I helped a friend a few years back totally rebuild a pontoon boat for a client of his. One thing I discovered with pontoon boats on the newer ones, is the fence going all the way around the deck is actually elevated about a half an inch. This is done so that the rain water or when you wash it down the water will run off the boat on either side. The older boats that have the fence that sit on the carpet hold the water and will rot out the floor. I can't tell in the video if your fence sits down on the carpet if it does I suggest you get some spacers to lift it up at the anchor points 1/4 to 1/2 an inch especially if the boat is going to be kept outside.
Tried, seems RU-vid is leveling out the audio. I think its the wind towards the end, its setting that to the average sound, and its probably the loudest.
You worried one of your neighbors will hear you when you talk? lol. Your boat turned out really nice! I recently purchased an older Lowe 28' pontoon boat. It's not in as rough shape, but plan doing basically the same thing to make it a little more up to date with more comfortable furniture. This series was very helpful, thank you!
Yes Brandon, it's time. Time to admit, you might have an addiction. Possibly pontoon boats possibly filming the rebuilds. But, just so that you know, we're with ya. watching. Every video. So like come on, we're waiting. Rebuilding a Craig's list Pontoon boat 2.0 (Keep up the great work.)
Great job with all the details of your rebuild Brandon. You certainly did a stellar job with the records of your project expenses. You certainly covered all the bases regarding the actual costs to arrive at a very nice boat with custom features and solid life expectancy based on your choice of materials. The trailer upgrade was a wise decision as well IMHO based on your experience and use plans. Your new "investment" boat will return dividends when you decide to get rid of it as well. There's always a market for used boats as you know, but as a seller with another boat in your fleet, you have creditability with the buyers who look at your offering. 5 stars for the effort you put into the rebuild and the detailed breakdown of the actual money invested in a very worthwhile project, which you and your family will enjoy for years to come. Much respect for the time you spent to document your journey, filming, editing, and of course narrating the process. Well done sir! Doug@ the "ranch"
Not sure what a new pontoon costs but for what you have in what you rebuilt you're probably way ahead of the game... not to mention you probably have higher quality materials than what they put into new pontoons
That is a really good deal 10 grand under that's what I was thinking my brother bought for 40,000 I try to get them to redo your doing he said no I can't wait to do this project like you good job
Thanks for the video. Great job on both the boat and the video. I will be working on mine in the spring. Paid $3,500 for a functional boat and a nice trailer. The seats are a little rough, but functional. I'm going to replace the seats no matter what. The decision is how far to go with the restore. My decking looks good and the carpet is all intact, its just that it would be so nice with new carpet and if I do all that, might as well replace the decking too. Ugh!! Thanks again!
Awesome,,,thanks Brandon...very nice project...Hope you guys get tons of fun and good family memories from it.....thanks for the good tips on the blasting of the platoon floats themselves...needed to be done outside the garage....and for the coupon tip...save money always.......ps...you could always paint a sealer on garage floor....new garage foundation looking good....
Nice work and thanks for the time to help other along with our projects. I just bought a 27ft 1988 pontoon.......what the hell did I get myself into!!!! :) You sound like Richard Dryfuss sp? Were gunna need a bigger boat!!!! Enjoy the fruit of your labor...
Nice boat. Wish i lived closer to you so that way i could pick up the seconded pontoon. Since you have a second pontoon boat. I would make another boat restoration video. I enjoyed it keep up the good work. I really enjoy the videos.
Hi Brandon, I appreciate you making this tutorial. I wasn't quite able to catch your parts and supply sources and particularly that gorgeous walnut trimmed helm. I notice it matches the upholstery so it makes sense that it was purchased but I also recall you mentioning the cost of the walnut. Can you give the details on that beautiful work and your sources?
I would like to see what the prices are now the plywood is $145 for the CCA treated. The glue is 30 bucks a gallon. You got the screws the tar tape and the Infinity woven floor was 900 bucks I’m at $2000 just to repair The floor back to new vinyl. 1:57
One of the places you could have saved a fair amount of money was reupholstering the old seats, replacing and bad plywood. Another place would have been to sand and repaint the solid top you took. The $1500 you paid is primarily for the motor. If the motor is in good shape and doesn't need major work like rings/pistons/reeds etc your good. Both those engines were worth the $1500. You would be surprised at how much better the pontoon moves about with the twice the power.
I just bought Brandon’s second boat today. Great guy to do business with. Towed it 3 hrs home on that narrow axle trailer. Towed very well. I’ll be doing a video on my rebuild. Was thinking of a tiny house on pontoons.
nice finished project.. theres something about building your own stuff that make you appreciate it more... anyone can go down and buy a new pontoon boat but only a handfull can rebuild one... enjoy it you've earned it :)
Find ya a good aluminum welder and you can get transducer brackets and drain plugs for minimal costs. Did it on mine years ago and still looks like factory
Hey Brandon, just wanted to know where you got the prices for the plywood, the CCA treated plywood that I’m getting from Pontoon Stuff is $145 per sheet and on a 24 Boat I needed six sheets and a piece for the way the framing laid out, and the glue was 30 bucks a gallon. Just wanted to know where you’re getting that stuff so much cheaper
Well, its not treated ply, it was A/B Exterior grade plywood; originally it was interior rated toungue and grove ply, so even that was an upgrade. it was $50 a sheet pre-covid. probably still $100 each at this point.
Man your boat turned out GREAT! I wanted to do a pontoon restore but due to health reasons I’m just not physically able so I had to buy a new one. Yeahhh. $52,789.00 but I ended up with tri-toon w/ Mercury 150hp but I would’ve been just as happy with your boat. Well almost anyway
Really enjoyed the the series on the pontoon boat. Very interesting with an excellent result. Just curious which state in the USA this is filmed at. Greetings from Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
I bought the exact same pantoon and im renovating it totally like yours, and wanted to ask you where did you buy the railing in the front part of the pantoon boat so you could put bigger sofas, that's what i wnat to do to mine, but can't find the rails, thank you!!
After watching lots of videos of the current dysfunctional US political regime and thinking are Americans gone mad, then I came across this video with its talented calm narrator detailing with great factual honesty the cost of his project. I am now of the opinion that if there are enough Brandons around then sanity has some chance of returning to the US. From Ireland with thanks.
😷Nice job. To ur issue with the floor. U might try VINEGAR. I say that because my wife found out on our concrete carport where a dog had peed on my shop door and the concrete floor. She grabbed some VINGER and cleaned the door and floor. I came home from work and as I walked through the carport I noticed a very bright/cleaned floor and that was a few months ago and it still looks like a freshly poured concrete floor. So try it in a small spot and c what happens. I'm planning on trying it out on the rest of the floor. Hope this helps. Stay safe/healthy during this period of the pandemic 😷
Try using WD40 on the floor, then a scrub brush. Then lay down oil soak, stuff that looks like kitty litter. Scrub that around on the WD40 while still wet. Will soak up all oil and the aluminum dust. Should work. I did this at a shop I worked at, after trying kerosene, and many other solvents.
Personally I give you a 95 out of 100. You used quality materials and you didn't skimp on the bells and whistles that make it nice when you're out on it. Only reason I didn't give you 100 is because you're still gonna spend another 750 or so on that trailer and from my experience with mine I would recommend making a wrap around deck on the back. It makes working with someone tubing (if you do that) and getting to your gas can and and spare (another recommended update) you can switch those small tanks out for a 25 gallon that can be enclosed for not much. Those can help at resale time, or if you don't want to fool with them I understand that. To each his own. I've just had 25 years of two kids and it's always something which makes it better. One other thing, but this one isn't cheap. You may want to cover the underside of the boat platform with aluminum or stainless. Helps prevent rot and can give you a couple more miles per hour by keeping the water from splashing up inside the braces . Also helps protect wiring and cables! You did great for having dome all the work yourself. I wish I was half the electrician you are!
EXCELLENT job! What most people don’t realize when rebuilding something is that they’re putting themselves through school AND they know every nook & cranny of their boat! I can say for sure that you’re AT LEAST $10,000 ahead by doing what you did. That’s not accounting for your time but its either you calculate your time as billable OR you chalk it up to school tuition, not both. All in all the video series is OUTSTANDING! I was going to start building a pontoon from scratch, have the tubes rolled & I’d weld & do some other really cool things like water sensors & a pump controlled by automated control valves for each pontoon compartment which will be 24inches x 48inches per compartment.....that lift trailer should be padded all around, that would help stop damaging the pontoons. Great job,
OK, I watched all that parts to this rebuild. Just outstanding, you were patient and expert. but, maybe I'm just an old softie but, I loved that your father helped and your boy was there to be part of the project. As a boater, the 6200 you spent on top of the 1500 to buy is NOTHING!!! That boat is now worth 18-20,000 depending on the condition of the engine. I really enjoyed it.
never great what you put into a project does matter what it is but, on the other hand, the experience in doing something you love to do does run the cost equal i would say i love to rea build old farm equipment on time to time i break even when i sell them was at auctions i was waiting for the one item landed up with a pontoon boat too did get both for free with the trailer for the boat it was in very rough shape the pontoon was in great shape and the trailer was too a tree full on the boat the bale wagon i got it home it was sold before i had it unhook from the truck did give a ridiculous price on it did got want i asked for it did stripe the boat rite down to the frame too wanted to add fuel tanks and storage under the floor too i know how to weld i am a red seal ticketed welder did all the fabrication meself stainless fuel tank boxes lined with a plastic tank for fuel and water to storage departments to skies and fishing rods holder to my last experience with pontoon boat fishing was the hight of the sides for the lake to being a fish into the boat it sucks this one had an inboard motor to motor was not there or the leg was not too did find couple one was a jet and the was the prop leg did take both have a river near use and a lakes too they are easy to switch with each other when needed too motor have not found at the time did find one for the boat was and 350 chevy had to put a radiator for it that's cool in the fall and cold out i have heat to stay warm too the plywood was marine grade to somehow it was ordered and very pick up the company said under the table dealing in cards lol trade was worth the pain in his project he was working on painting both sides to was going to put carpet on it put hardwood floor on the deck to at this time have the boat sold I had to finish the build cut out for all of the storage to buy a warp i could protect the floor had new side made to i did that myself had deck glass for the sides was in graved too now it was sold the ower was paying the bill to hide all the cables to the steering wheel will just use a wild tube too all the benches had on the boat was oat to have a CNC machine did carve i design in the wood had a pedestal mount for a BBQ to and a tank built into the one sit to had the top can be raised ot lower to him hard the seats made and the side to inclose it made to last time i seem it, when to the west course after it was done had made a few campers for trucks too very lite weight they did sell 5 and someone bought the rights to build them I did not care to build them did couple 53 van trailers too for and RV first on have not pull-outs but when it when south for the winter never came home my aunt and uncle sold it down the other one had the pull-outs 3-year project in between jobs i had it was finished to my aunt and uncle live fulltime in it now I did not answer there email they want a new one build now not sure on that busy with other things now
Looks good, but even at 100% speaker level, I still can't hear what you're saying. Guess I'll rely on my best guestimate for your overall cost for this project.
I’ve picked up a couple scrapped pontoon boats and made floating docks out of them. You don’t have to get a building permit because they see it as a vessel. The fish and game guys look at it as a dock so no registration needed.
we use pool acid to clean anything off bare concrete. just open all windows, apply acid and spray it off with water then do the next area because the fumes are toxic and corrosive if you dont spray it off immediately
7:21 - Literally every project I do... "It'll be cheap, I'll just do it myself because labor is free." Then when it's all is said and done, it's twice as expensive as originally predicted, because the nickel and dime "might as well upgrade this or do this too" add-ons always unexpectedly add up when you sit down and do the math.
I have a single axle bunk trailer and needed more HD tires. I bought E rated tires the same size as those you have from E Trailer for like $95 for two. I had them mounted locally. Such a better tire than the combo wheel tire the previous owner bought at the big box stores in C range. I could literally see the tires wear down after each 25 mile round trip to the lake. Since I bought them they seem to have went up a bit . I think there called load star.
Looked into that too. Also the tire wheel package. Reviews were great. Some people say they last 30 miles, some as much as 60. I decided to just get tires from America/Discount tire and be done with it.
Hydrochloric acid will remove that black junk in a hurry....you can buy it at Lowe's and home Depot in the paint section, look for concrete etchers. Bear in mind you will loose the smooth floor you have now and you'll want to buy a concrete sealer also but it'll look like new again afterwards.
I dream with do that same project but im having a hard time finding the old and cheep pontoon. I like a lot yours a lot except for the trailer and the ladder which i will find a permanent solution. Great job
Yeah, that kinda sucked to be honest. But, once you find one, its easy to find more. I actually do this with rare- hard to find, expensive, outboard tools; I'll finally find one, only to discover a better cheaper one days later.
