Crazy Pontoon Idea

samo_ott

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Ok, I have this crazy idea and was wondering what folks might think of it. I sold my 20' pontoon boat this summer and still have my 16'er with a 12' deck on it. It has 3 double benches to sit six and the driver for a total of 7. If there's 7 adults on it, it sits very low on the water and I don't really like it. It only has an 18hp on it and it's not built for speed at all. So my thought is, what would happen if I bolted a 12' john boat underneath it between the two pontoons. Has anyone done anything like this before? It should give a lot of lift it the height was correct. Of course I'd have to be careful that it did not fill up with rain water!

I would like it to be easy on and off so that when I trailer it, I would remove it first. But I only take it out once a year at the end of the season in Oct. so it's not a regular thing.

Any thoughts on this? Crazy idea? Workable? Comments? thx...

Photo attached.
 

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Bifflefan

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

Crazy,, yes... Do-able sure... but..... what if it swamped while out on the water. I dont think it would pull you under but it definitly would not help.
Or you could add a 3rd toon in the middle and call it good. Just a thought.
 

samo_ott

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

If it didn't stick out at either end I figured swamping would be a low possibility. also, we're on a calm inland river. Not much big happens here. I could also put a hatch in the middle of the boat and have tons of storage down below.

And a 3rd toon is a good idea but expensive. This is an old cheap boat. And 12' jon boats are cheap and common.
 

Bifflefan

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

Then Im all for giving it a try. You may have hit on a the next new thing..:D
 

Huron Angler

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

Creative...yes, crazy...yes again:) It would probably get water in it quite often if you dock the rig all summer, but you could easily throw a bilge pump in there, problem solved.

Keep some oars handy and you can send people to shore to get more beverages as needed too;)

What's the red thing on the pontoon?
 

samo_ott

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

The red thing is just a painted plywood box/wall to deaden the engine noise and keep the little ones from falling out the back and disappearing in the wake!

I was thinking a bilge pump also.
 

86 century

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

why waste a good boat find plastic barrels and rig up some sort of cone on the leading edge. You might be a redneck if. :) This sounds like something I would come up with. Good luck and god bless
 

samo_ott

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

I have barrels. Not very aqua efficient and kinda ugly.
 

86 century

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

You would need to make some sort of nose to put on them.
 

5150abf

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

Make sure that it is the same height as your tubes, you don't want to get an outrigger thing going, very unstable.

Second, you are gonna get a ton of water in it so you will need a bilge pump or better yet just seal the top, you could do this with some thin plywood even.

Last thing I can think of is that you are gonna have a booger of a time attaching it to the boat, without seeing it I really don't have any ideas on that but that will be the hardest part.
 

asdasc

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

The key to it would be attaching it. You would want it to be deep enough to provide support when you are fully loaded (the boat with 7 people) but shallow enough that you could get it back out when everyone is back on land.

Under the deck on my pontoon, I have plenty of things to strap to. I think you would only need to fasten it up front, but you would have to be REALLY careful in reverse. I really like the idea of the floor access to store extra beer/pop/ life jackets/etc.

I think about where I run mine, and I don't think I would have an issue with water in it. A bilge pump is a good idea, tho.

The other option would be to put the extra people in the jon boat and pull them behind you... I know, how boring is that? :)
 

Stachi

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

kids with proper PFD's would love to be dragged around in the johnboat...it could also be the 'time out ' spot for them ....lolol
:D... if they whine and cry , just let out more line till ya can't hear them.....lol
 

Huron Angler

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

kids with proper PFD's would love to be dragged around in the johnboat...it could also be the 'time out ' spot for them ....lolol
:D... if they whine and cry , just let out more line till ya can't hear them.....lol

:D:D Now that's funny
 

oceansbreeze

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

My 2 cents... when I was a kid, we used to ride on homemade pontoons. They were made of plywood. the toons themself were just made of marine plywood about 2 feet wide.... 2 feet high.... with the angled toon part at the front... the insides of them were filled with square styrofoam I believe... they were very buoyant. I am sure somebody else knows what I am talking about??

I would build that third toon out of wood - and measure it so it's the same deptch (or maybe an inche deeper or so...) than the 2 toons. Design some way to bolt it on and pray it never coems off and knocks the engine off...

I think this concept would look prettier.... probably give better lift... and still be a breeze to remove for trailering...

you could make the front stick out like the toons, and build a nice little deck on the front across the 2 existing toons... with a little locker door for extra storage in the middle toon
 

tashasdaddy

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

between the 3 wakes, it is going to get turbulent under there. i think the jon would take on water from the sides.
 

steelespike

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

I think its a great idea.Probably anything faster than no wake speed will fill the jon pretty quickly.I would close the top with plywood or metal/plastic etc.And a bilge pump to keep it dry.There are a number of options for a 3rd toon.you might check the prices considering the easier install for a dedicated 3rd toon.
 

samo_ott

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

between the 3 wakes, it is going to get turbulent under there. i think the jon would take on water from the sides.

It's possible... Although the boat only goes about 12 mph with one person on it... But loaded down you could be right... Might have to seal it up...
 

Jeff-in-PA

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

........ If there's 7 adults on it, it sits very low on the water and I don't really like it. ..........

Any thoughts on this? Crazy idea? Workable? Comments? thx...

Sorry to be the party pooper but it almost sounds like it's beyond the useful safe capacity of the pontoon boat.

Is it really worth getting an extra friend on the boat if it's really not safe? What if ( God forbid) something terrible happened? Would saving a few dollars be worth the life of a friend?

I enjoy building / engineering stuff as much as the next guy but I draw the line when safety is involved.
 

jeeperman

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

Go for it.
Like mentioned above, just locate it and secure it underneath with two up front and two out back ropes, cables, straps, chains, whatever.
Sounds like you do not yet have the jonboat.
I think you would want one that is very flat or level on top. If the upper perimeter had a flang to the outside, that might come in handy as another way to secure it under the toon deck.
You could then slide it under from the front and it would hang from the flanged sides maybe.

If your not gonna be using the jonboat for anything else then just seal off the top with plastic shrink wrap or even some sheet aluminum siliconed and riveted to the perimeter.

I would think the installed height would be with toon empty the jonboat just slides under the deck.

There is a company that sells basically what your talking about. Discussed in the iboats forum in the past year or so.
http://www.pontoon.net/fusetalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=22868&enterthread=y
 

asdasc

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Re: Crazy Pontoon Idea

Sorry to be the party pooper but it almost sounds like it's beyond the useful safe capacity of the pontoon boat.

Is it really worth getting an extra friend on the boat if it's really not safe? What if ( God forbid) something terrible happened? Would saving a few dollars be worth the life of a friend?

I enjoy building / engineering stuff as much as the next guy but I draw the line when safety is involved.


I completely agree with you, if you are out in deep water or on a lake with lots of chop. Where I ride my 'toon, I am never in water over my waist, and it is pretty much always glass smooth. My 'toon with an 18hp can just make a small wake, but is really slow. Adding a little lift to mine might actually improve the safety, regardless of the loading. The key is to use that 'not so common' common sense.

Thanks for the reminder, though, that safety should always be the #1 priority.
 
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