artistwood
Seaman Apprentice
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2009
- Messages
- 42
I am working on an '88 Party Hut pontoon. It came with the trailer and a 115 merc and stainless prop. 2 hours after bring it home, my wife and kids had the deck stripped of all furniture, cabinets and console. Not even on the water once and the boat looks like it exploded. It has the cabin with a sink and stove. It had a minkota trolling motor but that went to a friend. The original plan was to replace the seats and the walls. WRONG!!!! The wood on the upper deck was rotted around the edges so that would have to be replaced. We started rebuilding the walls using some vinyl panels and new wood and foam. WRONG!!!!! Vinyl started warping a lot and bubbling up. So much for the walls. Soon to be aluminum tube frame with a foam core and aluminum panels like they use in semi trailers.
We decided to go ahead and pull the cabin to replace the carpet. From what we saw and were told by the previous owner the deck was new so no worries there........You guessed it...WRONG!!!
When we pulled the carpet my wife noticed some stickers on the ends of the plywood. Seems it was treated CDX........ Give me a break! It had already started corroding the aluminum cross rails. OK, so now the carpet AND the deck will have to be changed. $$$$$$$ Yup, it's a money pit but it's my money pit.
SO, pulled the carpet which revealed an already rotting and delaminating deck. Unbolted, pryd and drilled (using a 3/4" hole saw...Thanks to this forum) and removed all the decking.
Took a long look at the tubes and decided to clean them. Tried it on the boat but that wasn't working. (shark hide cleaner is great stuff) SO....I jacked up the boat one side at a time and removed the tubes. Did it by myself but would recommend that you get a friend or three... Turned them upside down on some sawhorses and went to work. Had to use a die grinder and scotchbrite pads to remove all the junk. After cleaning all three this way i decided that polishing them would wait.....for a very long time.
Reinstalled the tubes. Remember this thing has three so getting my 6" 4" frame between them was a real......you get the idea.
I got the decking installed after squaring the boat and installed the carpet. The previous owner had the boat 1 1/4" out of square. I had to jack up one side again and loosen all the tube bolts to get it to move.
The side rails are being modified to continue the railing all the way to the front of the boat. I'll install new aluminum panels on the new sections to match the rest.
The vinyl stripes that tracker put on were made to last forever. I tried stripper (worked on paint but decals held), I tried a heat gun (it's amazing how much you can permanently warp an aluminum panel in a very shorty time....took 3 hours to flatten the panel) I finally resorted to a 150 grit sanding disc and light pressure to sand the decals off. This will be followed up by some primer then paint. Leaning towards Imaron but it'll probably be something less toxic.
I still have to replace brake lines on the trailer (using cunifer brake lines and aircraft hoses and fittings), the wheels and tires, brakes and surge unit and wiring and lights. We already replaced the bunks (while tubes were getting cleaned) and painted it.
The motor will go to the shop for a tune up before it goes on the water. I removed the oil injection system. I would rather be sure the oil is there rather than relying on a buzzer and light. I am also installing 3 new batteries, 2 of which are for house. I am also removing the 19 gallon gas tank and installing a new 29 gallon tank. Should last awhile when cruising...
Right now I have a love hate/thing going on with the boat.
When it's finished it will have new decks, carpet, walls, surround sound, GPS, console and gauges, all new counter tops and tables, lights, stove, sink and a built in grill. Some of it is ready to be installed.
Yea, its a huge amount of work but i figure it will be a huge amount of fun when it's finished.
I'll post pics when i get a chance.
Any help/advice is appreciated.
We decided to go ahead and pull the cabin to replace the carpet. From what we saw and were told by the previous owner the deck was new so no worries there........You guessed it...WRONG!!!
When we pulled the carpet my wife noticed some stickers on the ends of the plywood. Seems it was treated CDX........ Give me a break! It had already started corroding the aluminum cross rails. OK, so now the carpet AND the deck will have to be changed. $$$$$$$ Yup, it's a money pit but it's my money pit.
SO, pulled the carpet which revealed an already rotting and delaminating deck. Unbolted, pryd and drilled (using a 3/4" hole saw...Thanks to this forum) and removed all the decking.
Took a long look at the tubes and decided to clean them. Tried it on the boat but that wasn't working. (shark hide cleaner is great stuff) SO....I jacked up the boat one side at a time and removed the tubes. Did it by myself but would recommend that you get a friend or three... Turned them upside down on some sawhorses and went to work. Had to use a die grinder and scotchbrite pads to remove all the junk. After cleaning all three this way i decided that polishing them would wait.....for a very long time.
Reinstalled the tubes. Remember this thing has three so getting my 6" 4" frame between them was a real......you get the idea.
I got the decking installed after squaring the boat and installed the carpet. The previous owner had the boat 1 1/4" out of square. I had to jack up one side again and loosen all the tube bolts to get it to move.
The side rails are being modified to continue the railing all the way to the front of the boat. I'll install new aluminum panels on the new sections to match the rest.
The vinyl stripes that tracker put on were made to last forever. I tried stripper (worked on paint but decals held), I tried a heat gun (it's amazing how much you can permanently warp an aluminum panel in a very shorty time....took 3 hours to flatten the panel) I finally resorted to a 150 grit sanding disc and light pressure to sand the decals off. This will be followed up by some primer then paint. Leaning towards Imaron but it'll probably be something less toxic.
I still have to replace brake lines on the trailer (using cunifer brake lines and aircraft hoses and fittings), the wheels and tires, brakes and surge unit and wiring and lights. We already replaced the bunks (while tubes were getting cleaned) and painted it.
The motor will go to the shop for a tune up before it goes on the water. I removed the oil injection system. I would rather be sure the oil is there rather than relying on a buzzer and light. I am also installing 3 new batteries, 2 of which are for house. I am also removing the 19 gallon gas tank and installing a new 29 gallon tank. Should last awhile when cruising...
Right now I have a love hate/thing going on with the boat.
When it's finished it will have new decks, carpet, walls, surround sound, GPS, console and gauges, all new counter tops and tables, lights, stove, sink and a built in grill. Some of it is ready to be installed.
Yea, its a huge amount of work but i figure it will be a huge amount of fun when it's finished.
I'll post pics when i get a chance.
Any help/advice is appreciated.
