My wife is GREAT at 2 things......

[GXPWeasel]

Yea, I'd definitely do the sun deck idea, if you can swing it. This will hide all the nececities of running a boat, and give you even more storage room, plus give her an area to lounge and enjoy herself even more while on the boat.

Hell, you might even get something out of it too.

[Ron Burgundy]

From your photos it looks like you have room in the bow to add another bench seat, or possibly two. If you did that you can put all of her "crap" that is taking up space in the rear seat storage up there, and use the rear seat storage for the batteries.

[JonCBrand]

Below Are a few pictures of the sundeck I built on the back of my toon.
I had a local fab shop bend and weld in the 1" aluminum tubes. I used a piece of marine plywood, and some marine vinyl off ebay.
I used vinyl coated aluminum sheeting for siding.

I also plan to add a linear actuator to access the side storage.

Once my third toon is done, I plan to box off the center motor pod area for even more storage.

[Brandon]

Jon how much did this run you if you dont mind me asking?

Ron she did mention something about wanting to add another seat where you are talking about, so that might also be an idea.

I think if I can be able to do it however adding a sun deck she will really enjoy that alot.

[JonCBrand]

$80 in aluminum tube
$60 in for a 50' roll of aluminum sheet
$45 plywood
$60 vinyl
$60 marine foam pad
$20 6' aluminum piano hinge
$120 labor.

[rpm121370]

for roughly $400 to make boat nicer and cleaner there is Mastercard
to watch a hot woman sun bath in skimpy bikini (priceless)

Ron

[MichaelB]

I like the sundeck idea. But I have to ask...you don't appear to have a trolling motor on there, so why do you have three batteries? Should I have battery envy since I only have one big one?

[Brandon]

michael, I do not have a trolling motor YET, but it is in the budget. To your question though I posted somewhere else that this is the first experience I have had with a boat, when I got the boat I had alot of problems with the batteries, the batteries were old and im sure had some dead cells in them but it was all I had to base my experiences on so when I decided to buy some new batteries I decided to go with 3 to get some more amp hours in parallel and to isolate my starting battery by itself. Alot of people I know think I wasted my money but it is a peace of mind for me, and I dont have to listen to all the sob stories and how its a mistake and yada yada yada from my wife when we get stranded. I really wanted to isolate my starting battery, my mechanic said he has done this for the past 10 years with both his fishing boat and his pontoon and has had great results with it. Plus im already set whenever it is that I am able to install a trolling motor

[Brandon]

Jon she was really with the idea of a sundeck, so looks like I have a project that I will actually care about instead of the other stuff she usually has me doing.
Question though, what problems would be if I instead of using alum. I used wood and carpet the sides and then install the sundeck over top of that? I am assuming that this would weight to much. Reason I ask is because I already have the wood and I am able to do that on my own, I would not have to pay someone to do it, I would only have to buy the materials to make the actual deck itself

[MichaelB]

The wood won't last as long if it isn't treated, and if it is treated you have to make sure it isn't treated with something that will react with the aluminum you already have. That said, if you've got some untreated wood laying around, paint it and try it. There's always the off-season to try again unless you're a lucky SOB that doesn't have an off-season.

[kryptonite]

The wood won't last as long if it isn't treated, and if it is treated you have to make sure it isn't treated with something that will react with the aluminum you already have. That said, if you've got some untreated wood laying around, paint it and try it. There's always the off-season to try again unless you're a lucky SOB that doesn't have an off-season.

If you painted the wood or go with treated it should last quite a while. Do you tarp your boat or store it indoors? If you do it will be fine. If it's outdoors, not covered it might be a problem.

As far as weight is concerned-
Does your boat sit level in the water?
I noticed you don't have much weight up front at all? The sundeck could cause it to sit stern heavy, which isn't the end of the world as long as it isn't too drastic.

Wood vs aluminum - As long as you don't over build it from wood, I don't think it would weight too much. 2x2's will be plenty strong as a frame covered with plywood.

[Looney Tune]

What's the other thing?

[Brandon]

The wood won't last as long if it isn't treated, and if it is treated you have to make sure it isn't treated with something that will react with the aluminum you already have. That said, if you've got some untreated wood laying around, paint it and try it. There's always the off-season to try again unless you're a lucky SOB that doesn't have an off-season.

If you painted the wood or go with treated it should last quite a while. Do you tarp your boat or store it indoors? If you do it will be fine. If it's outdoors, not covered it might be a problem.

As far as weight is concerned-
Does your boat sit level in the water?
I noticed you don't have much weight up front at all? The sundeck could cause it to sit stern heavy, which isn't the end of the world as long as it isn't too drastic.

Wood vs aluminum - As long as you don't over build it from wood, I don't think it would weight too much. 2x2's will be plenty strong as a frame covered with plywood.

your right I dont have alot of weight up front and it does sit stern heavy, however ive never really paid attention just how much, I will have to look at that before I decide what to do and how to build it

I store it outside with a cover