Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

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captmello

Captain
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Jun 30, 2008
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Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

oldjeep said:
I do autos myself. Costs around $250 in parts.
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thanks for rubbing it in...But lets not forget the removal, knowledge and exerience to rebuild it in a timely manor, reinstall, offer a warranty.
Is the rest worth 1450...I'd say yes. Doesn't feel any better on the wallet however.
 
Cubbyblue22

Cubbyblue22

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Jul 25, 2010
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Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

Hey in my opinion if the boat floats and it's working great than don't fix it. Yes you might gain some better handling and speed with it but I think after you go through all that work and pay as much as it looks like it's going to cost you'll get on the water, push the throttle forward and say "that's it." So in my opinion save the money and just realize it's a pontoon and she's a floater.
 
oldjeep

oldjeep

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Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

Cubbyblue22 said:
Hey in my opinion if the boat floats and it's working great than don't fix it. Yes you might gain some better handling and speed with it but I think after you go through all that work and pay as much as it looks like it's going to cost you'll get on the water, push the throttle forward and say "that's it." So in my opinion save the money and just realize it's a pontoon and she's a floater.
Click to expand...

On the lake he is in, the extra pontoon is about keeping the water off the deck. Big lake, lots of chop from wind and other boats.
 
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captmello

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Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

Cubbyblue22 said:
Hey in my opinion if the boat floats and it's working great than don't fix it. Yes you might gain some better handling and speed with it but I think after you go through all that work and pay as much as it looks like it's going to cost you'll get on the water, push the throttle forward and say "that's it." So in my opinion save the money and just realize it's a pontoon and she's a floater.
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You're right. I don't need it. But like oldjeep said, it can be a wet ride. the lake I'm boating on is over 100,000 acre and the Inlaws cabin is on the south shore, so we get our share of wind and waves. And, if I could bolt on an additional toon for $600ish and a couple hours of my time, I'd be willing to give it a shot.;)
 
M

Mi duckdown

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Apr 14, 2007
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Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

Camp. Have you not have mentiond what HP on this pontoon? Adding a pontoon will need MORE HP.
 
C

captmello

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Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

Mi duckdown said:
Camp. Have you not have mentiond what HP on this pontoon? Adding a pontoon will need MORE HP.
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My boat/motor is in my sig. I realize the 90hp is small for a performance pontoon, but I think it would move the boat fine. Or, twist my arm, and I'll look into a repower. I'm not afraid to change things up a bit.
 
A

arntarchie

Seaman Apprentice
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Jun 7, 2009
Messages
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Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

get a log with the transom built in and get rid of the motor pod
 
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BigMike63

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Mar 23, 2013
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6
Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

Why not just check FleaBay for the correct length tube.
 
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Bamaman1

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Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

And in the end, you'll have a 16 year old tritoon boat that has a motor that's not well suited for pushing three toons.

If the boat doesn't suit your needs, you might be better served to clean it up, and sell it on Craigslist. Then buy a boat that better suits your needs.

All a third toon does positive is lets you carry heavier loads. The weight and drag of the third toon is not positive unless you have the lifting strakes to get the nosecones out of the water. And most hulls need 115 hp to take advantage of lifting strakes.
 
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captmello

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Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

arntarchie said:
get a log with the transom built in and get rid of the motor pod
Click to expand...

This is an option, and I'm open to this. But I'm not finding many single logs for sale in my budget range or near my location. I could buy one brand new, but the goal here was to keep the cost down. A new tube isn't worth the cost as I'm finding out I'd most likely need to repower and certainly need to trade in my scissor trailer for a bunk style.

BigMike63 said:
Why not just check FleaBay for the correct length tube.
Click to expand...

I did look at ebay. Great lakes skipper has a bunch of scratch and dent tubes listed for sale. Some single tubes for 1200-1400. If I lived a little closer it may be an option, They are 400 miles from me.
 
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captmello

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Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

Bamaman1 said:
And in the end, you'll have a 16 year old tritoon boat that has a motor that's not well suited for pushing three toons.

If the boat doesn't suit your needs, you might be better served to clean it up, and sell it on Craigslist. Then buy a boat that better suits your needs.

All a third toon does positive is lets you carry heavier loads. The weight and drag of the third toon is not positive unless you have the lifting strakes to get the nosecones out of the water. And most hulls need 115 hp to take advantage of lifting strakes.
Click to expand...

Actually my current boat suits me just fine. It has all the options I want in a toon. I'm just looking for affordable upgrades.

I realize my motor is not up to the performance I would need with lifting strakes, however, searching CL daily, I haven't seen any tritoons that come close to a similar value/worth as my boat, so I'd need to pony up a lot more cash.

When considering this upgrade I also realized I would have other expenses.

I would have to trade up to a bunk trailer from my scissor trailer. I'm figuring an extra $1000 above the value of my current trailer which is in great shape. This wold be nice anyway since I trailer quite a bit and the scissor trailer can be a bit "exciting" at times.

If I could get an additional tube for under 1000, plus add another 1000 for the new trailer, I believe I'd be tritooning for about 2000. My toon in its currrent condition, with the scissor trailer is worth roughly 8000 in my area.

The cheapest tritoon I see locally on CL is a 1997 25' w' 115 hp for $15000. That's 7000 more than my current boats value. I would actually want more power than that if I was going to repower. My boat has a hp rating up to 135 hp.

I believe I could repower for 1000-1500 more above the value of my current 90 hp motor which is in great shape.

So, If I were to do all these for $3500, It would be half the money of buying a different boat.

Plus I like projects and working on my stuff.;)
 
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crb478

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Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

I understand where you are coming from with this project, especially on price and doing it yourself. I recently drove about 385 miles one way to pick up a new center toon. It took all day on a day off, plus several hours before leaving to make sure the trailer was road worthy and to fabricate a center cradle out of 2x4 stock to hold the pontoon securely. Now that it is here it was worth it, but it was a pain driving through West Virginia's roads. I swear the trailer was in the air more than on the road. Also make sure you take good straps and put some padding on the sharp edges. I cut 3 out of four straps in W Virginia! I would stop and tie them back together, and the front eye hook and rear strap were never in any danger, but I still wanted it more secure than just those straps. I also looked for a reasonably priced shorter log for a long time, something in the 16 to 18 foot range. Never was able to find one. Good luck with your search, or possibly just set aside a full day to make the 400 mile drive. Hopefully you can be on the water with a triton soon.
 
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captmello

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Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

crb478 said:
I understand where you are coming from with this project, especially on price and doing it yourself. I recently drove about 385 miles one way to pick up a new center toon. It took all day on a day off, plus several hours before leaving to make sure the trailer was road worthy and to fabricate a center cradle out of 2x4 stock to hold the pontoon securely. Now that it is here it was worth it, but it was a pain driving through West Virginia's roads. I swear the trailer was in the air more than on the road. Also make sure you take good straps and put some padding on the sharp edges. I cut 3 out of four straps in W Virginia! I would stop and tie them back together, and the front eye hook and rear strap were never in any danger, but I still wanted it more secure than just those straps. I also looked for a reasonably priced shorter log for a long time, something in the 16 to 18 foot range. Never was able to find one. Good luck with your search, or possibly just set aside a full day to make the 400 mile drive. Hopefully you can be on the water with a triton soon.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight on the transporting. I went over those issues in my head quite a bit when I thought I was going to be able to use the 20' toon I ran across earlier. I also do not think I will run across a used 18' toon with a diameter I want. but I'll keep an eye out.

When I read your thread about your project, it certainly inspired me even more. I hope you'll be sure to update for future reference. After searching I just can't find a lot of first hand experience with this modification. A lot of guys have talked about it, some have done it, but few have come back to tell us how it went. I live 15 minutes from a pontoon manufacturer and I may give them a call about scratch and dents, but I'm pretty sure i'll cost me a lot more than the 600 I was going to pick up the used toon for. And that is if they even sell scratch and dents to the public.

thanks again for commenting and I look forward to hearing the results from your project.:)
 
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steelespike

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Apr 26, 2002
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19,069
Re: Cutting a pontoon down a couple feet

It seems "Slider": was the name of a 3rd pontoon of fiberglass that produces close to runabout performance.
 
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