Pontoon restore

[ShadyG]

My fiance and I bought a pontoon boat that was in not too good of shape last year and we had all the best intentions on restoring it this winter and having it ready for the summer oh, this did not work out. My fiance works so I have been restoring this pontoon completely by myself and I don't mean a little bit by myself I mean completely by myself and I've had to look up for quite a few things along the way. I strip all of the old stuff off of the boat and started out new from the floor to the woven vinyl and the seats and the rails, the bimini top. I am getting the job done. You know you could spend money every day on something new that you need, or maybe thank you need for a boat. I have purchased two more boats since then primarily for the motor. The first was a Mark Twain with an 85 Johnson, then I thought I had a better deal with a Woodson dual Cathedral that had a 90hp Johnson. I had the chance to triple my money with the 65 Woodson so I had to let it go. I am putting the 85 on my boat because I think it would be sufficient, even though I'm not sure about the difference in pitches since the Mark Twain boat is considerably smaller than my 24-foot pontoon. I guess I will figure that out when I get on the water. Today I am putting a new starter and starter solenoid in the 85 Johnson because I think I may have burned those up whenever I connected the wires wrong to my new ignition. Any tips for a newbie, I am not a complete ditz when it comes to electronics or mechanics or rigging s*** up but, I never claimed to know everything

 

[gm280]

Pictures, pictures, pictures. Pictures always helps us see what you are dealing with and working on. Then we can offer the better ideas to help you out. Oh, when posting pictures, keep the size below 2M or they will not post...

 

[ShadyG]

 

[ShadyG]

Posting pics and getting them down to 2m wasn't that easy. So in the photos you will see the front of my boat Andy new aluminum siding rail inserts. It is New Black aluminum but I had a really hard time sliding them into the grooves and now it is all dented up and that was a lesson learned. Then you will see the bench seats I have in the front, two on one side and one on the other. The backs and bottoms of the seats are all at the upholstery shop. You will see the console with the steering wheel and the throttle shifter that I have bolted to the side rail to have it on my right side. I have three seats to complete the right rear corner and I left some space behind them for the gas tank and batteries and I am currently rigging up a Sundeck of some sort out of old gates on hinges to hide those. Then on the back of boat is my 1974 85hp Johnson model number 85ESL74B. I have the lid off because after installing a new starter and solenoid Sparks flew from the coils and now I must put new coils in so I have ordered them and four coils will be here by Wednesday. While I wait for those I plan on wiring my stereo system

 

[gm280]

Exactly how did sparks fly from the coils? Before repeating the same results from the new coils, stop and examine how every thing is presently wired to verify you are not going to burn up the new set. Replacing parts gets expensive and the best thing you can do is check EVERYTHING before trying again.

There are schematic diagrams for your engine. I suggest you find one and then wire by wire verify everything is exactly like that schematic diagram. Purchase a "Factory" shop manual for your engine and not some aftermarket version. The aftermarket engine manuals try to cover way too many models and therefore neglect so many important issues that deal with your engine and your year, model and HOP engine only. A factory shop manual solely for your engine is that absolute best thing you can buy for your setup... Keep us informed how it all goes...

 

[ShadyG]

The coil was cracked and had a chip out of it. It made a definite sparking sound and I could see a faint light from a spark.