Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hello All,

Last summer the family and I came across a '89 Sun Tracker Party Barge 24DL for practically a steal, so we took the plunge and bought it. Like many pontoons of this age, she was in very rough shape, Rocky Raccoon and family made home in the boat for a long while... So the gutting process began and she now sits as a skeleton. I came across a middle toon from a 2016 Harris Tritoon with transom and lifting strakes for cheap. It was a warranty take off, because of a pin hole leak in the nose cone weld. Welding aluminum is no biggie for me, so I grabbed the toon and brought it home.

I have a question about the lifting strakes for the more experienced out there. This middle toon has the Harris PII performance strakes, which are negative angle. I was going to weld strakes on the inboard side of the outer tubes. Can these strakes on the outside tube be positive angle? Do strakes have to be all the same angle (positive or negative)? Can you mix the two? I'd like to do all my welding to the toons while it's light and I can flip it over easily to weld down instead of on a trailer and up.

I have pics to post of the progress so far, I have to upload them this weekend.

not much to add other than welcome aboard

And we do love pictures here

Can't advise about strakes at all - BUT - Welcome to the group. Look forward to pictures of your progress.

-Paul

I posted pics over on this forum.

http://www.pontoonboatforum.com/topic89 ... html#88946

Let me know what you guys think. Any help, tips and recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Bill

I just added more pics to this thread.

http://www.pontoonboatforum.com/topic89 ... html#88951

Finally got pics resized to upload

Here's pics of the center toon I picked up

Took advantage of some good weather to move the pontoon into the barn and stage the center toon for measuring. What do you guys think is the best distance to set the transom? Currently it's 18" behind the outer toons.

Great build, no idea on location. I was going to go back as far as I could so front hits majority of 2aves at same time

bansil wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 03, 2020 4:42 pm

Great build, no idea on location. I was going to go back as far as I could so front hits majority of 2aves at same time

Thank you! We are excited for this build.

The new center tube is 22" longer in length than the factory ones. So right now the center toon is 4" forward of the outers. The rest of the length is out the back.

I checked a bunch of different brands at the boat show and seem to see a split of design. Some have all the toons lined up and a few others have the center toon forward of the outers.

I'm for sure going to set the center toon 3-4" down compared to the outers.

Had a little bit of time to play with the toon last night. I took off the old z bars that were just just supports and placed the box tube across to get an idea of placement and meaurements. I think in the rear I may place the box tubes on 12" centers? Do you all think that is overkill? I would like to hang a 250 or .... on the back. The center tube originally had a 300 Verado hanging off it. I also moved the center tube back a few more inches to 20", I think I like this better. Hopefully someone who has done this, can give us a few pointers. Thanks!

I have no experience but I'm just starting a rebuild as well, I've been checking your post and pictures out and one thought occurred to me, if you stick that middle pontoon out in front of the boat will it have any effect on how it sits on the trailer? My initial thought would be to flush the middle toon with with front of the point of the boat, which would stick more out the back, but I know I've seen new pontoons with the motor set well behind the other logs? I am also interested to hear what anyone with experience would say.

PaulinOK wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 05, 2020 11:11 am

I have no experience but I'm just starting a rebuild as well, I've been checking your post and pictures out and one thought occurred to me, if you stick that middle pontoon out in front of the boat will it have any effect on how it sits on the trailer? My initial thought would be to flush the middle toon with with front of the point of the boat, which would stick more out the back, but I know I've seen new pontoons with the motor set well behind the other logs? I am also interested to hear what anyone with experience would say.

With the transom at 20" back, the center tube is now 2" forward of the outer tubes. I need to purchase a trailer here soon. That will be something I look into. I may buy, if I can find, a used pontoon trailer and make my own center supports. I will have to see how the weight distribution goes and make sure I have proper tongue weight. Good point to think of!

250!!!

When and where can I visit so I can say "here hold my beer"

bansil wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 08, 2020 7:02 am

250!!!

When and where can I visit so I can say "here hold my beer"

I'll be on Lake St. Clair and always have plenty of beer