Posted: 10/14/2008 at 4:47pm | IP Logged

scbadiver wrote: I found them on-line. I got lucky. Check ebay and stuff. they pop up once in awhile. I was fortunate enough to find the whole fence with horseshoes.

Hey scbadiver I have 2 questions for you.

#1. On the horseshoes & fence. Are 'horseshoes the correct name to use when trying to search for them on ebay & other sites? I've never heard them called that before but then again I have never owned a pontoon boat before.

#2. I have a 1987 Johnson 70 hp with t/t. It runs great too. I noitce you have the same engine on your 24 ft pontoon & I am going to use it on my 20 footer. How well does it perform on your boat? I'm just trying to get a general idea as to what I can expect as far as performance might be with mine. I'll be using an aluminum 18 gallon gas tank using the water seperator just like yours. 

I will have to do some modifying on the rear of my deck to accomplish the same type of set up as you have since my tubes taper at the rear as I don't want to have my gas tank & batteries underneath the rear bench seat as I want that area to be used for other things.

And one other question. Does your bimini top lay flat across the back or does it stay in the position is see it in in all the photos?  Just curious. Thanks

Posted: 10/14/2008 at 5:31pm | IP Logged

Well when I searched is when I found them to be called horseshoes. I googled pontoon fencing, railing, playpen, siding, etc. It seems there is not REAL standard. try them all is my best advice. Seems to be almost a regional thing. Here they call it fencing, there it's called a playpen etc.

As Wildcat stated mine is a 28 footer and I made it pretty heavy with all the furniture and stuff. The outboard pushed us along fine for me. With GPS it was 18.7MPH WOT with a full 38 gallons of fuel, 3 adults and the dog (and of course the beer cooler LOL!). at 3000 rpms we were moving about 8-9 MPH. Now, I think if I trim the engine up one more notch It may go a little faster but I haven't tried it yet. I picked up almost a full 1 MPH moving up the one notch to where it is now the day we were testing/playing with it.  You will probably do a little better with a 20 footer.

The bimini does lay down flat across the sundeck. We store it in the all-the-way-down position. I just like it up when using it because it is out of the way and I think it looks cool that way too. I think I always wanted a boat with a radar arch in my 'go-fast powerboat days' .

Posted: 10/15/2008 at 6:34am | IP Logged

Thanks for the info Robbie. Not sure why I was thihnking your's was a 24 footer. Memoery lapse I guess. LOL   Even with yours being that large & using a 70 hp engine sounds pretty good to me. I'm not looking for speed nor do I plan on towing skiers either so anything under 20 mph is just fine.  Plus 'im sure mine will be a lot lightrer then yours as I do not plan on haing a lot of furniture. Just the basic seating plus fishing chairs up front with the trolling motor.

I've decide to go with the bimin top for sure to save the weight plus making it easier on my poor old worn out shoulders lifting it in place. The 8X8 metla top is nice but just a little too much for me these days.

I'm planning og going with Blue & White colors through-out the boat using a Blue bimini. I'll be strating the 'tear down' next week & will do 'before, during & after'pics of the whole thing. It's starting to get cooler in my area now so it might take me a little longer then planned but thas OK. Spring will be here again before I know it & I'm planning on having it done by then.

Thanks a lot for the info you provided. This has got to be the best site on the internet for help & advice & just good plain conversation where everyone can swap ideas & learn so  much.  

Posted: 10/15/2008 at 4:26pm | IP Logged

No doubt about that!! My last toon was a 20' Sundancer with a 70 Evinrude. Great engine and it pushed me to 22 MPH with only me onboard. Not much furniture on it either, as it was set up for fishin'. I used a 14 X 11 prop on it which worked out great.

Posted: 01/14/2009 at 9:49pm | IP Logged

This by far is the most amazing transformation I have seen anywhere.  I think this guy deserves some kinda reward for best of show, rags to riches, or something!  An I agree, need a bigger driveway.  28ft how many people can you get on it?

Great job on the engine restore too.  My friend Shane redone a tri-hull fiberglass bowrider from the 70's and did almost the same on his motor that you did.

Just seeing the before and after - poster child for PontoonStuf.com , hint hint.

Posted: 01/15/2009 at 3:13pm | IP Logged

If I had a boat this nice, I would make sure I could get it in my living room so I could use it ALL the time. Nice work! You sure set the bar high for the rest of us to get over.

Bunniestone

Posted: 04/03/2009 at 12:01pm | IP Logged

Sorry to be late, I was working on a pontoon boat, for something different! Wildcat Dude is correct. I picked up both switch panels at Bass Pro. EZ wasn't around when I was doing mine, unfortunitely.The gauges are all Teleflex, Value Series alos purchased at BP. I made the black panel from some on Gravoply engraving sheet I had left over in the shop. It is tough stuff. It wont fade, burn or melt. Has to be cut with only carbide. You can wipe it clean with laquer thinner without worry. Great stuff for that application.

By the way aaadkins, WELCOME ABOARD!!   

Posted: 07/23/2009 at 1:23pm | IP Logged

Hi Robbie!  Great Rebuild!  Have a question about your bimini top...  where did you get it?  It appears that the support legs are adjustable for length both front and back.  That would be really handy in my application 'cause my rail dips down where I need to attach a support.  Could just get one with straps on the front, but I really like the idea of 4 stiff legs.  I've searched the internet till I'm cross-eyed but can't find one with adjustable support legs. 

thanks, Steve

Posted: 07/23/2009 at 3:22pm | IP Logged

Thanks for the info, Robbie....   guess I'll just settle for front straps..  it's not really that big a deal.  We have a '96 Party Hut that was actually in pretty good shape when we got it.  Been dealing with various maintenance issues like we all have to.  Did have to have the mini-toon/transom rebuilt 'cause it was holding about 40 gallons of water and had the upholstery redone.  We want a bimini for the front portion of the boat.  So far, PontoonStuff has the best deal on what we want, so we'll be ordering one soon.  I'll try and post some pics soon.

Thanks again,    Steve