My first pontoon!!!

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Shame on me. Picked it up a month ago and just now getting around to posting pics.:redface: Actually it hasn't even been christened yet. Too busy doing other things, now it's knocking on Nov. so it will be probably be spring before it hits the water. Will spend the winter hooking up controls to my non-remote 9.8 Tohatsu.

Well, here it is. It's a 8x16 JC Boles Boats made in Salem, IL. Half the price of a SunTracker Bass Buggy minus the motor but came with a trailer. We were able to design the floor plan any way we wanted. VERY personable service. I bet he called half a dozen times while they were building it. If your in the market for a small pontoon I highly recommend him.

 

[The Rooster]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Neat, "Swabber'. Haven't seen tubes or should I say tubbs like that before. Are they the same basic concept, ie: pressurized w/ seperate chambers. Are they flat on the bottom and have some kind of keel ?

 

[steelespike]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

From the size of those tubes it looks like it might plane easily with moderate power.
Should handle loading better than a round tube.

 

[5150abf]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Are those floats actually bolted together or is that just some kind of edgeing, they are huge.

 

[lncoop]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Cool Swabbie! Bet Sasto is jealous of that little rig. You know it takes more to christen a boat than just splashing it, right?

 

[sasto]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Cool Swabbie! Bet Sasto is jealous of that little rig. You know it takes more to christen a boat than just splashing it, right?

Darn straight, lncoop. Packing my cooler and waiting till spring!

Wait a minute......Get her rigged and bring her on down.

 

[lncoop]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Darn straight, lncoop. Packing my cooler and waiting till spring!

Wait a minute......Get her rigged and bring her on down.

Yeah, and pick me up on the way.

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Neat, "Swabber'. Haven't seen tubes or should I say tubbs like that before. Are they the same basic concept, ie: pressurized w/ seperate chambers. Are they flat on the bottom and have some kind of keel ?

Not pressurized filled with foam totally flat on the bottom.

From the size of those tubes it looks like it might plane easily with moderate power.
Should handle loading better than a round tube.

Jerry (the builder) said it would "fly" with my 9.8, I think he said 15 to 18 mph. It's rated for 50hp. They come standard with a 55 lb. trolling motor. It's legal wt. rating is 3000 lbs./6 people but will hold 5000 lbs. before submerging. He does offer a 3rd pontoon option for someone who want's to really load it down.

Are those floats actually bolted together or is that just some kind of edgeing, they are huge.

The pontoons are 30 in. diam. welded .09 marine grade alum. Above the toons on the sides is a trim piece and the two "bow's" are screwed and not sealed.

Darn straight, lncoop. Packing my cooler and waiting till spring!

Wait a minute......Get her rigged and bring her on down.

Yeah, and pick me up on the way.

Great idea! Do people take pontoons out on the ocean on a calm day? I think I remember Tashasdaddy saying he did. I suppose the ICW would be perfect.
Hey Incoop I believe we could travel the whole way by boat!!!

 

[sasto]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Yup.....Swabbie! I see all kinds of stuff out there on a good day. Flats boats, tinnies, you name it.

Float her on down. Get off the Mississippi to the Ohio, to the Cumberland, to the Tennessee, to the Tenn-Tom to Mobile, Ala, to Ft Myers, across the Okeechobee Ocean, to here. I'll leave the light on for you guys.

She is a neat boat. What is her name?

 

[newbie4life]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Our pontoon is old, and we just re-did it this year. Someone asked what I was going to name it -- I said, "As ugly as it looks, I think I'm gonna call it the 'Janet Reno'."


We went with Wreck-A-Mended.

Cool tub... It's neat for me (being a small business guy myself) to see what's obviously built by a small business dude too. There is a place in the market for everyone.

 

[sasto]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Do I see docking and nav lights on the bow? What's you plans for the console, Swabbie?

 

[EGlideRider]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Hey Sasto, don't be like me. Check your inbox a little more often than I.

 

[sasto]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Hey Sasto, don't be like me. Check your inbox a little more often than I.

Hey EGlideRider... Thanks. Let's go! Will PM back.

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Are those floats actually bolted together or is that just some kind of edgeing, they are huge.

"The pontoons are 30 in. diam. welded .09 marine grade alum. Above the toons on the sides is a trim piece and the two "bow's" are screwed and not sealed".

CORRECTION. The toons are not welded they are screwed together. It looks like their is one seam sealed with silicone and screws about every 4-6" the entire length.

Also they are open on top. Due to Coast Guard regs. each one has a bilge pump. He said the only water that will ever get in is just condensation. The great thing about the design is that it is virtually unsinkable. He had one traded back in and they discovered a fairly large gash in one pontoon. Apparently the owners son went out with his buddies got drunk and crashed into something. The guy never even knew the gash was there until Jerry pointed it out to him.

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Yup.....Swabbie! I see all kinds of stuff out there on a good day. Flats boats, tinnies, you name it.

Float her on down. Get off the Mississippi to the Ohio, to the Cumberland, to the Tennessee, to the Tenn-Tom to Mobile, Ala, to Ft Myers, across the Okeechobee Ocean, to here. I'll leave the light on for you guys.

She is a neat boat. What is her name?

No name yet. The daughter in-law couldn't believe we hadn't named our 3 yr. old jon boat, she said it's bad luck.

I'm as close to the Mississippi as I am to the Ohio. If it wasn't for picking up Incoop I would put in the Ohio. Surely their's a river that would take us from Arkansas to the Tenn-Tom.

Cool tub... It's neat for me (being a small business guy myself) to see what's obviously built by a small business dude too. There is a place in the market for everyone.

It's a good feeling to give my money to a guy like that. I'm a small business man myself. The guy is a retired college aerospace electronics teacher. He has been building these for ten yrs. literally in his driveway. Their is a small metal fabrication factory a block away that employs 20 people that makes the pontoons and the aluminum railing.

Do I see docking and nav lights on the bow? What's you plans for the console, Swabbie?

Yep and it's got running lights too. I have to put a steering gear in the console and he just wired all the switches back by the motor so I guess I'll put those in the console too. Stereo, tach............???? Any other suggestions on what the first mate can buy me for Christmas?

 

[H20Rat]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Jerry (the builder) said it would "fly" with my 9.8, I think he said 15 to 18 mph. It's rated for 50hp.

Cool design, but he was selling you a fishing story if he said 15 to 18 with a 9.8. 5-8 mph is more likely on that with a 10hp engine hanging on the back. Those pontoons are essentially planing hulls, at less than planing speed they are less efficient than a typical pontoon tube. Hang enough horsepower on the back to get them to plane out, and then the fun starts!

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

well I run a 9.9 mariner on a 20 footer and get 12 mph gps with standard round logs

 

[jjohnson120]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

That's a neat looking boat, I've never seen anything like it.

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

Cool design, but he was selling you a fishing story if he said 15 to 18 with a 9.8. 5-8 mph is more likely on that with a 10hp engine hanging on the back. Those pontoons are essentially planing hulls, at less than planing speed they are less efficient than a typical pontoon tube. Hang enough horsepower on the back to get them to plane out, and then the fun starts!

Actually he said just the opposite. The bigger the motor the less efficient.
They come standard with a 55 lb. elec. trolling motor.
It doesn't make sense to me, I'll give a report once I get it out on the water.

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Re: My first pontoon!!!

That's a neat looking boat, I've never seen anything like it.

Thanks, it definately is unique. I had never seen anything like it before either.