New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

[seanmnew]

So this is an old Pontoon Boat that my buddy had sitting in his back yard, motor runs, and floats like a champ. They haven't used it in forever (obviously) so my girlfriend bought it for me for $550 (yup? you read that right lol). I plan to:


- start with ripping up the base boards and replacing them, likely using rhino lining to seal the boards.

- use an old wooden couch/seat across the back that will fit perfectly, and get vinyl pads made for it. has matching footrest.


- construct a new, slightly larger helm, with a stereo mount INSIDE of it, and the speakers on the side of it.


Boat will be painted Black and Red (to match my Bronco, which will be towing it, named "Black Widow") This boat will soon be christened the "Mini Widow" hopefully soon!

 

[The Rooster]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

Yes Sean, she looks like she's been rode hard and put up wet, but think of the possibilities. What size Johnnyrude is that, and how is the trailer condition? Good luck !!! BTW, welcome.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

I'll be serious here: Your boat will be a big, big job to get respectable. You'll need to replace the steering console, strip the paint off the toons, use a toon brightener and polish the toons, re-floor the deck and put some pontoon furniture on the boat.

You'll then have a 1970 model boat with small pontoons that's generally out of style and not as seaworthy as newer, large toon boats.

You probably can recover your investment by chopping up the boat and selling the aluminum for scrap.

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

I'll be serious here: Your boat will be a big, big job to get respectable. You'll need to replace the steering console, strip the paint off the toons, use a toon brightener and polish the toons, re-floor the deck and put some pontoon furniture on the boat.

You'll then have a 1970 model boat with small pontoons that's generally out of style and not as seaworthy as newer, large toon boats.

You probably can recover your investment by chopping up the boat and selling the aluminum for scrap.

Wow- You sound like someone with zero skills or imagination--
Why try to discourage him? I doubt his GF wud have bought it for him if she didn't think he could fix it up- He sounds confident & has a plan- Thats enough to do something he can be proud of when hes finished!

Anyway, it looks harder & worse than it is-- I did about the same with a '87 20' Bass Buggy about 3 yrs ago. I paid over twice as much, Trust me, I think mine was uglier than yours!--I did all the work myself in about two weeks from new floor up & i was 60 yrs old at the time-with cost of materials I have about $2,000 invested not counting electronics. Now i wanted a fishing boat, not a fancy party barge. Its used most every weekend weather allowing. Best part of a project like this is you can set it up anyway you want to- I have a sound system, live well, running water, potty for the girls, coolers with thru the floor drains, racks & holders for anything you could want & plenty of open space for moving around----Take you time & do it the way you want it
Heres a few pics of mine-Mabe you'll get a couple of ideas-A couple were took during the work-

 

[seanmnew]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

TheRooster- it's a 55HP. Not large, but will be sufficient enough for now on these clear and smooth Texas lakes. I will eventually get something a bit bigger, but going to focus on the rest for now.

Bamaman1 - whatever you say bud, not everyone needs a "respectable" boat. I would be perfectly content with something that's completely flat on top and floats, with oars. But thats the difference, I have spent 2 years of my life in Iraq and a year of it in Afghanistan. I grew up where hard work and creativity is what counted. I don't care how fancy of a boat someone buys, for I will build mine. So when it comes to worth, mine will be priceless, yours will be NADA. Enjoy that.

Boss Hawg- that's a good looking boat! Not even sure if I'm going to make anything that fancy. I intended to rhino line the new deck, refinish the rails, build a simple helm and maybe a few new benches. But who knows how my mind will shift as I'm working on this or that. I dig the encouragement and enthousiasm that you and I share. The limits are only your imagination!

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

TheRooster- it's a 55HP. Not large, but will be sufficient enough for now on these clear and smooth Texas lakes. I will eventually get something a bit bigger, but going to focus on the rest for now.

Bamaman1 - whatever you say bud, not everyone needs a "respectable" boat. I would be perfectly content with something that's completely flat on top and floats, with oars. But thats the difference, I have spent 2 years of my life in Iraq and a year of it in Afghanistan. I grew up where hard work and creativity is what counted. I don't care how fancy of a boat someone buys, for I will build mine. So when it comes to worth, mine will be priceless, yours will be NADA. Enjoy that.

Boss Hawg- that's a good looking boat! Not even sure if I'm going to make anything that fancy. I intended to rhino line the new deck, refinish the rails, build a simple helm and maybe a few new benches. But who knows how my mind will shift as I'm working on this or that. I dig the encouragement and enthousiasm that you and I share. The limits are only your imagination!

Thats the great thing about doin your own! I'm constantly adding, removing, just moving or changing little things on mine-
Thanks for your service my friend! Old Viet Nam Vet myself---

 

[seanmnew]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

Any good advice on types of wood to use for the deck? I found some good 1" sheets of oak for $50 a sheet that I had planned to prime and seal all around, then line the top. Is this too much? Too less?

 

[Water logged]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

Welcome aboard and thank you for your service, you also Boss Hawg. Sounds like you have a plan, just stick to it. Any marine grade plywood will work for the deck or even well sealed exterior grade. Oak seems a little high end to cover with Rhino liner.

Glenn

 

[The Rooster]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

I'm still freaking out over the fact that "Boss Hawg" is over 60 !!! Veterans ROCK !!!

 

[arod2012]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

congrates on the new project. Knowing that you did it yourself will make it all worth while. Post some pics as you go.

 

[seanmnew]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

I intend to. Most Forums I have been on have a "build thread" section, though I haven't seen one on here. So when I get underway I will start a thread here. May give some people a little hope to know that even with general knowledge and nothing special it CAN be done on a budget

 

[Water logged]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

There is a boat restoratiuon forum on here. You should check it out.

Glenn

 

[Old Screwball]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

Good Luck, looks like a fun project. I've bid on a couple of 'toons' in about the same shape and was outbid a bunch. Looks like a fun winter time project. It can get costly, but what isn't these days. Have fun, and take a lot of pictures!

 

[Big Bubba]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

seanmnew,
That toon looks nice to me and I would fix it up becuase your girlfriend bought it for you and she might even help you restore her and when it is done you both can enjoy it together and take her fishing and swimming and cruising on the lake. I just helped my dad on a Sunbird Odyssey, 21 foot Deck boat and we put 3/4 inch pressure treated decking on her and bought it at Lowes. You probably know this but you can get 10% off being in the military and you can also get the marine grade carpet there as well and you might find a closeout deal on that marine grade carpet as well. Take plenty of pictures and post right here on IBoats. Have fun with the restoration project you will enjoy it. By the way, I am a veteran Air Force of 21 years and glad I joined the military and made it a career. Take care, Bob

 

[Big Bubba]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

seanmnew,
Yeap, my dad bought the 4 x 8, 3/4 inch thick sheets of pressure treated plywood at Lowes. Try Lowes or Home Depot. They should have about everything you need and you can get the 10% discount being military. Take care,Bob

 

[Big Bubba]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

seanmnew,
How is the blue bimini top sitting in the floor of the pontoon boat? Is it in good shape? If not you can fix that if the rails or broken by using some of your wisdom to fix it. I think that pontoon boat will be a nice restoration project. You can take those wooden benches out and remove the decking. Is the decking in bad shape on it or are you just replacing it. The decking might be in good shpe on it if there is no soft spots on it. I would remove that old blue carpet and, just my opinion, put in a Grey color. All you do to put in the new carpet is measure the widest width of your boat and the longest length of the boat and go get your carpet. But before you glue it done, which we did on my dads deck boat restoration is cut that carpet to fit first because the glue we got at Lowes sets up really fast so we cut the carpet to fit first then we glued it done and it worked GREAT!!!! Like I said you should be able to get everything to retsore it from Lowes or Home Depot and get that 10% military discount.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

I look forward to seeing pictures. Sound like you have a lot more initiate than I do and your GF knows that. My wife would never let me get a project like that because she knows it would never get done. I am a little concerned about your plans to use a couch frame for the bench seat. Couch frames arent really going to like the pounding from boating. I'd say give it a shot from scratch. Then you can make storage, etc. Nothing better than being able to hide all of your gear on a pontoon so it leaves an open floor for your guests. Oh..and sick Bronco. I love those.

 

[seanmnew]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

It isn't exactly a "couch"… its a solid wood frame with pads to sit on, which the pads will be re-covered in vinyl. Hard to describe without pics, but its solid and will be fixed permanently to the decking of the boat.

 

[seanmnew]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

So I been doing a little bit of work… figuring most of this out as I go

Here is the starting product… with much work needing to be done…


Then we started tearing EVERTHING off on Saturday of last week, removing the SEVEN wasp nests, some in some crappy places (like inside a storage bench, so when you open the door it pisses them all off…)


Until everything was gone, down to the frame. I removed all the random, crappy, illegitimate wiring that was done by the PO.


Then on Sunday I sealed the boards (top and bottom) and installed them (by myself, which is harder than it seems lol)


And today (while Im on duty, from 9am this morning until 9am tomorrow morning) my girlfriend got a hair and got some work done on painting the rails.


For those out there that require new and shiny things, this project won't suit you, so your opinions can be kept to yourself. But this is kind of "our style"… My bronco was "Black Mamba" when I bought it, and was painted solid black, so I got bored, and did the removable top and the bottom 6 inches in red, and changed it to "BLACK WIDOW". So this boat is more or less the "Mini Widow" (though larger than my Bronco). The rough spray paint is our style, things are made for use, not for show, and regardless, I love that look.

Tomorrow when I get off work at 9am I will be going out and rhino lining the boards on top, so stand by for more pictures!

 

[seanmnew]

Re: New (to me) 20ft Pontoon

Now the biggest step after tomorrow will be pulling the motor off (going to replace the transom, which is solid, but just for piece of mind) and jacking up the boat off the trailer to paint the toons. Anyone have some ideas for this?