My Bride & I are planning a trip down the Ohio and up the Mississippi late next summer and fall to celebrate our 50 years together.
We have a Sunlite Eagle fold down slide in pickup camper that we want to mount on a pontoon vessel to use to take this trip. It weighs less than 2,000# loaded with food, fuel, water and clothing.
We have purchased two 25" x 24' aluminium pontoons and a trailer to haul it.
We have access to two 25 HP Mercury 2 cycle outboards that we are hoping to mount for propulsion.
The rest of the design is in a high state of flux at this time.
Therefore, any suggertions will be greatly appreciated.
We hope to use mostly native hardwood for the structure. We have access to most any species and also have a solar powered kiln. Our plans are to use a combination of white oak and red elm. The white oak for rot resistance and the red elm for toughness. We also have access to aeromatic red cedar but really dont anticipate any uses for it at this time other than maybe inside the comand center.
We are seriously looking at 3/4" treated plywood for the deck.
We would like to mount the two outboards between the pontoons to help protect them during locking operations etc. Any designs of how to accomplish this would be appreciated.
We are planning on making a weather proof comand center with a plexiglass windshield. It will also be insect proof but ealily converted to open air mode. This we will work on in our woodworking shop this winter.
I am concerned about the speed and shift controls for the twin Mercury outboards. Is is difficult to get them sycnronized? Are there commercially manufactured controls for accomplishing this?
We are thinking of having an old fashioned spoke wheel for control. I am thinking of making it in my workshop. Would this be adequate to control the vessel using aircraft cable and pulleys?
We are thinking of mounting it in the center of the comand center between the two seats so that is can be controlled from either seat.
As you can tell, there are lots of problems yet to be solved. My reason for posting this lengthy item is to hopefully avoid any bad experiences that others may have had while attempting something such as we are committed to.
Sincerely
Macamato
We have a Sunlite Eagle fold down slide in pickup camper that we want to mount on a pontoon vessel to use to take this trip. It weighs less than 2,000# loaded with food, fuel, water and clothing.
We have purchased two 25" x 24' aluminium pontoons and a trailer to haul it.
We have access to two 25 HP Mercury 2 cycle outboards that we are hoping to mount for propulsion.
The rest of the design is in a high state of flux at this time.
Therefore, any suggertions will be greatly appreciated.
We hope to use mostly native hardwood for the structure. We have access to most any species and also have a solar powered kiln. Our plans are to use a combination of white oak and red elm. The white oak for rot resistance and the red elm for toughness. We also have access to aeromatic red cedar but really dont anticipate any uses for it at this time other than maybe inside the comand center.
We are seriously looking at 3/4" treated plywood for the deck.
We would like to mount the two outboards between the pontoons to help protect them during locking operations etc. Any designs of how to accomplish this would be appreciated.
We are planning on making a weather proof comand center with a plexiglass windshield. It will also be insect proof but ealily converted to open air mode. This we will work on in our woodworking shop this winter.
I am concerned about the speed and shift controls for the twin Mercury outboards. Is is difficult to get them sycnronized? Are there commercially manufactured controls for accomplishing this?
We are thinking of having an old fashioned spoke wheel for control. I am thinking of making it in my workshop. Would this be adequate to control the vessel using aircraft cable and pulleys?
We are thinking of mounting it in the center of the comand center between the two seats so that is can be controlled from either seat.
As you can tell, there are lots of problems yet to be solved. My reason for posting this lengthy item is to hopefully avoid any bad experiences that others may have had while attempting something such as we are committed to.
Sincerely
Macamato