Bansil and Mamaturtles getaway cruiser

[bansil]

:wave:
Figured I would post some pictures of our project.

Hello all, after 1-1/2 years we finally have a toon in the driveway.

Our biggest hurdle in boat shopping was all the ignorant sellers out there

biggest complaints and issues?

1) Having a 20/24 ft with brand new furniture and a rotten deck with nasty carpet for $7500 to $8500, I would have to strip it down, and put another $750 in it for floor/carpet etc and then it has furniture which we do not want and would miss a year of using it (we are busy)

2)No trailers...they all said you can buy a trailer for a couple hundred dollars...reality? NO you can't, you're buddy bubba may have one for you

3) Everyone had full wrap around furniture that was in "good shape" for $6500+ which we didn't want

4) absolute basket cases, it is a good project...mmm...rotten deck, rotten furniture and no engine for wayyy to much money

5) lot's of boats with no engines for $4500...why in the heck would I spend that and then either find a used engine for $3500 or a new one for $8000

So cruising craigslist I found a pontoon that had been listed for a long time...mmm...wonder why?

Turns out he couldn't sell it because it had no furniture! And people would freak out when they priced a full set of furniture and most folks are not handy with doing stuff like that
Yes, exactly what we wanted

It had been winterized so we went and looked at it and said we would keep in touch, which we did every couple weeks

We went to "put eyes on it" he had replaced the deck with 50 year synthetic deck board, put railing back on and bought a console and seat from PONTOONSTUFF actually and called it good

We wanted a cruising, fishing and camping 'Toon this fit our bill

The decking added about 300 pounds to the boat, but with everything else off it still sits exactly like it did when he got it (you can still see waterline from PO)

Also having no furniture lets both our fathers to have easy wheel chair and walker access, two thumbs up

So after that wall of text, LOL
Here she is:



backing into the drivway

 

[bansil]

backing up driveway

She parked so I can work on her

 

[HotTommy]

As long as you're going to keep it, it doesn't have to be right for anyone else. It just has to be right for you. Congrats. Looks good.

 

[bansil]

First order of business was to find out why she wouldnt run when we bought her, yes she didnt run

all 4 cyl had good compression, and borescoped cylinder nice and clean

Now onto the initial issue, she won't idle

I did this:

cleaned tank
checked pick up hose/tube
replaced primer bulb (would only barely idle and missing bad unless bulb was perfectly vertical)
pulled grey hose to check for old deteriorated liner (replaced)
pulled and cleaned factory engine mounted filter
replaced hoses on engine
rebuilt fuel pump

and still had issues, next step pull carbs and check for clogged jets

Guess what yup crystallized and green, that wasn't the biggest issue, very recently someone pulled carbs and replaced the needle and seat (brand new shiney brass and needle was polished and no scrathes)

When they put it back together, they tore the gasket (I found other part under engine) and this caused a massive air leak and explains the carb fuel mixture screws all the way rich
Rebuilt and she ran awesome on the muffs and on lake!!!

Next project

 

[bansil]

Next thing was wiring, no switches worked etc...:rant:

so I got ride of this 2 pc crooked dash
and made this, sprayed it with bed liner and called it done,

 

[bansil]

I took a dremel tool to the voltage D and made hole round so I could turn gage 90*

I installed a air horn I had laying around


Took this box of stuff

and turned it into this





glued down with 3m 5200...1 week later and it is on there forever

 

[bansil]

Installed my Live well!!
added docking lights front and rear, NO these ARE NOT for driving on the lake...just to make that clear

 

[bansil]

NEXT?

she was kind of ugly so I painted her, it will look good white

 

[bansil]

1-1/2 cans rustoleum semi-gloss white
2 foam rollers
2 .25 chip brushes
1 roll medium tack transfer tape
2 rolls of blue painters tape
And 2 rolls of Orical 651 vinyl

Misc beer and about 20 hrs of time

fired up my plotter......
First stripe was to straight and organized, so.....

and her butt
You can also see some moar plumbing and stuff

 

[bansil]

1st splash was 2 weeks ago, 58* with 8/10 winds...it was chilly arty:

heading out onto lake

and finally CHEERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bansil]

Thank you!

Also the livewell has a deck wash down bypass and an overflow out the side of boat for refills if water gets too hot

 

[floatfan]

Looks like you & seller were the perfect match. Boat looks good and good times aboard!

 

[bansil]

I replaced the plastic and steel plugs with brass



We finally got the boat sitting in her slip late yesterday evening, we have gotten so much rain the lake is up about 8ft, so everything is under water (We used Rat Branch and locals will know about the pier there, only about 6 inches of the rail was out of the water)

We tried 3 different ramps until we found one that worked, kind of...I had to drive off the trailer.

Also when I got to the ramp the hub was on fire :shock:



backed it into the water to put it out, said poo on it

So we went for a nice 45 min cruise to our slip, and then back to get trailer



I jacked up axle, strapped it in place and away I went home, I will deal with this later

 

[Tnstratofam]

Nice looking pontoon. She looks like she will make a great fishing/cruising machine.

Yeah the lakes are definitely up from all the rain. We took our new Stratos out for a test run 2 weekends ago and launched at Rat Branch. The floating dock was gone. I'm guessing since it technically slides up and down the side of the ramp on rails it must be stuck under water from when the lake level was down over the winter. That made recovery tricky as we were trying to avoid the concrete ramp when we came back in.

Look forward to seeing you all on the water this summer. We usually fish the upper end and launch at Little Milligan although sometimes we will put in at Fish Springs Marina.

Hope you all have a great summer, and if I can ever get a break from work ( I run my own small heating and air company) we will try and meet up.

 

[bansil]

Sounds good, was planning a big weekend, BUT just found out one of our Alpacas is due this weekend,not july

So I will be building a barn spot for them....

 

[bansil]

We found a couple hours on Memorial Day to mount the flag and hit the lake, we took our new puppies for the 1st time

That is Jack walking back to me, this was Jack 5 or 6 weeks ago :faint2:



and this was Diane 5 or 6 weeks ago



Need to get some harnesses for them, I now know what the term Giant breed is :laugh:


Also poured some beer into the water for my fallen friends

 

[bansil]

Put her name on yesterday afternoon, christening ceremony is scheduled for tommorrow.

everything is prepped

 

[ahicks]

Heads up - maybe you've already considered it, but if not, if you've ever tried pulling a wet dog that size aboard a boat after letting them play in the water (even if beached), you'll understand why looking for some type of "puppy ramp" might be a good plan. Wet, they're SO heavy, there's no way they can do it unassisted - and unless you're in good shape and willing, you're going to struggle at best giving them a hand. Don't be too surprised if it takes a couple of people to load dogs that size!

 

[bansil]

Thanks! Great idea...puppy ramp