New to pontoons....finally bought one

[Looseties]

Good day to all. After looking for some time and procrastinating even longer, we finally bought our first pontoon. Actually ran into a deal on this unit; someone had ordered it and could not complete the deal due to loss of their job a day or two before picking it up and the dealer was looking to deal. We have only 15 hrs. on it so far.
I will be adding underskinning to it this weekend (our dealer would not do it). Found 5' x 10', 16Ga Al. sheets (0.063 thk.) for about $100 each. Will use thin weather strip on each cross channel and either 10-32 or 1/4-20 self tap screws to hold it on (predrilled holes in sheet and channels).

The distance between logs where the sheet would lay flat is 57.75".....my sheets are 60" wide.....question: it has been suggested (after a few brews) to leave the sheets a full 60" and start pinning from the middle or center of the sheet and move towards each log....leaving the sheet naturally bow or bend the last 6" or so and lay against the angles or cross members supports (hope this makes sense)....any comments welcome on this idea.

I have seen some of the pics posted and like the ideas I've seen and will borrow from them. If you have any hints, suggestions or warnings, let me know. I will also post some before and after pics.

[tuned]

Nice looking rig, Looseties. Welcome to the forum.
This definitely is the place to get lots of good advice (unless it is about fishing, religion, or politics ) So don't be afraid to ask lots of questions.

I assume that your weatherstripping is aluminum and fairly smooth and strong. Beware any edges that can catch water in any way. Lots of people start running it from the rear of the boat and overlap it at a joist. Often they fix it with just self tapping screws (with pilots) so that there is very little sticking up to catch water. The final sheeting (forward) is often stopped a joist or two shy of the bow and bent up over the joist and screwed on, thus making no forward edge to catch. It won't hurt to leave 2 or 4 feet of under-wood exposed at the bow, as very little water gets up in that area.

The weatherstripping idea might work very well however, I just haven't seen it.

You also might consider having your extra edge metal bent by a pro. It is fairly inexpensive, will look WAY nicer and add strength as a bonus. Find a metal fab shop or even a HVAC place. It won't cost much for simple bends.

Good luck mate. The skin is worth it!

[Kitchen363]

The distance between logs where the sheet would lay flat is 57.75".....my sheets are 60" wide.....question: it has been suggested (after a few brews) to leave the sheets a full 60" and start pinning from the middle or center of the sheet and move towards each log....leaving the sheet naturally bow or bend the last 6" or so and lay against the angles or cross members supports (hope this makes sense)....any comments welcome on this idea.

I started in the back with the first rivets and worked my way to the front. I used a little bit thinner alum, and had no problems with getting it tight and staight. You'll need three guys under the boat to nail it up there

Overlap any seams you have.

I used a well oiled blade on a jig saw to cut the aluminum, Just lay your sheets on some wood 4 X 4 and cut near the wood to help with the vibration.

Measure twice cut once!!

[Heatman]

The distance between logs where the sheet would lay flat is 57.75".....my sheets are 60" wide.....question: it has been suggested (after a few brews) to leave the sheets a full 60" and start pinning from the middle or center of the sheet and move towards each log....leaving the sheet naturally bow or bend the last 6" or so and lay against the angles or cross members supports (hope this makes sense)....any comments welcome on this idea.



1st off welcome to the forum!
I understand what you are saying but I don't think I would do that. Over time where it is not firmly against the crossmembers I would think it would get noisey with the force of the water against it and it sliding up and down. I would try to find someone to bend an 1" or so down on each side. This will also make it a bit more rigid.

[dockholiday]

Welcome................Congrats on the new toon. just the right color for a pirate flag.
doc

[busatom]

Welcome aboard! I just finished underskinning the center of my toon last week. Sometime this week or next I have 1 last pier that I will have sheared into4 12" pieces then bent at a 9 & 3 " legs to cover the sides and finish the top. This was also done this
way so I only have to take off the sides- if I have a
need to get to the boat wiring. All but the front 4 ft of mine is skinned- the splash guards at the front keep water off the first 4' of the boat. I would overlap at the seems. So far I've put bout 5-6 hours driving on it and rivets seem strong! Good luck and nice toon!

Tom

[Looseties]

Thanks for all the input......love the sight, very informative. I am probably going to cut the aluminum the exact width to fit against the beam supports, laying flat. As far as the isolation strip between the aluminum sheet and cross members, I am thinking about using the sealing material used on between the foundation on the house and the wood cap. I will get some pictures and post during the process this week. The boat color scheme is call Black Pearl and it will run a pirate flag, under or opposite the stars and stripes.

[TarheelBorn]

Congrats on the new ride. Sweet! I need to underskin mine too. Are 2 more sheets of that aluminum available. I live in Clayton. Where will you be enjoying your new toon? Lake Jordan, Harris, the beach or elseswhere?
I just got my first toon about 2 months ago and love it. You will enjoy yours too.

[Looseties]

Tarheelborn....glad to hear from someone close by. I sent you an email with the information on where I picked up the Aluminum. Most of my boating is either at Buggs Island (Kerr Lake) as I keep my other boat up there and we also camp at Kerr. Falls and Jordon get a little to crowded for me on the weekends during the summer and I really enjoy striper fishing at Kerr in the winter. All I have to do now is figure if I want to mount a trolling motor on the pontoon and rod holders to drag live bait this fall and winter.

[TarheelBorn]

Thanks for the email Looseties. This forum is a great source for ideas and suggestions on how to do just about anything to a toon and the guys will give you their thoughts on what works and what doesn't. We have a place at Surf City, so I will be in salt water just about all the time. Thanks again for the info. I will check it out.