Pontoon restoration/repair

[KingTut713]

I am looking at a 21' pontoon with a console, wood decking with carpet and essentially an empty deck aside from that. It is noted to have been sitting for several years.

I am curious if I should be worried about the wood decking? Is it expensive/difficult to replace it with aluminum? Is that something I can do myself?

Additionally is the furniture essentially just bolted onto the flooring? I assume I need to buy the prices and then bolt them on.

The motor does not run. My final question would be what's the going rate for pontoons with decking and railing but no furniture and a non running motor? Is $1000 a deal or reasonable?

Any tips or questions I should ask please let me know.

 

[Scott Danforth]

replace the wood decking with ACX plywood. on a 21', you may need 7 sheets

furniture is screwed to the floor

no motor, sitting, etc. the going rate is $0.30 per pound. it is essentially scrap and the $1000 price tag is about 5X higher than its worth.

 

[KingTut713]

I have seen kits for making your own pontoon boat but they seem like they run around $3000. Perhaps it's a dumb question but what makes these kits so much more than the shell of this older pontoon aside from age?

 

[Woodonglass]

Your TIME is worth something. A Kit takes time as does a restoration. Replacing the deck on a Pontoon boat will cost a minimum of $1,000 (wood and Carpet). Furniture will run another $1,500- $2,000. A Good Modern Running Motor could run $5-10K. Paint and other amenities another $1K. Sooo for around $10-15K you can have a Like new Pontoon. A Really Good used one that's lake ready will cost about the same or more. It all depends what you want. Work and try to save Some money, OR Buy one and go enjoy. Problem with buying one, unless you have some experience yourself or KNOW someone that does, you could buy one that you think is good to go and find out later you have to spend several more thousand to get it the way you want. Doing it yourself gives you the assurance that its done right.
Most of us on here made the decision to do it ourselves instead of taking a chance on buying someone else's hidden problems