon boat with triple 300 Verado's. All he is is a blow-over waiting to happen), I was reluctant to do any more modifications. Fast forward and the MIL has erased "free" outta her vocabulary. Never mind, we buy it for cheap.
The first thing was a repower to 90hp Mercury. It was a toss up between Merc and Yamaha, but the Merc was cheaper. A couple of weeks ago, it was time to get the pontoon nekkid. So that's what you see now.
I'll be sourcing most of my stuff from PontoonStuff.com and will use eBay and other sources as needed to keep costs down.
One idea I'm really seriously thinking about is a complete departure from your typical pontoon deck of 3/4" plywood and some type of flooring over that. And that is using composite decking boards like are used on decks, as the pontoons' flooring and decking. I've set up a simple rig to test deflection, load capacity, and how it will handle structural loads. My testing looks promising. The only potential hitch would be with water coming up through the seams where the boards butt together. But I'm asking myself is that really an issue? For sure I will be using this material in lieu of your garden variety aluminum C-channel that's used for a rub rail. I cannot understand why the pontoon industry insists on using that because it's so susceptible to dents. If the aluminum was of a different temper, that would be one thing, but most of it is so maleble you'd think it was in "0" condition!! Anywho.......be looking for my updates.
Oh - and a tip when using crimp style butt connectors. Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and in the section where you'll find ty-wraps, lineman pliers, Volt/Ohm meters, etc., get yourself a tube of OX-Gard. The stuff is pretty messy to work with, but will save your wires from oxidation and water intrusion. What I do is cut the applicator tip so the hole is kinda tiny - like maybe a 1/16". I then squirt a small amount into each end of the butt connector. Install your wire, crimp it, and you're done. It also helps if you use some heat shrink tubing over the splice. And do yourself a favor and spend money on a good crimping tool and not those el cheapos that just mash the butt slice together. As for a heat shrink gun, I use a Wagner heat gun that does the job just a good as the fancy schmancy types.
Tom Adams
After we got it home, I pulled the hubs to inspect the bearings and discovered that Crisco could be used for bearing grease - because that's exactly what the stuff looked like that ooooooozed out of the hubs. Sure nuff - bearings and races were history. I fixed all that and went on to the trailer lights that appeared to be on one of those sequencers that one uses on Christmas tree lights 'cause there was no rhyme or reason to them coming on & off. So I installed all new LED trailer lights. The vinyl on the seats had the suppleness of a potato chip. You sat down and it was snap, crackle, pop. Oh.....and about the Yamaha 40 two-smoke that ran???? Uh no - it didn't. But after I totally rebuilt the carbs it did!
So with bandaids applied, we went boating. And it was free - kinda. Since this was my first pontoon boat and I wasn't sure I'd like it cause speed and pontoon can't be used in the same sentence (yes - I know there's some idjit with a pontoon boat with triple 300 Verado's. All he is is a blow-over waiting to happen), I was reluctant to do any more modifications. Fast forward and the MIL has erased "free" outta her vocabulary. Never mind, we buy it for cheap.
The first thing was a repower to 90hp Mercury. It was a toss up between Merc and Yamaha, but the Merc was cheaper. A couple of weeks ago, it was time to get the pontoon nekkid. So that's what you see now.
I'll be sourcing most of my stuff from PontoonStuff.com and will use eBay and other sources as needed to keep costs down.
One idea I'm really seriously thinking about is a complete departure from your typical pontoon deck of 3/4" plywood and some type of flooring over that. And that is using composite decking boards like are used on decks, as the pontoons' flooring and decking. I've set up a simple rig to test deflection, load capacity, and how it will handle structural loads. My testing looks promising. The only potential hitch would be with water coming up through the seams where the boards butt together. But I'm asking myself is that really an issue? For sure I will be using this material in lieu of your garden variety aluminum C-channel that's used for a rub rail. I cannot understand why the pontoon industry insists on using that because it's so susceptible to dents. If the aluminum was of a different temper, that would be one thing, but most of it is so maleble you'd think it was in "0" condition!! Anywho.......be looking for my updates.
Oh - and a tip when using crimp style butt connectors. Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and in the section where you'll find ty-wraps, lineman pliers, Volt/Ohm meters, etc., get yourself a tube of OX-Gard. The stuff is pretty messy to work with, but will save your wires from oxidation and water intrusion. What I do is cut the applicator tip so the hole is kinda tiny - like maybe a 1/16". I then squirt a small amount into each end of the butt connector. Install your wire, crimp it, and you're done. It also helps if you use some heat shrink tubing over the splice. And do yourself a favor and spend money on a good crimping tool and not those el cheapos that just mash the butt slice together. As for a heat shrink gun, I use a Wagner heat gun that does the job just a good as the fancy schmancy types.
Tom Adams