Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hello all, this is my first post here. Found the site with a little web searching.

I am in the process of rebuilding a Sylvan 28' pontoon boat I use for tours and charters in Providence, RI. What I am looking for is a source for the thin aluminum skin for the fence/railing on pontoon boats. I am looking to replace the skin on mine. I would like it to be uniform in height all the way around the boat. I also plan on painting it one color and then applying company name, logo, etc.

Do any of you know where I can buy the this thin aluminum in sheets or rolls?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Capt Tom
Providence River Boat Company
tm530@aol.com

Pontoonstuff.com sells it, I think its a roll like 26" tall by 60' long for about $150....I read somewhere that lowes or home depot sells the same stuff for like $70 a roll.....lemme know how it goes I'm thinking about doing it myself!

I have purchased the stuff from Home depot, its way cheaper. You can usually find it in the roofing or siding area.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... EsQ8wIwAg#

I have a suggestion when you find the aluminum skin. Rather than replace all the fencing/ skin. If the inside skin is not damaged. Just skin over the outside frame and all. Paint it, detail it or whatever. But leave the old skin on. It's a pain according to others who have done it to remove the old skin. It won't show and it will look like a lot of the newer toons. It also will hide much of the fence railing. Look at some of the new pontoons like Bennington, Premier, others and you will see what I mean. On many of the newer pontoons you don't see any of the frame work or at most only the top six inches and the rail. The new aluminum could be pop riveted on. You might need an edging of some type since the aluminum is very sharp.

If you look at the higher end toons they still have rails outside panels. There is a reason, better protection from dings, fenders not as likely to scuff or dent them. The lower end Bennies I notice have outside panels and higher end have outside rails.

I reskinned my fence a few weeks back. I bought mine from brand X-unfortunately unaware that it could also be purchased from home improvement stores for less than half of what I paid. The frustrating part was when I purchased it they sure made it sound like an easy project but it was a pain. If your fence has channels that hold in the panels get ready for a long project. I wish I could give you some words of encouragement,..............................Yeah, I am still trying to think of something...................................Good Luck?

'bob

new skin is on next years plans,have been putting it off cause its just gona suck to do and get it to look good. I have an Alumacraft so the skin is in a track, that's bad enough the sucky part is the corners. the entire rail system skin and all is assembled flat and then run through the bender to make the corners, that sweges the skin into the track and I cant get it out with out cutting. as for the skin itself I think I am going to use FRP ( fiberglass reinforced panels) the commercial grad stuff is about twice as think as aluminum, the stuff you can get from HD is a little thicker yet and is more of a PVC base then fiberglass. big thing is NO MORE DENTS. just gota get the corners figured out.

Thanks for all the replies!

I am planning on pop riveting it to the outside of the rails. I want the exterior to be flush and look good for the logo, phone number, etc. I do believe I will need to edge it with something, if only to make it less likely that a passenger cuts themselves. I don't plan on re-installing it in the original vinyl channels (which are all cracked and brittle anyway). Appreciate the heads up on Home Depot/Lowes. I'll check it out near me.

Pontoonstuff.com does indeed sell it in 60 foot rolls for 179.....but it's only 24 inches high. I am hoping to go around 30 inches all the way around the boat. It's aluminum coated with vinyl.

Also, what would you cut this stuff with?

I've seen guys use an old circular saw turned backwards to cut thin aluminum. Wear ear protection.

Parasympathetic wrote:I've seen guys use an old circular saw turned backwards to cut thin aluminum. Wear ear protection.

Yep and you can cut bricks or concrete the same way. Just turn the blade so it rotates backwards. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES! and drink Pepsi

Moregooder, I like the idea of the FRP panels! I've seen the textured ones used in commercial construction for kitchens and restrooms. Do you think it's as light as the aluminum? With a Coast Guard Inspected vessel, every pound I can shed helps!

FRP is a whole lot heavier than aluminum, roughly 12oz per sq/ft.

The stuff from home depot can be scored with a utility knive then you just flex it to crack it off. Go over it with a file or 3m pad on a grinder to get rid of any burrs.
I plan to reskin mine on the outside and have a wrap done over next winter.

JonCBrand wrote:The stuff from home depot can be scored with a utility knive then you just flex it to crack it off. Go over it with a file or 3m pad on a grinder to get rid of any burrs.
I plan to reskin mine on the outside and have a wrap done over next winter.

FRP looks like it would be almost impossible to wax.

Yes FRP is going to be heaver, I use my boat primarily for diving and with all the gear and tanks I through on it wight is everything but I will gladly sacrifice less then 10lbs so that I don't have to look at and or fix dents anymore. the aluminum skin that I have is textured (and has dents) so FRP wont clean up any harder then what I all ready have. as for wax, don't have much need for wax.