Dealing with a BIG dent.

[Jeep Man]

As some of you know, my 2008 pontoon is a salvage from an insurance company, due to a winter storage mishap whereby the building roof collapsed due to snow load. Over time I have straightened the rails, replaced the console and had most of the sections of upholstery that were damaged repaired.
Both pontoons have a sizable dent on the underside where it impacted the trailer axle. The pontoons do not leak but the dents do shave a couple of mph off of top speed and creates a bit more wash behind the boat than other similar boats.
There is an aluminum boat builder nearby that has a reputation for excellent work. After speaking with him he is confident the dents can be removed by removing the back of the toons, repairing them and re-welding. The consensus usually is that if they don't leak, leave them alone. The price he quoted is quite reasonable and I would dearly like the dents gone. Looking for your opinion.

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: Dealing with a BIG dent.

PICS would help.

 

[crb478]

Re: Dealing with a BIG dent.

If you are comfortable with his abilities I would go ahead and have them fixed. Just because they do not leak now does not mean that they will not start to crack near the dent in the future especially when trailering or riding in rough water.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Dealing with a BIG dent.

PICS would help.

Presently, the dents are underwater. She won't see the trailer till October.

 

[TurboM700]

Re: Dealing with a BIG dent.

I dented the last 2ft of mine. (Dont ask) and I did just that. Cut the back of the toon open and I was able to pop the tent back out. I was surprised how well it worked.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Dealing with a BIG dent.

Aluminum sheet metal workers are hard to find. Many body shop employees are more "bondo" workers and parts replacers.

I would think there are some methods to remove dents, even if it requires drilling and pulling them out with a slide hammer. They can always weld the holes.

Have you talked to one of the paintless dent pullers to see if they have any suggestions?

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Dealing with a BIG dent.

How close to the back? Depending on location, I"d probably be tempted to drill a small (1 inch or so) hole in the top of the tube near the back, and then take a a wooden dowel + hammer and see if I could pop the dents out. (dowel through the hole, push it out from the inside.)

(again, depending on how bad, not all dents can be popped!)

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Dealing with a BIG dent.

How close to the back? Depending on location, I"d probably be tempted to drill a small (1 inch or so) hole in the top of the tube near the back, and then take a a wooden dowel + hammer and see if I could pop the dents out. (dowel through the hole, push it out from the inside.)

(again, depending on how bad, not all dents can be popped!)

The center of the dent (deepest part)on both pontoons is above where the trailer axle would be. The dent extends across the bottom of the pontoon and are approximately 3 to 4 inches deep and extend from the rear internal compartment divider back to approximately 2 ft. from the back of the pontoon. The welder plans on cutting half moon shaped wooden forms to place at the top and bottom inside the pontoon and use hydraulic pressure to pop it back into shape, and then standard bodyman techniques to smooth it out.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Dealing with a BIG dent.

Ya you can do that to a point, really big dents just won't come out and you won't get all of the dent out but it sounds like you don't care how it looks you just want your speed back.

I can tell you, if they come out they will go from one big dent to a bunch of little dents, replacing both end caps is fairly easy but requires a saints patience.

f you had pick I could tell you if you even want to try it.

See if the guy has any experience actually trying to beat dents out of aluminum this thick, it is way harder than you would think, most people think it is really soft , you whack it a few times and viola but that is not the case.

It has a tremendous memory and being that thick you need substantial force to bend it back and have it stay.

I would look into overlaying the bad spots, they should be able to bend the aluminum to match pretty close then just weld around the perimeter, you don't have to cut into the tube and you aren't compromising strength.

Either will work and I have done both, I work for Bennington in the tube building.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Dealing with a BIG dent.

Ya you can do that to a point, really big dents just won't come out and you won't get all of the dent out but it sounds like you don't care how it looks you just want your speed back.

I can tell you, if they come out they will go from one big dent to a bunch of little dents, replacing both end caps is fairly easy but requires a saints patience.

f you had pick I could tell you if you even want to try it.

See if the guy has any experience actually trying to beat dents out of aluminum this thick, it is way harder than you would think, most people think it is really soft , you whack it a few times and viola but that is not the case.

It has a tremendous memory and being that thick you need substantial force to bend it back and have it stay.

I would look into overlaying the bad spots, they should be able to bend the aluminum to match pretty close then just weld around the perimeter, you don't have to cut into the tube and you aren't compromising strength.

Either will work and I have done both, I work for Bennington in the tube building.

Thanks for chiming in 5150. I was hoping you would. The welder's experience has been mostly with aluminum for a number of years and he as removed many dents in the past, as well as building aluminum boats. I had considered covering the dents with new metal and I am not discounting it. The problem I see is that because the main part of the dent is across the pontoons, it has caused the sides to bow out a bit. This section would have to be cut out or pushed back in, which, in my opinion would be impossible without accessing from the inside.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Dealing with a BIG dent.

I wish him luck, I don't think I would try to do one that bad but if I did......

I would be tempted to try a floor jack and a 4x4 to get the main dent out, that way you can have downward pressure while you are working the dents out of the sides of coarse not seeing hard to day.

I have the tremendous luxury of just building a new tube too and we would never try to fix a production boat his bad.

Definitely get some before and after pics and you are welcome to send me a private message any time, I don't get on very often anymore but I would see it eventually.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Dealing with a BIG dent.

There are sources for new pontoons--some scratched seconds.

T&M Marine north of Minneapolis carries them often. Great Lakes Skipper in Racine, WI also carry them. Check with PontoonStuff.com and see if he knows anyone around Elkhart that has extra toons. You also have UFab Boats in Ontario that make their own toons and custom fabricate anything.

When in doubt, replace them.