Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

[dirtleg]

Hello friends, I'm starting on my 20 ft pontoon rebuild. I have spent a lot of time on this forum reading all your information and now it's time for me to start my own project. I have many questions and many problems with my toon but she fishes great and my wife and I plan to have many more good times on her. to start off with, my goal is to make this a fishing boat above all else. more in line with a flats boat than anything. we like to bass fish and we like to red fish! I am planning on striping it down to the crossmembers, re deck, re wire, re paint, and add some goodies. Tomorrow I am taking it to the welding shop to have live well brackets attached to both toons for a transducer and those awesome underwater lights made by Scarab Chris....a little ostentatious I know but hey, we already look like the clampets on the water so who cares. also I'm gonna have some work done to my fence while there. next step will be to strip it down and re-deck. I have carefully read thru many posts here and my final decision was to buy exterior plywood and prime and enamel the crap out of it. If I get 5 years great! If I don't then I'll learn my lesson and go with the marine grade and fiberglass it in. after than I'm going to strip the fence and repaint. then I'll move on to wiring the trolling motor for the bow, the lights and fishfinder, as well as the radio and the deck lighting. I have lots of questions and I'll start with this. I have a 24v 80lb thrus minn kota trolling motor on the way, I also have a 12v amp for my radio and fish finder, and a 12v isolated cranking battery(I never wanted to risk running the chance of killing my cranking battery with my stereo). how should I go about incorporating the system and if I do tie it all together, can I set it up to charge as a system, instead of having to unload batteries one at a time to charge? as it stands now the motor charges it's own battery and I pull the stereo/lights/fishfinder battery out and charge before each trip...opinions and reccomendations please!

 

[dirtleg]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

Ok just found the electrical stickys regarding whole boat wiring diagrams, specifically the trolling motors and fish finder....awesome

 

[dirtleg]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

guys, let me just say that the diagrams that I have seen in the stickys are awesome, and have helped my understanding, but I'm having trouble with the practical application. I am working on my pontoon build. I will outline what I am trying to do and maybe if you have time you can tell me which posts I should read to answer my questions.

I want to power:
24v trolling motor
motor cranking
modest amp connected to ipod for music
nav lights
head lights(yes, weird but basically just car fog lights for navigating at night)
Scarab chris's under water transom coastal boat lights(cause they are awesome)
fish finder
cig lighter/receptacle
extra switch or two for live well down the road

not all at the same time of course but sometimes, cranking and music, trolling and music and fish finder, music and nav and headlights and transom lights.

I'm not sure if I need three batteries but I think I do, and I don't understand the specifics of wiring the batteries together for trolling and seperate for music at the same time.

any help you can give would be awesome. thank you sooooo much

 

[alilley]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

i am by no means an exper on this expecially when it comes to a 24 v parts ( trolling motor) but i do have experance working with amps and stuf along that nature. I do some what understand what you are trying to do and hope i can help a little......

if it were me i would use one battery for cranking the motor over that way you do not run the risk of your opther accessories draining it and you being stuck. Look for what is called a battery isolator. What it does is seperates the 2 batterys but yet only need one charging system. to put another way (using a car for example here) if you were to have one battery hooked up to say a bunch of off road light and a second hooked up to your starter and just wires to like the 2 batteries, both batteries would drain after use but you hook up the isolator to ther alt. then to both batteries when the battery for the lights dies you reach down fire up the motor and bith batteries get a charge going to them. now unless you can find a shop that can set you up some sort of regulator to charge 24 v i think what i would do there is find a chareing system like a battery charger and mount it on board so all you have to do when you get back in is plug it into the wall and let it sit so when you want to go back out it is ready to go. you should have instructions on how to wire up the 24v system when you get the trolling motor. All it takes (i think if i recall electornics class right) is 2 deep sycle battteries and cross the treminals pos on batt 1 to neg on batt 2 then neg on batt 1 to pos on batt 2 that will give you 24v. as always double check that with your paperwork ... i hope this helps

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

Send a PM to iBoat Member SilverTip. He is a Boat Wiring GURU and will be able to send you a diagram or at the very least explain to you in detail the best way to wire your boat in the manner you want it to be. WARNING: He requires you to be very detailed in your explanation of exactly how you want things to be done so be VERY detailed in your message to him. A sketch of all the things you want with switches etc.. would be advisable.

 

[dirtleg]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole



ok so this diagram shows me the outline but the actual physical wiring confuses me, I think I need 3 batteries. one for cranking, and two for trolling/ music accesories but I think I'm going to need a more detailed wiring diagram, although this one is great, I'm just not sure which wire to which terminal and what not. I really like the idea of the on board charger...run a drop cord to the boat and get it all charged up each day!

I tried to send a pm to silvertip but it appears that he is much in demand and rightly so from reading his posts, because his box appears full.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

Ok these are two of his diagrams that might get you started. This is how to set up a 24 volt system so you can Charge it.

This is a typical 12 volt wiring diagram with switches for various items.

 

[dirtleg]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

I feel like I'm slowly struggling to understanding

I found this silvertip post

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=533544&highlight=3rd+battery

My main concern is that if I run all my accessories off my starting/cranking battery I'm going to end up with a problem(a stranded problem).

here's what I'm trying to work my way thru....we only usually fish for 4-5 hours at a time, sometimes 6-8 but rarely. Most of that time, like 90% we r listening to music, two small 6 inch speakers, powered by an amp with an ipod input, no idea on the watts or specs on the amp, but it doesn't get REAL loud(that's real scientific I know, I bought it at a pawn shop). anyhoo, I'm worried that a fish finder, sound system and maybe some lights on a nite fishing trip, may kill me on cranking up and heading home. I've never run a trolling motor before so I'm not sure how much I will drain these batteries with a few hours of trolling. bottom line, would I be wiser to use 12 volts from the trolling motor 24v bank for say the fish finder, or the nav lights, and run the sound from the cranking battery? just looking to balance the system as much as possible and get the most life from the batteries while not burning the boat down to the water line. opinions?

 

[dirtleg]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

ok so I striped the railing, center console and deck off the boat. I purchase a steal at home disappointed, 5 sheets of 7 ply a/c plywood for 33 bucks. primed and 1st coat of color. tomorrow the welder will help me extend the deck to the front end of the toons, and the casting areas on the rear that were formally for fuel tanks. lots of deck mods in the works, no more back bench but each side will have a 40 inch bench with fuel and battery storage underneath, separately of course, and cooler/ tackle bag storage.

 

[dirtleg]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

I am still struggling with my wiring. I have drawn what I am trying to achieve but not sure if this is going to work. not worried about the inline chargers at this moment just the getting the boat and accessories working right and not burning it to the water line, all input would be greatly appreciated

 

[dirtleg]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

ok so this post is just all about the fact that I learned to post the image in large style

 

[bear_69cuda]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

Brutha,

The issue I see with the diagram is you're trying to us a 24 volt set-up for trolling motor and house power... It looks to me like you would toast everything but the trolling motor. I would suggest 2 batteries for trolling motor only if you must have 24 volt. And 2 batteries in a 12 volt configuration for start and house. Run all house power off a deep cycle, and engine start from standard cranking battery. If you use a set-up like this http://bluesea.com/products/7650 it allows you to combine the batteries or isolate them. The kit includes a VSR (voltage sensitive relay) This allows the engine to charge either battery automatically w/o manual switch selection. I would also suggest onboard battery chargers as well... If you don't require a 24 volt system for the trolling motor, you could try a set-up like the one I use for my Cobalt. I use the trolling motor only for emergency, and is stored 99% of the time in the ski locker... I have however used a 12 volt 55 lb motorguide wireless on a 20' Hurricane deck boat, and it did okay... I never really "trolled" with it... Just to get from here to there fishing... Anyhow I hope this helps...

 

[dirtleg]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

I plan to move my center console a bit forward but I think that I will be a little short on the steering control cable. is there a way to extend them or do i just need to buy a whole new one, and will that include the box behind the console under the steering wheel also?

 

[dirtleg]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

powering my boat is a 1977 55 hp evinrude which I understand from another post on a different thread that my motor has really low output, maybe 6 amps at WOT. we don't usually run everything night fishing is occasional and the headlights only get run when we come in at dark. what would be optimum would be to be able to troll with the fish finder and music for 5-6 hours. if we fish at night we use the lights and music and fishfinder and we would probably be polling instead of trolling just due to hidden logs and such. we mainly troll when red drum fishing off oyster bars a cedar key. If I need to add a 4th battery that would be fine. I would really like to know how you would set it up if you were me. I'm buying wire tomorrow, i believe I need 16 ga for accessories and 6 ga for my trolling motor supply lines. I would like to set the entire system up so that I can plug it into an extension cord an charge it while off the water.

below are the specs from my amp, I don't run it to really play loud music, but rather to avoid a cd/radio. we just plug the ipod into the amp and play the speakers that way. I was thinking 25 amps because that is the fuse size on the amp but now i'm thinking that that is way up on the top end of it's usage. below is the specs for the amp.

MTX Thunder 4122 - amplifier specifications
General
Product Type Amplifier
Recommended Use Car
Width 8.0 in
Depth 9.8 in
Height 2.1 in
Audio System
Response Bandwidth 20 - 20000 Hz
Signal-To-Noise Ratio 100.0 dB
Max Output Power / Channel Qty 50 Watts x 2
Continuous Power / Channel Qty 30 Watts x 2
Amplifier Output 2-channel
High Level Inputs Yes
Crossover 2-way active crossover
Crossover Slope 18.0 dB/octave
Low Pass Frequencies 85 Hz
High Pass Frequencies 85 Hz
Amplifier Output Details 80.0 Watt - 4.0 Ohm - THD 1.0 % - 12.5V DC - 2.0 channel(s) , 60.0 Watt - 4.0 Ohm - THD 1.0 % - 14.4V DC - 2.0 channel(s) , 30.0 Watt - 4.0 Ohm - THD 1.0 % - 12.5V DC - 2.0 channel(s) , 120.0 Watt - 2.0 Ohm - 14.4V DC - 2.0 channel(s) , 200.0 Watt - 2.0 Ohm - 12.5V DC - 1.0 channel(s) , 50.0 Watt - 4.0 Ohm - 14.4V DC - 1.0 channel(s)
Additional Features Input level controls
Connections
Connector Type 1.0 x Speakers output ( RCA phono x 2 ) , 1.0 x Audio line-in ( Screw-type ) , Speakers input ( RCA phono x 2 ) , DC power input ( Screw-type ) , Audio line-out
Manufacturer Warranty
Service & Support 3 years warranty
Service & Support Details Limited warranty - Parts and labor - 3 years

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

I plan to move my center console a bit forward but I think that I will be a little short on the steering control cable. is there a way to extend them or do i just need to buy a whole new one, and will that include the box behind the console under the steering wheel also?

You can buy the whole system or just a longer replacement cable.

 

[dirtleg]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

so I can reuse the steering box(sorry don't know the technical term) behind the steering wheel and just buy a longer cable. awesome thank you!

 

[dirtleg]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

ok so I have the deck extensions welded and I'm almost ready to re install the new deck. buying new wires for all the electronics and new deck screws tomorrow, yay!

 

[dirtleg]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

I've got the deck on now, just polishing the edge caps so I can add those on as well and then moving forward with the cleanup of the center console and the re-wire

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

What deck material did you use???

 

[dirtleg]

Re: Rebuild of the 20 Ft Pontoon, Jolleen's Hole

I went round and round on that one, ended up with 7 ply cabinet grade a/c plywood. 2 coats of primer and 3 coats of exterior deck paint with the final coat getting some sand for texture. at first I was going to use pressure treated but after some reading that went out the window, then marine grade, 90 bucks a sheet uh nope, then i was going to fiberglass, quoted a 1000 bucks to glass all 5 sheets...hah, so I ended up and home suppository and they had a sweet deal on the 7 ply for 29 bucks a sheet. really happy with the way it turned out!