Pontoon Boat Repair Questions.

[jamscal]

Got a job repairing a pontoon boat. It's coming Monday.

I've repaired and modded a few pontoons but this time I will be cutting out bad/crushed sections of the pontoons and welding new sections in.

I plan to plasma cut the bad out and have 1/8" aluminum patch panels rolled to a 24" dia at a sheet metal shop, and then weld them in.

Probably try the spool gun first but have a tig.

I know some people on here have talked about repairing pontoons before, I just wanted to see if there is anything special I should look out for.

(I know the inside is going to be a scummy mess.)

Thanks,

James

[aametalmaster]

I have seen a few with foam sprayed inside the tubes...Bob

[FusionKing]

Got a job repairing a pontoon boat. It's coming Monday.

I've repaired and modded a few pontoons but this time I will be cutting out bad/crushed sections of the pontoons and welding new sections in.

I plan to plasma cut the bad out and have 1/8" aluminum patch panels rolled to a 24" dia at a sheet metal shop, and then weld them in.

Probably try the spool gun first but have a tig.

I know some people on here have talked about repairing pontoons before, I just wanted to see if there is anything special I should look out for.

(I know the inside is going to be a scummy mess.)

Thanks,

James

I have fixed several hundred myself over the last dozen years.(seriously) What brand and year model is the boat?? I may be able to offer some help.
Many companies sell more here than any other lake.

[jamscal]

Foam inside the tubes will definitely suck. I hope that's not the case.

Don't know the model or year off-hand, but it's a 28' long with 24" diameter pontoons.

I'll try to take pics of the repair.

-James

[KBar]

All depends how old the boat is and how much it was in the water, expecially salt water. You may be wasting your time. The tubes may be worn down to the point that you can't find a good spot to weld too. I was going to have mine welded on my 84 pontoon but this was the case, ended up trashing it and buying another.

[FusionKing]

If the tubes are round it will probably be chambered rather than foam filled.
U-shaped tubes have the foam in them generally.
Try pdbworld.com for more info...there is an awsum pontoon forum there. I was the second member to join it and it has grown a bunch since then.

[c wagner]

Would he need to cut all of the damaged stuff out or can he overlap some of the damaged area with the patch? Obviously anything that is bent outwards needs to be dealt with but I'm just wondering if there is any reason to completely remove all of the damaged area.
I've only ever done small repairs on pontoons, this job sounds fairly big!