Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

A couple of years ago we sold our 22' pontoon to buy a lake house with a dock. We have been airbnb-ing the house, so we have had very little "Lake Time". My wife and I have been eyeing Party Huts for over a year and I have looked at several. Cherokee Lake in TN has many TVA islands that are free to camp on, and the Party Hut would be perfect for overnighters. I am not sure what year Sun Tracker stopped making them, but used ones around here in decent shape go for $15k and up. I looked at some real wrecks for $6-8K but all had old beater 2 stroke engines...been there, done that no thanks and I'll take fuel injection please.

So I found a 1987 28 DL with a 2008 Honda Four Stroke(buy the engine, not the boat right?). Pontoons were in great shape and a tandem trailer included, but the floor was soft. I bought it for $6K, put 4 new tires/rims on and drove it home.



Now the work begins:


The worst rot was on the back corners where the "L" shaped side covers had fallen off:




BTW, I was kinda shocked to find that the Head was direct plumbed to....the "ocean". It will be replaced with a cassette Head.

A blank slate:


All the furniture was rotted as was the console. I had it down to the deck in two days.......




I took a cordless circular saw and cut the ply lengthwise between the Z supports, then used a 6' breaker bar under the ply to 'pop' the boards off . All screw heads were too rusty to remove with a drill and many broke off. Vice grips on the remaining screws got them out and only about 10 needed to be cut off with a cordless side grinder.



The roof was only 1/2" ply and rotted...the on 24" centers made being up there scary.

With all the fencing off I atttacked it with drill eraser wheels from ebay for $7 and change:


Then Kleen Strip spray on stripper from HD to get the glue and paint off. I will go through a gallon of stripper and 4 eraser wheels.

Ok, first Q....do I leave this alone, or heat it up and bend it back?



I know, it's not hurting anything but it bugs me............like this Orca with "dorsal droop"

Welcome to the group!
I think the best thing with a rebuild is having a blank slate and making it all yours! We had a ball rebuilding ours. Have fun with it!

-Paul

Motor7 wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 04, 2020 6:29 am

Somewhere, in the great past, I can faintly hear --- *DANK!* "DAMMIT!"

We rebuilt THE FLOATER in 2013. (Link in my sig) lot's of trial and error. Have fun!!!!!!!!! I left my bent nose alone.

TWB.....Thanks and yes, it is a bit intimidating at times, but in the end we will have a 'new' boat. And you are probably right....'tink'...lol

Picked up the 7 ply marine plywood and "SeaGrass" woven vinyl from Leisure Kraft Mfg in Cookville. They make their boats right their from the ground up.....The log tube bending machine is awesome. They also sell build accessories like screws, corner trim, glue and have a lot of accessory parts stocked in their showroom. Talked to the guys while loading the Ply and they said they are slammed, no boats for sale on the lot as all of them are being built on backlog order right now for customers.

Missing some fence edging pieces that are 2.5x3.5 "L" shaped. Local supplier does not carry it, most on-line sources are out of stock so still looking. I am extending the roof line back to the stern another 6' so I will need at least 12' of deck trip for that.

Curtis...looks great!!!

Should be a fun project. I'd leave the bend in the nosecone, and name the boat "ORCA".

Also, I decided to not replace the Ply on the roof but rather go with .090 aluminium 4x8 sheet. The factory rafters are on 24" centers so I am going to add one between each making the roof on 12" centers. I'm also extending the roof 6' all the way back to the stern. PontoonStuff .80 mil vinyl over the sheet, so does anyone think that will be strong enough for an adult or two u[p there at any given time(while anchored)?

I have a MillerMatic 210, so I bought a spool gun and will be teaching myself to weld aluminium. That way I can build the roof extension, beef up the rafters and weld those sheets up there making everything solid.

I just priced out the roof build....4 sheets of .090 5052 aluminium sheet is $498 and the 18 'rafters' - 2.5 x 2.5 x 1/8 square tubing is $671.....ouch this is gonna sting just a tad.

steve1313 wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 04, 2020 7:48 am

Should be a fun project. I'd leave the bend in the nosecone and name the boat "ORCA".

Great answer! As already said differently: You don't want to experience that "Oh shit, I wish I hadn't done that" moment!
Personally, I think that you have taken on a really cool project!

Marc

Cool project. Will be watching!

What a great project boat! A blank slate indeed so you can do whatever you want.

Marc

Finally got the last section (the stern) stripped. It's very aeronautical looking in bare aluminium eh?


whoops...stand by for 'bare aluminium pic', that one is post eraser wheel decal stripping.

Wiring yesterday, painting the fence today. Using rattle can Rustoleum self etching automotive primer and Krylon primer/paint top coat.......yes I hope there are no incompatability issues but Krylon self etch is hard to find, has poor reviews and is expensive.

Teal and Tan


Painting is slow. Clean with White Vinegar, rinse, dry. Tape....lots a tape, rattle can two light coats of etcher...wait 30 min, top coat 2 light and 3 heavier. Flip fence and repeat...Teal on outside, tan on inside.