Building the Mary ?E?
THE IDEA
As my bride and I approached being together for 50 years, we were looking for ways to celebrate the occasion.
Neither having the funds or the desire to travel abroad, the idea of traveling on the Mississippi river was suggested by our family since they live very close to the river. Our Son and family live in Winona MN and our Daughter and family live in Minnetrista MN. We live within 15 miles of the Mississippi in NE Iowa.
We looked for available river cruises and were not impressed with the availability of ones that fit our desire to really enjoy living close to nature as we traveled. So we looked at renting a house boat to use for our cruise.
After looking at the availability and cost of renting one for a month we decided that maybe we should consider building our own since we designed and built our envelope style retirement home.
So we embarked on designing our own house boat.
When we were looking at what appliances we would want included, we listed the same ones we had in the Sunlite Slide in pickup camper that we had used on a tour of Canada and Alaska a couple years earlier. We really had a great Alaska trip and a lot of it was because of the quality appliances in the camper.
We first considered the possibility of purchasing the appliances from Sunlite. Then we thought ?why don?t we build a vessel capable of having the camper installed upon it??
The above scenario is how we came to the decision to build the vessel we used to take our 50 year cruise up and down the Mississippi River.
THE MATERIAL
Since we had recently been drug screaming and kicking into the computer age by our children, we were aware that we had great access to materials on the internet. We soon discovered E-Bay and all of its benefits. We found three major items on a line between Indiana and our home in Iowa. We purchased a tandem pontoon trailer in Hamilton Indiana, a pair of 24? pontoons and a heavy duty transom in Racine WI.
We picked up the trailer in Indiana and then picked up the pontoons and transom on our way back home.
(We had a horrible experience with the trailer we purchased from Clarks Landing but that is another story.)
On E-Bay, we found a salvage Bass Buggy and a Classic 50 Mercury outboard in Black River Falls WI.
THE CONSTRUCTION
The above became the foundation of our vessel. With the assistance of advice and counsel offered by good buddies on the iboats Forum, we proceeded to create the Mary ?E?.
We dismantled the Bass Buggy for parts, placed the new 24? pontoons on the trailer and started from there. *(Laying the Mary E Keels)
We welded 6? extensions on the Bass Buggy ?Z? bars and had the additional ?Z? bars made by welding two 2? x 2? x 1/4? aluminum angle irons back to back to match up with the Bass Buggy ?Z? bar height of 2 1/2?. We modified and used the Bass Buggy front bumper. We had the side and rear bumpers made by forming 2 1/2?x 3?x 1/4?aluminum angle iron on a press brake at Kann Manufacturing in Guttenberg Iowa.
We purchased PT 4?x8? x ?? plywood and used forced air to dry it down to 12%. Then we added 6? to the end of each sheet by routing a tongue and groove joint then gluing with Tight Bond III.
We then predrilled all of the mounting holes and painted the PT Plywood on all sides (including predrilled holes) with two coats of Zinsser 1-2-3 Primer. We placed two coats of Duct Tape on all aluminum surfaces that would come in contact with the PT Plywood. To date, there has been no evidence of any corrosion between the plywood and the aluminum frame.
When we were looking for a place to store the 18? pontoons from the Bass Buggy, we looked at just adding them to the vessel. There was room and thus that it where they are now.
We mounted the transom from the Bass Buggy on the right rear for a spare 25HP outboard.
We were able to purchase used controls for the outboard on E-Bay. The Classic 50 Mercury that we purchased was a tiller steer so we needed to convert it for remote controls. (If anyone is interested in tiller steer controls for a Classic 50, please contact us).
We created tie downs for the camper by welding 7/16? rod to 2 1/2?x 2 /12? X 1/4? angle iron and mounting them to the top channels of the pontoons in locations that duplicate the tie down hook points on our pickup. This allows us to use the same tie down hardware to mount the camper to the Mary ?E? that we use to mount it to our pickup.
We designed and built a new counsel from oak and PT plywood using some of the instruments from the Bass Buggy. We covered the console with White ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) Textured Plastic. DANGER! Do not use the recommended adhesive for the ABS Textured Plastic. It is water soluble and comes apart in wet weather. We had to replace it with Henkel PL Polyurethane Premium Construction Adhesive.
We included the live well from the Bass Buggy in the Helm. (We are considering building another one for the back of the vessel. It will provide the ability to add weight to the rear of the Mary ?E? as well as provide a convenient live well to those fishing from the rear.)
We also placed high density polyethylene strips on top of the carpet on the trailer bunkers. This really makes loading and unloading much easier.
We also modified the trailer that we purchased in Hamilton Indiana to a tilt tongue design. This really helps to launch and load the Mary ?E? on the trailer.
We have also replaced the weld on surge brake with a bolt on design.
We also replaced the Bass Buggy instrument panel cover and windshield with a flat cutting board with storage underneath for fish cleaning tools. It is much more functional than a windshield on a vessel that travels at a top speed of 5-10 mph.
This pretty much sums up our adventures to date.
FUTURE PLANS
We are now planning on cutting 36 trees we planted in the 70?s and have them cut into 8?x8*x 16? beams. From them we plan to build a post/beam type building for storing the Mary ?E?. It will include a hoist system consisting of a winch, cable and pulleys which will allow us to hook up to the three lift points on the camper and lift it off the pickup and onto the Mary ?E?. This is our planned summer project. We currently use an old dragline as a sky hook to make the transfer. It is a rather complex project because of the requirement for the spreader bar above the camper during the lifting operation.
The individual who conducted the Marine Inspection for insurance purposes noted that the Mary ?E? was extremely well built. The only item to correct was one missing hold down strap on one battery box. He valued the Mary E at $18,000 without motors or the camper.
We are very happy with the results of this project. If anyone has any questions, we would be glad to attempt to answer them.
We now use the pontoon as our fishing boat when we take our annual two week family fishing trip to Many Point Lake in Becker County MN.
I also use the Mary ?E? (with camper) to live on during the month of October. I anchor it near the mouth of the Wisconsin River. My son, son in law, and grandson come and join me for several days to enjoy the beauty of the Mississippi River in October. We do a little hunting, fishing, hiking and exploring. It is awesome.
We would like to express our sincere appreciation for all of the valuable/helpful advice and counsel that we received from good buddies on the iboats forum. Without that great source of information, we would have never been able to complete our project successfully.
Thanks to all of you good buddies.
We will attempt to post some photos that are relative to building and enjoying the Mary ?E?.
Sincerely
Mr. & Mrs. MACAMATO
THE IDEA
As my bride and I approached being together for 50 years, we were looking for ways to celebrate the occasion.
Neither having the funds or the desire to travel abroad, the idea of traveling on the Mississippi river was suggested by our family since they live very close to the river. Our Son and family live in Winona MN and our Daughter and family live in Minnetrista MN. We live within 15 miles of the Mississippi in NE Iowa.
We looked for available river cruises and were not impressed with the availability of ones that fit our desire to really enjoy living close to nature as we traveled. So we looked at renting a house boat to use for our cruise.
After looking at the availability and cost of renting one for a month we decided that maybe we should consider building our own since we designed and built our envelope style retirement home.
So we embarked on designing our own house boat.
When we were looking at what appliances we would want included, we listed the same ones we had in the Sunlite Slide in pickup camper that we had used on a tour of Canada and Alaska a couple years earlier. We really had a great Alaska trip and a lot of it was because of the quality appliances in the camper.
We first considered the possibility of purchasing the appliances from Sunlite. Then we thought ?why don?t we build a vessel capable of having the camper installed upon it??
The above scenario is how we came to the decision to build the vessel we used to take our 50 year cruise up and down the Mississippi River.
THE MATERIAL
Since we had recently been drug screaming and kicking into the computer age by our children, we were aware that we had great access to materials on the internet. We soon discovered E-Bay and all of its benefits. We found three major items on a line between Indiana and our home in Iowa. We purchased a tandem pontoon trailer in Hamilton Indiana, a pair of 24? pontoons and a heavy duty transom in Racine WI.
We picked up the trailer in Indiana and then picked up the pontoons and transom on our way back home.
(We had a horrible experience with the trailer we purchased from Clarks Landing but that is another story.)
On E-Bay, we found a salvage Bass Buggy and a Classic 50 Mercury outboard in Black River Falls WI.
THE CONSTRUCTION
The above became the foundation of our vessel. With the assistance of advice and counsel offered by good buddies on the iboats Forum, we proceeded to create the Mary ?E?.
We dismantled the Bass Buggy for parts, placed the new 24? pontoons on the trailer and started from there. *(Laying the Mary E Keels)
We welded 6? extensions on the Bass Buggy ?Z? bars and had the additional ?Z? bars made by welding two 2? x 2? x 1/4? aluminum angle irons back to back to match up with the Bass Buggy ?Z? bar height of 2 1/2?. We modified and used the Bass Buggy front bumper. We had the side and rear bumpers made by forming 2 1/2?x 3?x 1/4?aluminum angle iron on a press brake at Kann Manufacturing in Guttenberg Iowa.
We purchased PT 4?x8? x ?? plywood and used forced air to dry it down to 12%. Then we added 6? to the end of each sheet by routing a tongue and groove joint then gluing with Tight Bond III.
We then predrilled all of the mounting holes and painted the PT Plywood on all sides (including predrilled holes) with two coats of Zinsser 1-2-3 Primer. We placed two coats of Duct Tape on all aluminum surfaces that would come in contact with the PT Plywood. To date, there has been no evidence of any corrosion between the plywood and the aluminum frame.
When we were looking for a place to store the 18? pontoons from the Bass Buggy, we looked at just adding them to the vessel. There was room and thus that it where they are now.
We mounted the transom from the Bass Buggy on the right rear for a spare 25HP outboard.
We were able to purchase used controls for the outboard on E-Bay. The Classic 50 Mercury that we purchased was a tiller steer so we needed to convert it for remote controls. (If anyone is interested in tiller steer controls for a Classic 50, please contact us).
We created tie downs for the camper by welding 7/16? rod to 2 1/2?x 2 /12? X 1/4? angle iron and mounting them to the top channels of the pontoons in locations that duplicate the tie down hook points on our pickup. This allows us to use the same tie down hardware to mount the camper to the Mary ?E? that we use to mount it to our pickup.
We designed and built a new counsel from oak and PT plywood using some of the instruments from the Bass Buggy. We covered the console with White ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) Textured Plastic. DANGER! Do not use the recommended adhesive for the ABS Textured Plastic. It is water soluble and comes apart in wet weather. We had to replace it with Henkel PL Polyurethane Premium Construction Adhesive.
We included the live well from the Bass Buggy in the Helm. (We are considering building another one for the back of the vessel. It will provide the ability to add weight to the rear of the Mary ?E? as well as provide a convenient live well to those fishing from the rear.)
We also placed high density polyethylene strips on top of the carpet on the trailer bunkers. This really makes loading and unloading much easier.
We also modified the trailer that we purchased in Hamilton Indiana to a tilt tongue design. This really helps to launch and load the Mary ?E? on the trailer.
We have also replaced the weld on surge brake with a bolt on design.
We also replaced the Bass Buggy instrument panel cover and windshield with a flat cutting board with storage underneath for fish cleaning tools. It is much more functional than a windshield on a vessel that travels at a top speed of 5-10 mph.
This pretty much sums up our adventures to date.
FUTURE PLANS
We are now planning on cutting 36 trees we planted in the 70?s and have them cut into 8?x8*x 16? beams. From them we plan to build a post/beam type building for storing the Mary ?E?. It will include a hoist system consisting of a winch, cable and pulleys which will allow us to hook up to the three lift points on the camper and lift it off the pickup and onto the Mary ?E?. This is our planned summer project. We currently use an old dragline as a sky hook to make the transfer. It is a rather complex project because of the requirement for the spreader bar above the camper during the lifting operation.
The individual who conducted the Marine Inspection for insurance purposes noted that the Mary ?E? was extremely well built. The only item to correct was one missing hold down strap on one battery box. He valued the Mary E at $18,000 without motors or the camper.
We are very happy with the results of this project. If anyone has any questions, we would be glad to attempt to answer them.
We now use the pontoon as our fishing boat when we take our annual two week family fishing trip to Many Point Lake in Becker County MN.
I also use the Mary ?E? (with camper) to live on during the month of October. I anchor it near the mouth of the Wisconsin River. My son, son in law, and grandson come and join me for several days to enjoy the beauty of the Mississippi River in October. We do a little hunting, fishing, hiking and exploring. It is awesome.
We would like to express our sincere appreciation for all of the valuable/helpful advice and counsel that we received from good buddies on the iboats forum. Without that great source of information, we would have never been able to complete our project successfully.
Thanks to all of you good buddies.
We will attempt to post some photos that are relative to building and enjoying the Mary ?E?.
Sincerely
Mr. & Mrs. MACAMATO
