Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I'm getting ready to underskin my pontoon.

What are the Pros and Cons on closing in the area between the deck and the logs.

It's easy enough to get a bend put in the material to enclose it.

Thoughts?

I think closing in that section does not hold enough merit to make it worth the while as it gives you the ability to run "some" limited wiring and such without removing sections of skin. What you don't want to do ever is trap water that might find its way in...

I like the way smoker62 did his under skinning though he only posted a photo of his first sheet. The radius both looks good and functionally rolls the water smoothly back down from wince it came.

I enclosed it on mine. There is still space between the deck and underskinning that can be accessed from the outside of the toons above the side skirting where I can run wires. Or, I could removed the exterior side skirt and have easy access between the deck and the skin.

Thanks for the opinions... the radius looks nice, not sure I have the skills for that.

I will definitely cover that area if/when I underskin. A few years ago, someone here posted a video of the splash under deck while under way and it looks like a lot of spray hits right there.

Thx.

When i under-skinned my boat i installed the flat sheets and then used
1/8" x 1-1/2" aluminum angle on both sides
That way i could leave some room to maneuver the sheets easily without it fitting too tight
That is also the way Harris does it from the factory and it looks good and allows room to access wiring and cables if necessary
if i were to do it again i would probably use 1/16" x 2" angle
I also used #10 -3/4" hex head stainless steel self tappers and a cordless impact to install the sheeting and angles
i checked them after the first season and none were loose or missing
it is a lot easier that getting it bent correctly

mike

I can see the need to underskin if you operate on extremely choppy water. On our old 2-logger, you could feel when a wave would hit the cross members as the boat would lurch. And we're talking 4 to 8 times times a minute. Granted our lake is notorious for being like a washing machine, so on the Tri-Toon, it came with the underskinning from the factory. And it made a big difference.

So reality sets in. Here's some photos of the underside of my Harris.

Note the braces from the pontoons to the cross members. The only flat spot to put a screw in is the first inch up top. That's not 90 degrees either it's like 85 to 97 degrees so the bottom will kick in.

Second issue. Not the transom front and the position in front of the cross member. I guess I can loosen the forward bolts and slide the sheet in to over lap on the cross member. True or not?

So the two question are, do I put the 95 degree bend into the aluminum sheet and just secure it on the top inch?

Second do I loosen the two forward bolt on the transom and slid the last full sheet in?

That looks Identical to my boat
if you want photos of mine i can take some this weekend
They look close to 90 degrees to me, if it is off a couple degrees you will not even see it
I used the aluminum angle to cover the gap, I also looked at one at the dealers and that is what Harris does at the factory
I put one screw into the side and one into the bottom and it looked good
at the transom i made a pattern and installed the first sheet starting at the cross member behind the front of the transom running forward
I notched a small portion to go under the tub and to the cross member, and pieced in the area alongside the tub as it was over 4' anyway
the sheets should be overlapped starting at the rear to prevent waves from pulling them loose
I did 16' on my 20 boat as the front really doesn't see any wave action. again this is what i saw on Harris factory installed boats
I had the sheets cut into 60" x 48" which was the most economical way to buy them.
This is a two man job as it is hard to maneuver the large sharp sheets of aluminum, or at least a helper to get the sheets in place
I used 2 x 4 board across the top of the tubes to hold the aluminum sheets up, that way i only had to push them up an inch or so to fasten them.
At the rear where the cross members are doubled up you will need to drill and tap as the self tappers will snap off and make you cuss
(ask my wife)

Mike

crookedlaker wrote:That looks Identical to my boat
if you want photos of mine i can take some this weekend
They look close to 90 degrees to me, if it is off a couple degrees you will not even see it
I used the aluminum angle to cover the gap, I also looked at one at the dealers and that is what Harris does at the factory
I put one screw into the side and one into the bottom and it looked good
at the transom i made a pattern and installed the first sheet starting at the cross member behind the front of the transom running forward
I notched a small portion to go under the tub and to the cross member, and pieced in the area alongside the tub as it was over 4' anyway
the sheets should be overlapped starting at the rear to prevent waves from pulling them loose
I did 16' on my 20 boat as the front really doesn't see any wave action. again this is what i saw on Harris factory installed boats
I had the sheets cut into 60" x 48" which was the most economical way to buy them.
This is a two man job as it is hard to maneuver the large sharp sheets of aluminum, or at least a helper to get the sheets in place
I used 2 x 4 board across the top of the tubes to hold the aluminum sheets up, that way i only had to push them up an inch or so to fasten them.
At the rear where the cross members are doubled up you will need to drill and tap as the self tappers will snap off and make you cuss
(ask my wife)

Mike

Thanks. Can you post up a picture of where you put the screw on the part of the bracket close to the pontoon?

Same thing on the trim around the nose of the transom tub.

I must be a bit wider then your boat. I'm measuring 62" between the logs.

Dave

I skinned my boat this winter - haven't had a chance to take it out on the lake yet (waiting for the lake level to come up near summer level)

I had the metal shop cut and bend the sheets to my specs. Used SS self tappers (but I found I had to drill pilot holes first to go thru 1/4 alum cross members)

Here is a pic of the finished job:

My boat was the same 62" The sheets of aluminum come in 120" x 48"
If you have the aluminum cut at 61" your cost will go way up as you will have to pay for the waste. I had them cut at 60" and used the angle aluminum to cover the gap at the corner and go down the side. The notch at the front of the transom was easy. I made a small notch at the front and the aluminum sheet went under the front nose of the transom piece and over the channels. I started with that piece and then installed the front two sheets and then pieced the panels in the back along side the pod. Either predrill the self tappers or I used my cordless impact and they drilled in with out predrilling.
I have to get my boat out of storage Saturday. I will take photos and post them showing the angles and nose area. one item, mark the screw location to make them all even, I did not do that first and have some not in line.

Mike

Thanks for the posts guys. The pictures look good. Looking forward to seeing yours Crookedlaker.