draining toons

[jsin]

I know this has been been covered but I am having a hard time finding a solution to my particular issues so hopefully you guys can help... I have a few cracks in need of repair and am having a heck of a time trying to find an aluminum welder in my area but that's another issue all together. What I need to find out is the best way to go about draining the water that is in there before I have it welded. According to my research, my toons are compartmentalized at each vertical weld (97 PartiKraft w/ round tubes) which makes sense and I want to be able drain the entire tube so my question is..would I have to install drains on the bottom of each section? I would assume this is the case but I also found this quote in a previous post...

'If they are round logs, they will be compartmentalized. If U tubes, they should be foam filled. I put rear drain plugs in a previous toon by drilling a 1/2 inch hole at the bottom rear of the log and used snap bailer plugs. Simple and it works great. Easy to remove for quick draining too..'

^^maybe this was for the U tubes? Also I dont know how mounting plugs on the very bottom would not interfere with the trailer bunks. Seems like they would get torn off...

[mikeherb]

Not sure of the compartmentalization question but plugs are typically in the rear of the toon so as not to interfere with the performance or loading of the boat.

How many leaks to you have? How bad are they? Are they above the waterline?

I had an old '86 Playtime toon that had a leak at one of the welds on the M bracket. I patched it with JB Weld and it worked perfect. I would not recommend doing so below the water line but it worked well for me in that situation.

One more thing..if you're pressurizing the logs to find the leaks don't put any more than 3lbs of pressure in the logs. Any more and you'll risk blowing a seam.

[jsin]

There are 2 cracks in front and 2 in the back, all on the M brackets. I tried the JB weld and after a couple outings, they did not hold up. The cracks are about 2 inches long each, basically the length of the bracket holding them on.

[HandymanHerb]

Have you got vents on top of the toons, many people have siphoned water out of pontoons this way or using a shop vac, or wait till you find a welder and let him drill and drain them and weld them back up.

My Grumman has compartments but they have drain holes in the bottom or the partitions do so water can drain out my rear plugs, but still not flood and sink if I punched a hole in one as the tops are air tight.

[sHan tn]

HandymanHerb had it right, take it to a welder and have them drill a small hole in the bottom of each partition and drain any water in it and weld the holes back up and grind them down, you will never know its been done we did it years a go and also weld all the carack up too LOL