New (old) hard top pontoon owner

[Bikerndiver]

Hello everyone!
My wife and I just purchased a 1984 Low Sunbird 24' pontoon with an original hard top. The toon needs complete restoration, except for the hard top which is in pretty nice shape. I've had many boats in my life and I'm more than able to handle a simple plywood deck rebuild and aluminum polishing.... But, for the life of me I can't figure out how the hard top goes down and up. I must be missing something. It seem to be fixed in position. Can anyone give me advice on this issue????

 

[ahicks]

That hard top is generally left in the up position, but it can be lowered by a couple of people when/if necessary. Generally (would need pics to be sure), there are 2 bolts securing the bottom of each leg. To lower, the back one is removed.

 

[Bikerndiver]

That hard top is generally left in the up position, but it can be lowered by a couple of people when/if necessary. Generally (would need pics to be sure), there are 2 bolts securing the bottom of each leg. To lower, the back one is removed.

Where I launch, it would be necessary to lower the top to get under a bridge to the main part of the lake. Otherwise, I would be stuck on the small part of the lake, and not much fun there.
You are right, there are two bolts on the bottom and two on the top. So, you just remove one bolt at the top and the bottom and just gently slide, lower the top??? What keeps it from crashing down onto the rails as I lower it? I assume one person at the front and one at the back while raising and lowering is the best way???? Thanks for the reply!

 

[ahicks]

Sorry, you're right. It would be the back bolt on the bottom, and the front bolt at the top. I wasn't thinking of the upper bolts at all.

As far as what is preventing it from crashing down on the rails (and the top of the console/windshield/steering wheel) when the last bolt releases? Nothing. That's why I mentioned it's a 2 man job. 1 guy holds it up until the last bolt is removed, then both lower it. Same to raise it. It's not real heavy, but it will take 2 guys to raise it, 1 to hold it until a couple of bolts are installed to hold it up.

If this process is something you're going to have to do every time you use your boat, a bimini top might make more sense.

I'm a lake resident and absolutely love our hard top, but it hasn't been down since I replaced the deck and made major renovations a few years ago.

 

[Bikerndiver]

Hmm... My Carolina Skiff has a regular, soft bimini top and we both love it. However, for some reason, my wife really likes this hardtop on our new pontoon.... I will have to lower it each time to go under the bridge going out and then again to get back to the ramp. I think I'm stuck with it for now. Maybe after she sees how much of a PIA it is to deal with, a new soft bimini will get installed. Time will tell! Right now, I have to begin the process of dismantling everything and putting down new plywood and carpeting. Same as every other restore story on this forum....
I appreciate the responses and will try and raise and lower it a few times this weekend before the demolition begins. Maybe having that practice will be enough for her to decide a regular bimini is better...
Or, locate a new launching ramp on the other side of the bridge! Ha!
Thanks again!

 

[ahicks]

Hmm... My Carolina Skiff has a regular, soft bimini top and we both love it. However, for some reason, my wife really likes this hardtop on our new pontoon.... I will have to lower it each time to go under the bridge going out and then again to get back to the ramp. I think I'm stuck with it for now. Maybe after she sees how much of a PIA it is to deal with, a new soft bimini will get installed. Time will tell! Right now, I have to begin the process of dismantling everything and putting down new plywood and carpeting. Same as every other restore story on this forum....
I appreciate the responses and will try and raise and lower it a few times this weekend before the demolition begins. Maybe having that practice will be enough for her to decide a regular bimini is better...
Or, locate a new launching ramp on the other side of the bridge! Ha!
Thanks again!

Carpeting ugh!
Consider vinyl flooring of any type, but whatever way you go, make sure you install spacers (1/2" or so) between the deck and the rails. WAY WAY easier to maintain.....

 

[Scott Danforth]

if you have to move it up and down often. just add 4 electric actuators

 

[Bikerndiver]

if you have to move it up and down often. just add 4 electric actuators

Hmm....any particular one??? Any links or pics of this setup? It sounds interesting, just need to get the right parts.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Hmm....any particular one??? Any links or pics of this setup? It sounds interesting, just need to get the right parts.

start with two bits of information

total travel between up and down. this will be actuator stroke

total weight of hard top. you will need this to determine actuator force.

 

[ahicks]

For weight, I would want quite a safety factor built in. I'm guessing that top weighs a hundred pounds, but I would plan on at least 250 for this project....

For lift, I think something in the range of 36-42" should be close.

 

[Bikerndiver]

start with two bits of information

total travel between up and down. this will be actuator stroke

total weight of hard top. you will need this to determine actuator force.

Oh, you are a bad, bad man.... My wife saw this post and she now wants this done! I have a close friend that designs lift systems for mining equipment and he will be stopping by to help me with this. Those linear actuators look like they will do the trick!
Seriously, great idea! I'll let you know in a few months how this goes.

 

[Scott Danforth]

BTW, the chinesum knockoffs on amazon are copies of the old Duff Norton LM series

Look for IP 65 rating (rain proof)

 

[Bikerndiver]

Well, it's been almost a year since i started my restoration project and I thought i would give an update.
Stripping the old plywood went well thanks to a sawzall and visegrips. In one weekend I had all the rotted furniture, console and decking gone. Then, I put new 3/4" plywood down and started looking for a new console, steering mechanism, throttle assembly for the Mercury outboard, and a trailer. I picked up a trailer and a bunch of stuff but called a halt to the construction until the Fall. Had family plans and a three week road trip this past summer.
Come September, I started converting the V-hull trailer to a pontoon trailer. That went well and by mid October, I was only a few hours away from getting the pontoon off the foam blocks and onto the rebuilt trailer!
Then disaster struck.... The remnants of a hurricane passed by with lots of rain and wind. A large oak tree was uprooted, crashed through and destroyed my pole barn and one giant limb hit the boat. The limb was about 8 inches in diameter and hit the plywood deck with enogh force to ram a hole through 3/4 plywood. That limb and some of the trunk of the tree came to rest on the forward 1/3 of the boat.
After taking pics and calling my insurance company, i had the tree cut up and moved. While this was going on, i finished my trailer and as soon as the bost was clear of the tree, I had my friend lift the boat with his wrecker and place it on the trailer. We found that the starboard toon was badly damaged. I took the boat to several marinas near me that service pontoons and they all said the toon was totaled.
Since this was an 80's pontoon with the older, flat top toons, my search for a replacement toon was a waste of time. This past week, I bought a matching set of pontoons and now I'm starting over.
I removed the plywood from the old boat and placed them on the new boat. This week I'll buy one more sheet to replace the damagef one and after one yesr, I'll be right back where i started, except for having a trailer now!
So, here I go again!

 

[Bikerndiver]

Oh, yeah, i cut up the damaged toon and scrapped it. Here is what the inside of a Lowes pontoon looks like

 

[Crappie Jalopy]

View attachment 374770Oh, yeah, i cut up the damaged toon and scrapped it. Here is what the inside of a Lowes pontoon looks like

Fantastic report!
There are so many of us restoration/customize nuts out there.
Lots of folks out there are probably scratching their heads and saying, "all that work" for a used boat?
Yes, that's right, "all that work", completed is a great feeling as we start to enjoy our "Dream Fishing Boat".

I'd like to see some pictures of your hard top.
I changed my pontoon roof to be a roof that doesn't "get in the way" when you're on the water.

Have Fun!

 

[aspeck]

How is the top lift project going? Have you purchased and installed the actuators yet?

 

[Bikerndiver]

How is the top lift project going? Have you purchased and installed the actuators yet?

Well, as you read in the above post, an uprooted tree ruined my first renovation project. So, i never got past putting on the new plywood. I was so close to putting the carpeting down.....
Anyway, my mining engineer friend completed the design for the hydraulic actuators and i was about ready to buy everything when that tree fell. So, I'm back to placing plywood on the new platform and then moving forward!

 

[aspeck]

I will be anxious to see your design and know how it works for you when you get that far. Thanks.

 

[Crappie Jalopy]

Good Morning!
The ideas for customizing a boat for each owner's needs are endless and are constantly evolving.
In southern Arizona where I fish the sun is a problem. Skin exposure, equipment exposure or 100 + Deg. heat, it never gives up!

The conventional Bimini Top with a canvas roof, cross-hatched frame structure and fold down for storage and towing, doesn't work for my uses.

I'm just finishing the actual building/installing of my roof system.....
I had (2) original bimini's that covered my (23') Tri-Hexatoon, I-O, ERCOA.
I'm using the old bimini parts for my new roof.
Pictures, "worth a thousand words" of the finished project will be posted soon.

 

[Bikerndiver]

Well, it's been a few months since my last update, so I thought I would give a quick one.
I now finished putting the toons together and getting the plywood on. I've also glued the new carpet down and rehabbed the old console. My transom is a two inch thick plywood piece bolted into a V shaped aluminum channel and cappec with a piece of aluminum. The plywood was all rotted. I had a friend at a sawmill cut me a two inch thick piece of oak from a kiln dried plank and I put many coats of polyurethane on it before bolting it to the aluminum bracket where it belongs. I also spent a few hours cleaning/polishing the old railings. My wife ordered new seating and I installef that and bolted down the newly polished rails after first riveting all new trim coil on to them.
I'm now ready to start the electrical, steering and fuel installations.
My wife did throw me a curve ball this week when she insisted we buy a bigget hp motor.
So, I found one i liked and will be driving from NC to FL to buy it.
My wife would like to have the boat in the water for the July 4th holidsy, so i'll be working hard to make that happen!