Want to make my deck larger.

[SIXJAK]

Just bought an 98 18' Pontoon. The owner offered to throw it +trailer in with the truck I was wanting to buy from him (he's terminal-just trying to get rid of stuff-long story)

It has a relatively low hrs 70 HP Johnson on it and the steering is good and the pontoons are in fine shape. Anyway, is it possible and/or wise to lengthen the deck a bit say 6" to a foot on each end?

The frame is good, the siding is meh and the seating is laughable. 2 stern smurf seats, a couple of forward fishing perches and a double seat to pilot the craft from I'd like to completely re-figure the boat from a fishing pontoon into a lake cruiser for my family and friends to enjoy. Would like to get the seating to 10.

It lacks a covered compartment for the gas tank and batteries as well as a stern entry. It also lacks a central anchoring spot to pull skiers, boarders and tubes. I would like to remedy that.

Thank you for any input or advice.

 

[EGlideRider]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

Not wise. You may get by with lengthing the deck by a foot, but due to the extra weight, you will actually decrease the number of people the boat can carry. There is no practical and safe way to carry 10 people in an 18 foot pontoon boat.

 

[ralphl]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

check out pontoon mods

 

[lncoop]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

I had an 18' (it was actually 19' total, 18' inside the playpen) Sweetwater for one season. It was an excellent little boat, but I had to get rid of it because my wife couldn't enjoy it for two reasons, both of which were due to the size. First, five people was the absolute max. Any more than that and we were on top of each other. Second, she didn't feel safe on it in anything other than glass smooth water. It was just her perception, but it still negatively impacted our boating experience. 18' barges are best suited to fishing, and it sounds like that's what yours was set up for. Any additional deck space will render it unsafe. You can refurbish the rig and reconfigure the layout and that might make it more comfy, but no matter what you do you will never be happy if you intend to use it like a party barge. Instead, you'll likely end up being out a lot of money that you won't recoup and be stuck with a boat that's inadequate for your needs. Based on what you've said you need at least 21', and for routine trips with ten aboard 22'-24' would be ideal. Frankly, if you're not in love with the boat you're better off punting it and getting a bigger one that you'll be happy with for a while. Sorry to be a downer, but I'd rather light a candle than curse your darkness. Good luck and welcome to iboats.

 

[EGlideRider]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

+1 for Incoop......

 

[Mr Crabbs]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

Id sell it and put the money towards another boat, however, this might work. The friend of a friend did this.

Strip off all the furniture except the console and skippers chair.

For seating use bag chairs. You'll save weight and have a lot of floor space, provided you don't try to put 10 in it. 10 in a small pontoon and it just becomes a deck with a motor on it.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

There is a factor you neglected to include, that being the diameter of the pontoons.The bigger the pontoon, the more weight it will hold. Can a deck extension be done.....yes. Should it be done....no. I have a 20' and the pontoons are 18'6", and this is from the factory. All the extra is at the rear. I have 26" pontoons and had 10 on board once. I felt it was unstable, even at a very low speed and on calm water. 6" at the back wouldn't be an issue. 6" over the front could be problematic, total weight aside. Sell it and look for a 24' if you want 10 people on board.

 

[SIXJAK]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

Thank you all for your comments. Very much appreciated as I am a novice. The gentleman has also a 20' Lowe as well that he would like to get rid of. It has a 75 HP Envinrude and it runs well. Sounds like maybe I should should explore the idea of having him throw that one in with the truck instead of the 18 footer. I have a family of 6. What's the deal with the squarish pontoons on the Lowe?

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

Squarish pontoons are fine, as long as they are looked after. They are foam filled and as long as they don't develop a leak, whereby the foam gets saturated and consequently nearly impossible to remove, there will be no problem. When round pontoons develop a leak, it is much easier to deal with.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

Many of the U shaped toons are filled with foam. Not sure about the Lowes. The foam is fine until the toons develop a leak. If the leak is not addressed quickly the foam becomes waterlogged, at which point there is nothing that can be done other than removing it (as you know, there's no way to do that that doesn't require some serious mangling) or replacing the toons. Guess which option is less terrible? Pontoons that aren't filled with foam can easily be pressure tested and repaired when leaks occur. That 20 footer still won't be big enough for you. You need to be looking at 22'-24' barges.

 

[Scrawny]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

I must have miss read the title.......

 

[Mr Crabbs]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

I have to second incoop's suggestion of a bigger pontoon. We just bought a Suntracker PB 20. 6 Adults is about it for comfort, even though it's rated for 10 persons. You could get 10 munchkins on it, but thats about it.

I can't complain though, it's our first ever boat, been great for us to learn on.

We already know that our retirement pontoon will be about 24' long and ready for saltwater.

 

[SIXJAK]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

I probably should have been clearer when describing "person". When I say 10 persons I was meaning that 4-5 would be adult sized and the others would be children.

I'm going to pass on the foam filled pontoons and go with the 18 foot Spectrum and get my feet wet with it. The yellow sticker says 9 person 1200 lb capacity which I can increase by installing the Pontoon Water Glide. That seems like a worthwhile investment.

Again I thank all of you for your advice and also welcoming me here. The deal is much too good to pass up. I can put about 5-6k into this and come out with a brand new looking pontoon and upgrade down the road having something of value to bargain with.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

Hate to keep being the fly in the ointment, because I'm all in favor of getting the fam out on the water safely whatever it takes (within reason of course). But, I want to strongly discourage you from doing that unless you're getting the rig for a song, like $1000 or less. Here's why. Let's say for the sake of argument you give the guy a couple grand for the barge. By the time you're done tinkering with it you'll be into it for $7k-$9k based on the amount you've provided. There is very little demand for that size barge and Spectrum is kind of an off brand, so you'd be lucky to get 5 grand for it trailer and all, especially if potential buyers are frightened off by your mods, which many would be. If you're able to spend $6k-$8k on a rig, and it sounds like you are, you REALLY need to keep looking. I don't know your location, but around here there are bigger barges to be had in that price range that are ready to splash. Please don't make the mistake of buying and modifying a boat that will be too small for your needs unless you're prepared to take a major financial hit once you're tired of it, which won't be long. I don't mean to be rude, and in the end of course you know what's best for you. I'm just trying to save you some major regret. If it's possible, at least take the family with you to look at the boat and have everyone board it. Once you're all up there make a mental note of where you'd put coolers, toys, bags, and all the other stuff that inevitably makes it onto the boat and be honest with yourself about whether it's really big enough. I'm done beating you up now. Good luck whatever you decide and happy boating. Pontooning is the bestest.

 

[SIXJAK]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

I appreciate your words of wisdom. Seriously no worries about being a kill joy-you're fine.

I'm getting the boat and trailer for 1k so I don't know how I can go wrong here. Plus the 98 Chevy truck that comes with it looks like it's been sitting in a time capsule.

I live on Lake Tanecomo in MO which is a cold water lake where the boat will mostly be used. It's very calm and acts more like a gentle river as it is fed by Table Rock Lake. The current varies with how much the dam is open obviously.

We took the boat out twice today. The 1st time we had 2 adults and five 11 and 12 year old boys with an average sized cooler. We had a nice time and it really wasn't bad. The 2nd time we had two adults and 4 teens. Again it wasn't bad at all and it made me realize that I don't need to alter the length. The 70 HP 2stroke Johnson gets out of the hole pretty well.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

Love Taneycomo. I grew up in Harrison. You ever get over to Tablerock? When I was a pup we kept a boat at Cricket Creek Marina. It was an old Arkansas Traveler V bottom with a 35 hp Evinrude Lark, '57 model I think. Probably weighed more than a modern 225 Etec. That was thirty years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. Good times. Get ready to make some of your kids' all time favorite memories.

 

[SIXJAK]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

Love Taneycomo. I grew up in Harrison. You ever get over to Tablerock? When I was a pup we kept a boat at Cricket Creek Marina. It was an old Arkansas Traveler V bottom with a 35 hp Evinrude Lark, '57 model I think. Probably weighed more than a modern 225 Etec. That was thirty years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. Good times. Get ready to make some of your kids' all time favorite memories.

That is awesome. We went out Sunday evening with some friends on Tanecomo and saw a dozen or sow blue cranes and a bald eagle and the trout were jumping like crazy. Chewed up my prop a little in some shallow water that ought to be marked as it it's right in the middle of the lake and was difficult to see at dusk. Anyway my steering no longer pulls to the right. It now tracks straight and true. LOL I'll have to get it looked at as soon as I get my hitch installed on the truck it came with.

To answer your question: Yes we do get onto TR lake quite a bit. We have some good friends with a Tracker deck boat who are very generous in inviting us to go with them a lot. I also have the 'hook up' at a place that rents party barges.

Table Rock is one of the nicest lakes I've ever been on/played in. I feel so blessed to live in this area. I grew up out west and have mainly lived in what I call the SoCal, Vegas, PHX trifecta. Luv it out here. People here are some of the finest people I've ever met. Don't miss the chaos from whence I came.

Next year the goal is to get a couple of SEADOOS or Wave Runners and have the 'toon be the home base when we're out playing.

 

[PGFISHER]

Re: Want to make my deck larger.

Your boat is rated for 9 at 1200LBS. Thats an average weight of 133LBS per person. I have the same problem. At the capacity and weight limit we all have to be small people. On the up side 9 people on an 18' boat is really chummy; so you probably won't be carriying that many very often. We have found that our fuel consumption rises and our speed decreases drastically with more than 5 aboard, and with all the coolers etc. we run out of elbow room pretty fast. I made some modification for more storage and better seating; but it's STILL an 18' toon.