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!

[SundownIII]

jamscal,

Your comment about plasma cutting the old/damaged areas out and welding new panels in bothered me a little.

Think you're going to find that butt welding new panels to the old aluminum which was plasma cut is going to give you problems. The aluminum in the immediate area of the plasma cut is going to cause problems if not ground back about 1/4". May not be as much of a problem with a spoolgun, but with tig, that plasma cutline has given me problems in the past.

You may want to think about a sabre (jig) saw vs the plasma. I use a Bosch jig saw and it does a great job on 1/8" aluminum. Also, tig has no problem with a saw cut cutline. For the time you save with plasma, you're going to loose it in grinding.

Just my .02, but something to think about.

[jamscal]

FusionKing: It's a Riveria Cruiser. That's all the info I have now.

KBar: It's out of the water most of the time, and has never been in saltwater. I did hear water sloshing inside when he pulled up with it though


C Wagner: I wondered the same thing. I may have to overlap if I run into a big problem where it doesn't want to butt weld, but we'll see.

SundownIII: Thanks for the tip on Plasma. I have a Bosch Jig saw as well and will probably go with that.


-James

[FusionKing]

Riviera cruiser went out of biz a few years back
They were an .080 boat unless it's an older thinner one.
I usually patch over damage when I can so its double metal
You just need to decide what to do on a job to job basis 'cause they are all different in one way or another. That is untill they all start looking the same