Took the plunge...bought a pontoon

[cburnscrx]

I have been on this forum for a few years, but never as a boat owner. Until now! I just purchased a 24' 1988 Aqua Patio with a 40hp Evinrude and a Hoosier trailer. Being that old, it's got some issues, but the deck was replaced with marine grade plywood a few years back and the carpet done at the same time. It runs well, and the guy said he kept up on the maintenance too. We're on the same lake and he's willing to help if I run into any issues so I don't have any reason to doubt him. The trailer is in good shape with newer tires too. I'll be look to do some upholstery repairs and adding a few conveniences as well. There's no stereo, or gauges of any kind. I suspect I'll want to add those sometime in the near future. There is no trim or tilt on the boat, which I thought was odd but since it had no other gauges maybe that's normal for that vintage? I am sure I'll be asking for lots of help and insight...here goes nothing.

 

[HotTommy]

Welcome to the fun. Tell us a little more. What part of the country are you in? Will the boat stay on the water or will you have to trailer it each time? How far?

I wouldn't worry too much about gauges if it were mine. You need to see the telltale to know its pumping water, and you need the check the voltage occasionally to know it is charging the battery. You'll want to know how much gas is left, but you don't have to have a gauge to do that. All the performance info (e.g., speed, direction, etc.) is available as an app on most smart phones. .... Trim generally doesn't do much on a pontoon boat, but tilt is useful for launch/recovery and boating around shallow water. .... It's unlikely you'll see more than 10 MPH on a boat that size with a 40 HP engine on it. So it's best suited for local cruising, smimming and fishing. As long as the structure is sound and the engine is reliable, you can make the boat as comfortable and attractive as your time and wallet will allow. .. Post a picture when you can.

 

[MH Hawker]

sounds about like what i did 6 years ago, i got a 1988 and stripped it to the frame for a new floor and then rebuilt it a piece at a time as money allowed. wise makes good seat if the budget allows, i am on a 10 hp lake so a lot of the boats look more like a floating living room, complete with tiki torches :laugh: solar led lights blenders and so on, i use folding camp chairs on the front for fishing and extra seating

1 stereo i went with a 200 watt 4 speaker unit with a rain shield
2.gages it was very common on boats from that era to have no gags at all, you only really need 2 a tach and a digital volt meter
3 tilt n trim its pointless on a pontoon the only time its handy is beaching if its a shallow spot

 

[cburnscrx]

No Title

Well, to answer some questions...it will be located in Indianapolis on Geist Reservoir. I'll dock it for the season, but no lift. I might trailer it once or twice but nothing more than that. I'll take your advice on the rpms and voltage, sounds smart to me. I figure I'll go with a marine stereo, and a stock stereo seems reasonable for now. I tend to be a DIY person, so I'm looking forward to the learning experience.

 

[Bayou Dave]

She looks really good!

 

[ahicks]

A great example of what can be done with an older boat. Getting ready to start a very similar project. Have a clean slate, currently weighing many options.

 

[Sea Rider]

A tach is a must have now a days to check if engine is revving at least middle to max wot rpm factory range as usually loaded, can maximize a less prop pitch in case need to pull wot revs higher to work inside that rpm range.

Happy Boating