First time building a pontoon boat, all advice appreciated.

[Joseph Elliott]

Hello, This is my first time building a pontoon boat and want to make sure i do it right the first time. I have purchased a 16' kit from a company up here in canada and it should be arriving in about 2 weeks. It is a pair of 26" x 16' pontoons, the deck framing, and a motor mount (150hp rating). I want a boat that i can take the pressure washer to whenever it gets dirty so I was thinking that for decking I could use either composite decking boards or aluminum checker plating. What are your thoughts on these? The entire set up will be very simple / utilitarian since I use my boat exclusively for fishing and diving but I want it to look nice as well. Floor plan is simple, 4 pedistal seats in the corners, live well and console on the starboard side; storage bench on the port side. For a motor I am considering a 50 hp tohatsu outboard but will buy the largest i can afford when it comes time next year.

Are there any do's and don'ts that you reccomend? All advice would be greatly appreciated

[HandymanHerb]

don't put a 150 on a 16 foot pontoon or all your seats will need to be up front to balance it out

[smltooner]

Welcome to the club.
I would imagine that aluminum checker plating may get hot in the sun if you are walking barefooted on the deck.

[RcgTexas]

Welcome to the asylum!


Composite decking is heavy!!!!!!!!! weight is a big deal on boats, especially pontoons.

Aluminum would be best but with non slip vinyl on that. Aluminum will get cooking hot in the sun.

A 50 tohatsu sounds good, it is not going to plane that boat but will move it adequately.

[Joseph Elliott]

Thanks guys Where would I find said non slip vinyl?

[HandymanHerb]

Look up in the upper right corner Pontoon Stuff has the whole flooring kit, you just tell them the size and they send you every thing, but they only have wood decking or you can just order what you want.


http://www.pontoonstuff.com/collections ... l-flooring

[ToonGuy]

Welcome

I would suggest standard marine grade plywood with one of the offered vinyl flooring options glued down. Composites designed for home use are very heavy and expensive. Coosa makes a marine composite decking, but again, very expensive and still needs to be covered. "checker plate" or diamond plate aluminum is also very heavy for it's thickness, you would still need some sort of support, and without being covered it would be extremely hot and extremely slippery! An aluminum plank decking system is your best non-wood bet, however I have yet to believe the cost outweighs using standard industry marine plywood. Good luck, be sure to post some pics in the Pontoon Rebuild section!

[Joseph Elliott]

Thanks guys I will stick with the plywood and vinyl then. What thickness of plywood do you reccomend?

[ToonGuy]

ONLY use 3/4" 7-ply MARINE GRADE plywood.

[HandymanHerb]

Just Call PS and tell them you size and order the flooring kit, you get every thing you need to put the floor down right to the screws and glue, they get it to you quick, if you have a problem with anything they have the best customer service I have seen in a long while.

I helped a guy who trashed his ladder over the weekend, they gave him a great deal on a new one and not only did the service manager email me quick, so did James Myers, the owner of the company, wanting to make sure all forums members are taken care of and thanked me for helping handle it

[Joseph Elliott]

Thanks but PS does not ship to Canada ... in fact most of the large pontoon supply companies don't ship things here ... It's going to be a challenge to try to find anything at this rate.

[HandymanHerb]

Dam i was wondering about that, are you close to the border, we had member over the years ship to a member near by in the USA and then go pick it up.

[Joseph Elliott]

not close to the border at all And all I can find in canada is 72" wide vinyl, no one here seems to have 102".

[RcgTexas]

Try Marideck directly they do sell to the public(retail) or did.

I found them online. They are Arkansas I think.

[Bamaman]

Joseph: Do yourself a big favor and go for a larger 20' pontoon boat. I have never seen a 16' boat on our lake. And I've never seen a pontoon boat trailer that's only 16'. The larger boat is more seaworthy and will ride so much better. A 16' boat with 26" toons will just bob around in the waves--and the longer boat will just serve you better now and in the long run. And it won't cost much more than what you're building.